M.218 First Officer  Robert Harris Vinson 
 flag usa b. 7 Oct 1916, Chicago, IL  3 Dec 1940 to 19 Oct 1941 

   ATA

     

 

Father: George Elbert Vinson, a 'Contractor', Mother: Minnie [Lee Boyd]

Ed. High School, Madisonville, KY

m. Ruby Mae [Nagel]

prev. Lieut. in US Army Air Corps 1935-39; Flying Instructor

prev. exp. 1200 hrs

Address in 1940: 717 South Seminary St, Madisonville, KY

  Draft Card, dated 16 Oct 1940

"Mr Vinson is the steady type, capable of maintaining a given course on instruments, and recovering in unusual positions" - Flight Test in Toronto, Jan 1940

Travelled from St. Johns to Liverpool on the SS 'Nova Scotia' with fellow pilots Omar William Crim, Kenneth Douglas, Kenneth Seeds, Edmund Jarrett and Edwin Whittington.


 Postings: 1FPP

 Suspended from flying duteis without pay from 24 to 31 Mar 1941 for "shooting up Maidenhead"

2 accidents, both his fault :

- 5 Jan 1941, a forced landing in a Mohawk after he "entered the area of violent thunderstorms"

- 2 Sep 1941, a wheels-up landing in Spitfire - he "failed to go through landing drill" (i.e. he forgot to lower the undercarriage)

 

"A most excellent pilot in every way. Very keen and hard working & a fine influence on the Pool"


Sailed to Montreal in October 1941 with fellow US airmen Donald Annibal, Robert Olyn Gragg., George Wood, Roy Wimmer, Claude Cole (all ATA) and Louis Brosmer

He offered to help to assess prospective ATA pilots in Montreal (especially as he hoped he could take his wife there, which he had been told was "next to impossible" in England), but the ATA had already made other arrangements.

 US Army 9 Jun 1942 to 29 Jan 1946

   Carlsbad Current-Argus, 25 Nov 1957

 

d. 4 Sep 1983 - Marshall, KY

 


Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file):download grey

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