Colored Illustrations of Colonel Joseph Laughlin and Five by Five by Captain George Rarey
Captain Rarey captured both personas of Colonel Joseph Laughlin
Captain Rarey's renderings were very important to Colonel Laughlin and the airmen of the 362nd. Colonel Laughlin was so enamored with his nose art that he asked his crew chief to salvage them off of every plane he flew. His crew chief, Sergeant Chodor, dutifully replaced the cowl covers and nose art on every P-47 Colonel Laughlin ever flew. Although no one knows what happened to the original nose art, Captain Rarey kept copies of his illustrations in sketchbook journals. The original sketch of Colonel Laughlin is also in this collection.
Captain George Rarey
National Museum of the United States Air Force - Research Division
United States Air Force
1943-1944
<a title="Studying Colonel Joseph Laughlin" href="https://josephlaughlinfivebyfive.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">The Blog</a>
The blog associated with this project
This blog was a way for the administrator to document her journey and process through this project. The topics vary from her grandfather, the late Colonel Joseph Laughlin, to what she learned not to do in her search for information. She hopes it will help others as they set out on projects of their own.
Jamie Laughlin
Wordpress.com
Wordpress.com
January 2016-present
Jamie Laughlin
All rights reserved over content by Jamie Laughlin
Press Release Concerning Colonel Joseph Laughlin and the Bombing of Bremen Airport
A press release that touts the accomplishments of Colonel Laughlin and the 362nd Fighter Group
This press release, also found in a partial article from a Nebraska newspaper also in this collection, describes the recent successes of Colonel Laughlin in France. It includes the details behind a Ninth Air Force record-setting flight that was Colonel Laughlin's idea as payback to the Nazis for all that they had done so far. It goes into detail about Colonel Laughlin's life before the war, his friendship with the current 362nd Group Commander, Colonel Morton Magoffin, and how he is viewed by the men in the group. It is also the only time his first wife, Kathleen, is mentioned in any format.
Ninth Air Force Public Relations Office, Army Air Corps
National Museum of the United States Air Force - Research Division
United States Air Force
1944
The Original Nose Art of Colonel Joseph Laughlin's P-47, Five by Five
Captain George Rarey's original nose art on Colonel Laughlin's first P-47
The cowl color of P-47s fresh from the factory was black. They did not require a new color until they were to enter combat. However, Colonel Laughlin was so enamored with his nose art that he asked his crew chief to salvage the cowl off of every plane he flew. His crew chief, Sergeant Chodor, did just that. His cowl color would change to yellow when the 379th Fighter Squadron became active combat, and at the end of the war would be checkerboard yellow, blue, and red.
Republic Aviation Company
Captain George Rarey
National Museum of the United States Air Force - Research Division
United States Air Force
1940s
Colonel Joseph Laughlin's Call Sign on the Fuselage of His P-47, Five by Five
Every pilot had a call sign painted on their plane, another form of identification in the air or on the ground
The call sign reads as "B8-A". The "B" is for the 379th Fighter Squadron; the "A" is for the 362nd Fighter Group; and the "8" is the plane number within the squadron. This was Colonel Laughlin's call sign in early 1945.
Republic Aviation Corporation
National Museum of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
1940s
The P-47 with Bubble Top Canopy in the National Museum of the United States Air Force, redone as Colonel Joseph Laughlin's Five by Five
The record that Colonel Laughlin and the 362nd Fighter Group accrued during WWII caught the attention of staff when they were deciding on how to decorate the P-47 with Bubble Top canopy
The P-47D that sits in the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, was painted to represent the P-47 flown by Colonel Joseph Lyle Laughlin, Five by Five. The museum's curator, Jeff Duford, put forth several pilots for the honor, but after reading <em>The Art of Wing Leadership and Aircrew Morale in Combat</em> by Lt. Col. John J. Zentner, he and the administration decided on Five by Five.
Republic Aviation Corporation
National Museum of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
1940s
Insignias of Destruction on Colonel Joseph Laughlin's P-47, Five by Five
The official destruction insignia located on Colonel Laughlin's P-47
Accounts were kept of what pilots destroyed in combat. To tout those successes, pilots would have the record painted on their planes, with tallies next to each symbol for tanks, trucks, and locomotives. The Nazi flags represented downed enemy aircraft; 5 flags meant the pilot was an ace. Colonel Laughlin was the only known pilot in World War II to be solely credited for sinking an enemy ship. The battleship insignia represented the German Light Cruiser he sunk in Brest Harbor.
Republic Aviation Corporation
US Army Air Corps
National Museum of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
1940s
Armor Plates for a P-47
Extra armor plates to protect the pilot on a P-47
The P-47 Thunderbolt was a heavy fighter aircraft, maxing out at 17,000 lbs. Part of this weight was owed to the extra protection given to the pilot. Armor plates were installed behind the seat and on each side of the cockpit below the window. In several interviews with former pilots, the plane is credited with not only saving their lives, but allowing them to walk away from an accident without injury.
Republic Aviation Corporation
National Museum of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
1940s
U.S. Aircraft Insignia
The U.S. aircraft Insignia located under the wings of a P-47.
This insignia was introduced in 1943. The blue and white gloss insignia was referred to as the "star and bar" and was standard on all planes in the U.S. military in WWII. It was painted under both wings to help ground troops avoid friendly fire. The insignia in this photo is located on a P-47 that has been decorated as "Five by Five", flown by Colonel Joseph Laughlin in World War II.
Republic Aviation Corporation
National Museum of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
1940s
Propeller of a P-47
An up-close look at the propeller of a P-47
The propeller on the engine of a P-47. The engine, a Pratt and Whitney R-2800, helped to determine the size of the plane. The engine was covered with metal plates known as a cowling. During combat, the cowling cover was color-associated with the fighter squadron that the pilot was assigned to. Yellow was the cowling color of the 379th Fighter Squadron (F.S), one of three squadrons that made up the 362nd Fighter Group. Pilots with nicknames would have those nicknames in caricature on the cowling of their plane, known as nose art. Much of the nose art of the 379th F.S. and the 362nd F.G., was done by Captain George Rarey and Corporal Joe Carpenter, both of the 379th. The nose art on this plane has been painted to represent the plane of Colonel Joseph Laughlin, nicknamed Five by Five. The original nose art was done by Captain Rarey.
Republic Aviation Corporation
The National Museum of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
1940s