Captain Pappy Gunn: Made gunships out of WW2 Bombers

Innovative and Daring: The Saga of Pappy Dunn

Having served in WW1 as an airplane mechanic, he taught himself to fly on his own time and then re-enlisted, becoming part of the TopHatters fighter squadron in 1923. He served 21 years before retiring in 1939. He started a civilian air freight service in the Philippines when WW2 broke out. He volunteered to fly medical supplies intoJapanese occupied territory in an unarmored weaponless plane for the USAAF and earned a Distinguished Flying Cross for this heroism. That would be enough for most men, but Gunn began putting guns from wrecked fighter aircraft into A-20 Havoc and B-25 Mitchell bombers in the South Pacific. These new gunships were instrumental in winning the battle of the Bismarck Sea in 1943 because of the devastating firepower they created. Gunn was awarded a second Distinguished Flying Cross, Silver Star and 9 Purple Hearts by the end of the war. After the war he went back to his Philippine AirLines but was killed when a storm caused his plane to crash. He was 57 at the time of his death but his bravery and innovation live on forever. Valor is in you. Set it free.