Henry "Smokey" Yunick - I never knew

[Artful]

I knew of him from his automobile career but didn't know the rest of the story.
A Tribute page had a small blurb...
http://www.hotrod.com/features/histo...ofile-tribute/

One of Smokey’s major contributions to circle track racing was his deep appreciation for and use of aerodynamics.

Smokey’s familiarity with how air affected objects in motion didn’t just happen. Yunick spent the better part of WWII flying heavy bombers over both friendly and unfriendly territory. He survived more than 50 missions in the Balkan theater including 20-plus round-trippers to Ploiesti to blast the Germans’ oil-refining capabilities in Romania.

He also did training and checkout missions over peaceful territory—including a mission over friendly Florida checking out Daytona Beach. Yunick’s new post-war digs weren’t exactly random.

From Smokey's three volume biography:

Smokey joined the Air Corps in '41 as a high school dropout. He took equivalency tests that qualified him as a two year college grad, and he became an aviation cadet.

After the 4 levels of flight school, he was commissioned and assigned to B-17's, as Pilot, never a co pilot. He was always the aircraft commander. He flew missions in No. Africa and then was assigned to the 97th Bomb Wing in Italy.

He flew his first 25 missions with "Smokey Stover" a series of 3 B-17's. Then he was so frightened of being assigned to B-24's in the Pacific, that he volunteered for another 25 missions in Italy.

He also got through those 25, bombing all over Europe....in the meanwhile he got to fly about every aircraft in the inventory; all the fighters, including mosquitos, Hurricanes, Spits, P-38, the Lancaster, etc.

He was then assigned to some special OSS missions and on one raid, he was to drop time delay bombs on Budapest. The Russians screwed up the flares, so he was the first pilot to drop bombs on Russians.

On the way back, his new B-17 was attacked, and over the Adriatic, all gear had to go out to make it back on two engines.

Yunick has been given this special mission by Gen Lemay. There was only one flak suit left before the mission, and Smokey took that one...it was LeMays own special, custom made leather suit........Smokey personally threw the suit out into the Adriatic.

At the end of the Mission, Smokey had to stand tall before a bellowing Lemay and explain where the F* the flight suit was, and why the f* did he bomb the Russians?

Smokey was reassigned to other missions, but what the heck, he had about 70-100 missions in now..........

He then went to fly the Hump into China; very dangerous. he flew c-54's; many missions............

Then he was sent to the Pacific and flew B-29's and on one mission he made it to Manchuria to rescue American POW's. He studiously avoided Lemay while in the Pacific.

Following WWII, Smokey then flew in the Berlin Airlift, flying in coal and food to Berlin.....he got out in '47.

Now Smokey went on to be an auto racing guy, but his war years and war record should have been a much bigger section of his legend than it was.

Smokey has been gone awhile - but he never really got credit for his USAAF contributions.

R.I.P. Smokey

Carrol Shelby, by the way, was a USAAF Major too, an instructor pilot during the war, but never made it out of the country. Carrol and Smokey were friends.

[LynC2]

Very interesting. When I was racing cars in my younger days I certainly knew of him. You are right, his wartime record is what he should be know for as it is far more impressive!