Dusty kleiss, the aircraft carrier killer of world war two

Norman had one brother and one sister, Louis D Kleiss — and Katherine — Kleiss accepted an appointment to the United States Naval Academy. Norman graduated in June , standing in his class of graduating midshipmen. Of these, served in World War II. After passing his physical and psychological tests during his time on shore at Norfolk, he reported to Naval Air Station Pensacola for flight training.

After eleven months and not a single crash, he earned his wings on On May 8, Enterpris e set sail for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and upon its arrival, Kleiss and the other pilots began training for war, practicing their navigation, gunnery, and dive bombing in the waters around Hawaii.

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In June, Kleiss was promoted to the rank of lieutenant junior grade. On , Kleiss earned his nickname when he made an unauthorized landing at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa, located on the south shores of Oahu. After serving as the tow-sleeve aircraft during a gunnery exercise, Kleiss landed his SBD in front of the tower, hoping to find a safe field to haul in the tow-sleeve.

After landing, one of his squadron mates, Ensign Cleo John Dobson, told Kleiss that he had seen the whole thing. Kleiss did not encounter any enemy aircraft that day, but he did fly several patrols around his carrier task force and he was involved in a friendly-fire incident on December 8, when several United States destroyers shot at his plane, mistaking it for a Japanese dive bomber.

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Kleiss fought his first battle on , when he accompanied an air strike launched from USS Enterprise. During the battle, Kleiss dropped his wing-bombs on a parked plane at Roi Airfield and later on, he dropped his pound undercarriage bomb on the light cruiser Katori. There, they bombed several structures. Richard Halsey Best survived the war and died on , at the age of 91, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery and John Warren Snowden also survived the war and died in juni age