Flight Test Certification of Then-2nd Lt. Joseph Laughlin, September 1940
One of several instrument flight tests Colonel Laughlin would complete in the Army Air Corps
In order to make sure pilots were combat ready and effective, the Army Air Corps required Instrument Flight Tests be completed every six months. This one was completed at Wheeler Field in Hawaii, just under a year before the attacks at Pearl Harbor would destroy his and his squadrons' planes and lead the U.S. into war.
Army Air Corps
National Museum of the United States Air Force - Research Division
United States Air Force
December 23, 1940
Flight Test Certification of Then-Captain Joseph Laughlin, January 1943
One of several instrument flight tests Colonel Laughlin would complete in the Army Air Corps
In order to make sure pilots were combat ready and effective, the Army Air Corps required Instrument Flight Tests be completed every six months. This one was completed at Wheeler Field in Hawaii, four months before then-Captain Laughlin would be sent stateside to help build and command the 379th Fighter Squadron.
Army Air Corps
National Museum of the United States Air Force - Research Division
United States Air Force
January 19, 1943
The Certification of Then-2nd Lt. Joseph Laughlin in the US Army Air Corps Reserve
This certification was presented to then-Lt. Laughlin upon his arrival at Wheeler Field in Hawaii
Although war was on the horizon, the US military did not know when it would arrive. This certification of enlistment in the Army Air Corps Reserve states that then-Lt. Laughlin would serve in the Reserves for five years. By the end of that period, Joseph Laughlin would be a Colonel, an experienced combat pilot, and a Fighter Group Commander.
Army Air Corps
National Museum of the United States Air Force - Research Division
United States Air Force
July 26, 1940
Flight Test Certification of Then-2nd Lt. Joseph Laughlin, June 1941
One of several instrument flight tests Colonel Laughlin would complete in the Army Air Corps
In order to make sure pilots were combat ready and effective, the Army Air Corps required Instrument Flight Tests be completed every six months. This one, completed at Wheeler Field, Hawaii, just 6 months and a day before the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor. Because of the attack, Colonel Laughlin would not have another Instrument Flight Check for almost a year.
Army Air Corps
National Museum of the United States Air Force - Research Division
United States Air Force
June 6, 1941
Flight Test Certification of Then-Captain Joseph Laughlin, May 1942
One of several instrument flight tests Colonel Laughlin would complete in the Army Air Corps
In order to make sure pilots were combat ready and effective, the Army Air Corps required Instrument Flight Tests be completed every six months. This one, completed at Wheeler Field in Hawaii, was completed by then-Captain Laughlin while he was fighting in the Pacific Theater of Operations
Army Air Corps
National Museum of the United States Air Force - Research Division
United States Air Force
May 9, 1942
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
A P-36 Hawk
A type of plane flown by Colonel Joseph Laughlin at Wheeler Field in Hawaii.
Colonel Joseph Laughlin flew the P-36 Hawk, but in what capacity it is not mentioned. It was rendered obsolete by the time fighting intensified in the Pacific and European Theaters of Operation, and it was relegated to training purposes only at that point. However, there were several undamaged P-36 Hawks during the attack at Pearl Harbor. Several pilots managed to take off in heavy fire and tried to mount an offense, with limited success. It proved to still be an effective fighter plane in limited combat, but it was not relied upon once reinforcements were sent in the form of the P-40.
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
National Museum of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
1930s-early 1940s
A P-40 Warhawk
This type of plane was flown in the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) by Colonel Laughlin
The P-40 was the most readily available fighter for U.S. forces after the attack at Pearl Harbor. Although most of the fleet was destroyed in the attack, there were still some planes that survived. Colonel Joseph Laughlin flew this type of plane as a pilot in the 19th Pursuit Squadron based at Wheeler Field in Hawaii. He flew over 350 operational hours against the Japanese in the PTO, with most of those hours probably flying this type of aircraft.
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
National Museum of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
1930s-1940s