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
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