|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art and Artists Modern Era Pilot Signatures United States D to L  Kearns, William |
[UP] - Day, George - DeCarlo, Jeff - Dietz, William - Driscoll, Willie - Ferraro, Jan - Fisher, Bernard - Floyd, Howard - Foster, Hook - Gabreski, Gabby - Gilliland, Robert - Goldfein, Dave - Graham, Richard - Hartmann, Jack - Hearn, Chris - Heller, Edwin - Hunt, Pete - Jerakis, John - Kane, John - Kearns, William - Kittinger, Joe - Knight, William - Lafferty, Daniel - Lane, Mike |
Lt William Kearns USN
Bill Kearns was born in Lexington, Massachusetts in 1924. At the outbreak of WW 11 Bill was living in Panama where his father was Chief Engineer for the 15 h Navy District. Bill decided to join the Navy as an Aviation Cadet. Within a year he had earned his wings and was commissioned at Corpus Christi, Texas. He was assigned to the Pacific where he served as a replacement pilot for F6F carrier-based squadrons. After the War Bill served as a flight instructor at Corpus Christi. Applying for a commission in the regular Navy, Bill was transferred to Florida for training in twin-engine seaplanes. Following his training he was assigned to Fleet Airwing Five based in Norfolk, as a co-pilot of a PBM-5 Mariner. Kearns volunteered for Operation Nanook, a six month assignment to the Arctic, where he flew numerous exploration missions. Upon his return, Bill was made aware of Admiral Byrd's large expedition to the Antarctic, Operation High Jump. Volunteering for the expedition, which was the largest exploration expedition ever mounted, Bill was assigned to the USS Pine Island as a PBM co-pilot. Bill was onboard George-1 when it crashed in terrible weather. Flying in white out conditions, and with the aircraft heavily burdened with ice, the PBM gradually lost both speed and altitude. Bouncing off a mountain pass, some of the PBM's fuel tanks were ruptured. This resulted in an explosion with Kearns literally being blown out of the burning aircraft. Despite being seriously injured in the crash, Kearns braved the fire in the wreckage of his PBM to rescue his pilot, Frenchy LeBlanc. Although three died in the crash, the six survivors managed to survive horrific conditions for fourteen days until they were spotted by another Mariner piloted by Lt. Jimmy Ball. Following his rescue Kearns spent several months in the US Navy Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. He attended Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service after leaving the Navy. He became a Washington correspondent for several magazines including Time. Later he served in a number of overseas assignments, retiring from the company as head of its Latin American Division. Kearn retired to Florida with his wife. The Kearns have six children, and fifteen grandchildren. On of Bill's sons carried on in aviation, retiring from the Air Force as a Colonel, having served as a pilot of Air Force One.
| Lt William Kearns USN - Signed Aviation Art |
|
| Text for the above items : |
Antarctic Mayday by Stan Stokes. In 1946 Admiral Richard Byrd lead a 4,000-man mission to Antarctica to map the continent. This was the fourth of Byrds polar explorations, and his most ambitious. The expedition was named, Operation High Jump. One of the ships involved was the USS Pine Island, a PBM seaplane tender under the command of H.H. Caldwell. The three PBMs of the Pine Island were given the task of photo mapping the eastern side of the Antarctic continent, and the ship had moved as far south as possible to establish a base of operations. The ship anchored on the leeward side of a huge iceberg to provide a suitable area for the launch and recovery of the PBMs. The first flight was made by George-1 on December 30, 1946 without incident. The second flight of this aircraft with a different crew would prove to be a life and death struggle. Under the command of Ralph Frenchy LeBlanc, co-piloted by Bill Kearns, and with Captain Caldwell aboard as an observer, the second flight of George-1 began under hazardous sea conditions and at times near zero visibility conditions due to snowstorms. The aircraft was approximately 200 miles from the coast. Because of the bad visibility Kearns was preparing to execute a 180 degree turn and return to the Pine Island, when George-1 crashed into a giant snowdrift. The aircraft was ripped apart by the crash, and a fire began almost immediately. Three of the nine on board perished in the crash. LeBlanc was pulled from the burning cockpit by Jim Robbins and some of the other survivors, none of which were without some injury. The six survivors of George-1 now faced an indeterminate amount of time before any rescue might be possible. Fortunately, the six survivors showed solid American ingenuity, and went about the business of surviving and caring for the injured in the best way possible. With no working radio, the group had no way of knowing if help would ever reach them. It would be 13-days before the survivors would be spotted by the pilot of George-2 Jimmy Ball. Balls crew spotted a signal fire which the survivors had ignited when the second Mariner passed within several miles of the crash site. George-2 dropped supplies for the survivors and a message that a pick-up might be possible if the group could move about six miles to the coast. The trek was not easy, but the survivors finally made it and were picked up by George-3. This limited edition by Stan Stokes is dedicated to the memory of the three men who did not survive the crash; Max Lopez, W.K. Hendersin, and F.W. Williams, and to the commander of George-1, the late Frenchy LeBlanc. Frenchy lost both his legs as a result of the tragedy, but maintained a determination and a sense of humor which has both inspired and motivated the survivors of this Antarctic Mayday for the fifty years which have passed since that fateful day in 1946. |
| Lt William Kearns USN Aircraft details |
 Hellcat Manufacturer : Grumman Built : 12000 | Hellcat The Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat was to become the US Navys primary carrier borne fighter plane during World War II. Over 12,000 Hellcats were produced, and the Hellcat was credited with 4,947 of the 6,477 kills of enemy planes downed by carrier pilots during the War. The Hellcat had a top speed of 375 MPH, a range of 1,089 miles and was armed with six machine guns. The aircraft was powered by an 18-cylinder Pratt and Whitney, air-cooled, radial engine which generated 2,000 horsepower. |
 PBM | PBM No profile available |
| Lt William Kearns USN Squadron details |
|
Contact Details |
Sign Up To Our Newsletter!
This website is owned by Cranston Fine Arts. Torwood House, Torwoodhill Road, Rhu, Helensburgh, Scotland, G848LE Contact: Tel: (+44) (0) 1436 820269. Email: cranstonorders -at- outlook.com
|
