American Beauty -“Forgotten Fifteenth” top-scoring Mustang ace John J. Voll

Lee Lauderback, who holds the record for most flying hours in a Mustang, soars above the Kissimmee, Florida clouds in Max Chapman’s Cavalier Aircraft new-build wearing the paint scheme of “American Beauty,” the P-51D flown by Lt. John J. Voll, 31st FG top Mustang ace. (Photo by John Dibbs/Facebook.com/theplanepicture)

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During World War Two and ever since, many stories of the USAAF “Mighty Eighth” Air Force, operating from Britain over Europe, have been made available for public consumption. In comparison, relatively little publicity has been afforded to the “Forgotten Fifteenth” Air Force in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO). The Fifteenth was established as a strategic force on November 1, 1943, from elements of the Twelfth and Ninth Air Forces. At its peak, the Fifteenth...

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