Boogie-Woogie mUSTAnG ACE

Air Classics, Aug 2006 by Walsh, Tom

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF PIERCE W. McKENNON

There was no mistaking that Maj. Pierce Winningham "Mac" McKennon was a native of the State of Arkansas. In 26 months of combat in the European Theatre of Operations (ETO), he flew several fighters which carried distinctive names and artwork. His most famous and most colorful mount was the red-nosed P-51D Mustang USAAF s/n 44-72308, which he named RiJge Runner III. Beneath the name, there was artwork of a tusky Arkansas razorback hog chasing 20 swastikas. These kill markings were painted Hack on a white square and were outlined in red. The canopy frame was also trimmed in red along with the code WD*A and two Royal Air Force (RAF) Spitfire rear view mirrors which were mounted side-by-side atop the windscreen.

Major McKennon would amass 560 combat flight hours in WWII. He was shot down by tlak on two occasions, evaded both times and, after each evasion, managed to return to flight status. He would finish the war with 21.68 victories (12 aerial and 9.68 ground) and become his squadron's commanding officer for the last eight months of the war - not too bad for a young man who washed out of flight training in the Air Corps. Also certainly not too had tor a 21-year-old university student who came to Canada, won his wings in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), lost them in a Court Martial, then, unbelievably, won them again for a second time!

Mac McMcKennon flew with the 335th Fighter Squadron (FS), 4th Fighter Group (FG), United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). The 4th, known as the "Dehden Eagles," flew from Station F-356 in Essex, England, and hecame the highest-scoring USAAF FG in WWII, accounting for 1016 enemy aircraft destroyed in the air and on the ground.

Pierce W. McKennon was horn in Clarksville, Arkansas, on 30 November 1919 to Inez and Parma McKennon. He grew up in a privileged environment and was educated in Fort Smith, where he excelled in music and sports. His mother wanted him to pursue a career as a classical concert pianist and gave him a baby grand piano on his 16th birthday. His father, a dentist, was hoping that Pierce would join him some day in his dental practice. In his last year of high school, Pierce entered and won a tri-state music contest, which earned him a four-year music scholarship to the University of Arkansas.

The study of music, however, only lasted a month when McKennon suddenly switched his major to chemistry. He did not abandon his musical interests altogether; he just deserted Beethoven and Mo:art for Goodman and Calloway as the campus swing band could not play the former!

McKennon was halfway through his fourth and final year of University when he enlisted as a Flight Cadet in the USAAC on 10 February 1941. He was sent to Hicks Army Air Field in Fort Worth, Texas, for training. He was released from this program on 11 April, after having flown a total of 29-hrs (24 dual and 5 solo) on Stearman PT-17 Kaydets. The reason yiven was that he suffered from severe motion sickness, which seriously impaired his ahility to safely pilot an aircraft.

Undaunted by this medical setback, he travelled to Windsor, Ontario, where, on 10 May 1941, he enlisted in the RCAF. His rank was Aircraftsman second Class (AC2) and his assigned service number was R98281. From 10-23 May, he was at No. 1 Manning Depot (MD) in Toronto, Ontario. As the pilot training pipeline was overflowing, AC2 McKennon was sent on 24 May to perform guard duty at No. 5 Equipment Depot (ED) in Moncton, New Brunswick. He remained there until 1 July. From 2 July to 8 August, he was back in Toronto at No. 1 Initial Training School (ITS). On his last day at the ITS, he was promoted from AC2 to Leading Aircraftsman (LAC).

He began his primary flight training on Fleet Finch biplane trainers on 9 August at No. 7 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) in Windsor, Ontario. His motion sickness problem now behind him, McKennon successfully passed this phase of his training on 25 September. The next day, he reported to No. 14 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) in Aylmer, Ontario, where he would complete his flight training on Harvard Mk. Us. LAC P.W. McKennon was promoted to Sergeant Pilot on 19 December and was awarded his cloth RCAF Pilot Wings on the 20th. The average time it took to train an RCAF pilot, from the first day at the ITS to graduation at the SFTS (Wings Parade), was ten to twelve months. Mac was a natural flyer and breezed through the entire training syllabus in just over tour months!

During his training period, McKennon ran afoul of minor RCAF discipline on three occasions when it was found that he had been absent without leave (AWOL). Each time he was fined several days' pay for these infractions.

From 20 December 1941 to 4 January- 1942, Sgt. Plt. McKennon was given the standard two-week preembarkation leave. On 8 January, he set sail on a troop ship from "Y" Depot Halifax, Nova Scotia, and arrived in England on the 21st. He was at No. 3 Personnel Reception Center (PRC), located in Bournemouth, until 16 March. The next day, he reported to No. 5 Pilot (P) Advanced Flying Unit, (AFU) RAF Ternhill. There he began his conversion training onto Miles Master Mk. Is, Mk. IIIs and Hawker Hurricanes, finishing the course on 20 April. On the 21st, he reported to No. 61 Operational Training Unit (OTU) at RAF Station Rednal, where he would learn to fly the Supermarine Spitfire.