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Tom Killefer No Photo Available Died : 16 / 6 / 1996

Lieutenant Tom Killefer (deceased) Born in Los Angeles and raised in Hermosa Beach, Killefer attended Stanford University, where he played varsity baseball and was elected student body president. He earned his law degree at Harvard and was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University in England. Tom Killefer joined the navy in 1941, and was posted to his first operational squadron, VF-18, first seeing combat in October 1943. He flew 58 combat missions, scoring 4 victories, and a number of unconfirmed probables. Like all navy pilots he had a large number of deck landings, and saw action in the North Atlantic and Pacific theaters. Flying the F4F and F4U he took part in the great air battles over Bougainville and the massive campaign against Rabaul. Tom Killefer earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Navy Air Medal and a Purple Heart. Sadly Tom Killefer died at the age of 79 on Sunday 16th June 1996 in Portola Valley, California.

Items Signed by Lieutenant Tom Killefer (deceased)

	The Jolly Rogers by Nicolas Trudgian. Price : £350.00	With its macabre skull and crossbones insignia, and a reputation for total disdain of authority, VF-17 arrived in the Pacific with a variety of nicknames ranging from the Irregulars to the Cast-offs, but under the dynamic leadership of their Squadro......
	The Jolly Rogers by Nicolas Trudgian. (Y) Price : £320.00	With its macabre skull and crossbones insignia, and a reputation for total disdain of authority, VF-17 arrived in the Pacific with a variety of nicknames ranging from the Irregulars to the Cast-offs, but under the dynamic leadership of their Squadro......

Packs with at least one item featuring the signature of Lieutenant Tom Killefer (deceased)

	Corsair Naval Fighter Aviation Art Collectors Pack. Pack Price : £530.00 Saving : £400	Aviation Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : The Jolly Rogers by Nicolas Trudgian. Angels of Okinawa by Stan Stokes. The Black Sheep by Nicolas Trudgian (B) Valley Forge Fly-By by Ivan Berryman.
	F4U Corsair Art Prints by Nicolas Trudgian and Stan Stokes. Pack Price : £415.00 Saving : £185	Aviation Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : The Jolly Rogers by Nicolas Trudgian. Angels of Okinawa by Stan Stokes.
	WW2 Corsair Naval Aviation Prints by Nicolas Trudgian. Pack Price : £450.00 Saving : £340	Aviation Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : The Jolly Rogers by Nicolas Trudgian. The Black Sheep by Nicolas Trudgian (B)

Lieutenant Tom Killefer (deceased)

Squadrons for : Lieutenant Tom Killefer (deceased)
A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by Lieutenant Tom Killefer (deceased). A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name.
Squadron	Info
VF-18 Country : US Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of VF-18	VF-18 Full profile not yet available.

Aircraft for : Lieutenant Tom Killefer (deceased)
A list of all aircraft associated with Lieutenant Tom Killefer (deceased). A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Squadron	Info
Corsair Click the name above to see prints featuring Corsair aircraft. Manufacturer : Chance-Vought Production Began : 1940 Number Built : 12000	Corsair The Chance-Vought F4U Corsair was arguably the finest naval aviation fighter of its era. Work on this design dates to 1938 and was headed-up by Voughts Chief Engineer, Rex Biesel. The initial prototype was powered by an 1800-HP Pratt & Whitney double Wasp radial engine. This was the third Vought aircraft to carry the Corsair name. The graceful and highly recognizable gull-wing design of the F4U permitted the aircraft to utilize a 13-foot, three-blade, Hamilton Standard propeller, while not having to lengthen the landing gear. Because of the rigors of carrier landings, this was a very important design consideration. Folding wings were also required for carrier operations. The F4U was thirty feet long, had a wingspan of 41 feet and an empty weight of approximately 7,500 pounds. Another interesting feature was the way the F4Us gear rotated 90 degrees, so it would lay flush within the wing when in the up position. In 1939 the Navy approved the design, and production commenced. The Corsair utilized a new spot welding process on its all aluminum fuselage, giving the aircraft very low drag. To reduce weight, fabric-covered outer wing sections and control surfaces were fitted. In May of 1940 the F4U made its maiden flight. Although a number of small bugs were discovered during early flight tests, the Corsair had exceptional performance characteristics. In October of 1940 the prototype F4U was clocked at 405-MPH in a speed test. The initial production Corsairs received an upgraded 2,000-HP radial giving the bird a top speed of about 425-MPH. The production models also differed from the prototype in having six, wing-mounted, 0.5 caliber machine guns. Another change was a shift of the cockpit about three feet further back in the fuselage. This latter change unfortunately made naval aviators wary of carrier landings with the F4U, due to its limited forward visibility during landings. Other concerns were expressed regarding a severe port wing drop at landing speeds and a tendency of the aircraft to bounce off a carrier deck. As a result, the F4U was initially limited to land-based USMC squadrons. Vought addressed several of these problems, and the Royal Navy deserves credit for perfecting an appropriate landing strategy for the F4U. They found that if the carrier pilot landed the F4U while making a sweeping left turn with the port wing down, that sufficient visibility was available to make a safe landing. With a kill ratio of 11 -to- 1 in WW 11 combat, the F4U proved superior in the air to almost every opposing aircraft it encountered. More than 12,000 F4Us were built and fortunately a few dozen remain in flyable condition to this date.
Wildcat Click the name above to see prints featuring Wildcat aircraft.	Wildcat F4F

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