Ace Pilot Dies
Claude Kinsey, a World War II ace, saw action over North Africa before being shot down himself. He escaped from a POW camp in Italy and continued his flying career.

Claude R. Kinsey Jr., a “flying sergeant” who became one of the first World War II aces and pulled off a dramatic escape from a POW camp, died of cancer in February at the age of 86.

Kinsey was credited with shooting down seven enemy planes over North Africa in early 1943 before he was shot down by his own inexperienced wingman. He bailed out of his burning P-38 Lightning fighter over Tunis, Algeria, and was turned over to the Italian military.

Later that year, Kinsey escaped from the POW camp where he was being held and began his 100-mile march through Italy across German lines. His month-long ordeal included trading three days of labor on a vineyard for food and shelter, suffering severe diarrhea and being nursed back to health by a shepherd, and sharing a meal with gypsies. When he reached the front, he crossed through what he later learned was a German minefield to find a squad of Canadian soldiers and eventually make it back to his squadron.
 
Kinsey had entered the Army Air Forces as an enlisted man and trained to fly while still a private; he was promoted to sergeant after he completed flight training. After his return to the States, he toured the nation as a war hero to promote the sale of war bonds. He spent the remainder of the war as a P-38 combat instruction pilot. He later flew B-47 Stratojet bombers, some of them loaded with nuclear weapons. He retired in 1965 as a lieutenant colonel and squadron commander.

Celebrating Tuskegee Airmen

The Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum in Rantoul, Ill., located on the former Chanute AFB, will open an exhibit on the 99th Pursuit Squadron June 3. The opening ceremony will include vintage aircraft, a lecture series, and a gala dinner.

The Tuskegee Airmen experience in the military began in Illinois. The 99th Pursuit Squadron was activated March 22, 1941, at Chanute Field, Ill. Some 278 support personnel trained there; the class overall grade point average remains the highest ever achieved at Chanute Field. On July 19, 1941, the first 12 aviation cadets and one officer began pilot training at Tuskegee, Ala. The Chanute detachment was transferred south in October to join the pilots.

In April 1943, the redesignated 99th Fighter Squadron was deployed to North Africa and eventually Italy. For more information about the exhibit, call the museum at (217) 893-1613.