The Boy Next Door Goes to War – On-the-Job P-40 Training in North Africa

Jones’s unit, the 324th FG flew P-40L and F models, which were Merlin- (rather than Allison-) powered, as indicated by the lack of an air scoop on top of the cowl. (Photo by John Dibbs/courtesy of the Fighter Collection)

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Like every other new pilot in 1942, Cary Benjamin “Ben” Jones experienced an abrupt introduction to combat. At that point in the war, the enemy had been flying combat for several years, but almost every American pilot, Jones included, was new to that particular lethal game. Still, he flew P-40s in the Mediterranean, Africa, Sicily, and Italy campaigns as a member of the 316th Fighter Squadron (of the 324th Fighter Group) known as “Hell’s Belles”...

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