Below is a photo of Captain Urban L. “Ben” Drew flying his Republic P-47N Thunderbolt (Serial No. 44-88492) sometime in either late July or August of 1945. The 414th Fighter Group arrived on Iwo Jima in late July and flew several missions before the end of the war.

Captain Drew was a six victory ace with the 375th Fighter Squadron of the 361st Fighter Group in the European Theater of Operations. Captain Drew’s claim to fame is that he was the only Eighth Air Force fighter pilot to have shot down two Messerschmitt Me-262s in a single mission. That occurred on October 7, 1994, when the 361st Fighter Group attacked Achmer Aerodrome in Germany where Me-262s were stationed.

Above is a nice photo of then Lieutenant Drew standing along side his North American P-51D Mustang, E2-D “Detroit Miss” (Serial No. 44-14164) while he was with the 375th FS/361st FG. It is believed that Captain Drew’s P-47N Thunderbolt, 682, was also named “Detroit Miss”, but there is no definitive photo evidence. In the first photo, there appears to be a reclining pin-up girl with a name above it just below the front of the canopy, but it is hard to make out a name.

The 414th Fighter Group was activated on October 15, 1944, and equipped with P-47’s. Assigned to Twentieth AF, the 414th FG was temporarily stationed on Guam, and attacked objectives in the Truk Islands on July 13th and the 22nd. The group began operations from North Field on Iwo Jima later in July with an attack against the radar station on Chichi Jima. Operations during August were directed primarily against enemy airfields in Japan, but the group also strafed hangars, barracks, ordnance dumps, trains, marshalling yards, and shipping.

Captain Drew ended the war with six aerial victories and one ground victory, all in the ETO.

References:

1. The Mighty Eighth: A History of the U.S. 8th Army Air Force, Roger A. Freeman, Doubleday and Company, Inc. (1970)

2. Fighters of the Mighty Eighth: 1942-1945, William N. Hess and Thomas G. Ivie,

3. 7th Fighter Command Association website: https://www.7thfighter.com/

4. American Air Museum in Britain website: https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/person/urban-l-drew