Coburn King of Oregon, Missouri bought an airplane and learned to fly after he graduated from Oregon High School in 1928. He eventually became a test pilot for the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in Burbank, California.
He joined the Canadian Air Force in 1940 after World War II broke out in Europe (the U.S. was not yet in the war). His unit was sent to England to help defend it against Germany. King was flying Spitfire fighter planes in the Royal Air Force when he died in combat in 1942.King grew up in the house across the street from the jail on the corner of the south side of Oregon’s square. He was a member of the Oregon High School basketball team that won the state championship in 1928 (Note: There were no school “classes” then – schools large and small competed against each other for the top spot).He was one of 250 Americans who served in Royal Air Force “Eagle Squadrons” manned exclusively by American pilots. King was shot down and killed over the English Channel, so his body was never recovered. Fellow American pilot and famous fighter ace Don Gentile, witnessed King’s death and wrote about it in his book, One Man Air Force.Coburn King is memorialized in the Runnymede War Memorial in Surrey, England, where his name joins those of many others of those who sacrificed their lives to defend freedom during World War II.
He joined the Canadian Air Force in 1940 after World War II broke out in Europe (the U.S. was not yet in the war). His unit was sent to England to help defend it against Germany. King was flying Spitfire fighter planes in the Royal Air Force when he died in combat in 1942.King grew up in the house across the street from the jail on the corner of the south side of Oregon’s square. He was a member of the Oregon High School basketball team that won the state championship in 1928 (Note: There were no school “classes” then – schools large and small competed against each other for the top spot).He was one of 250 Americans who served in Royal Air Force “Eagle Squadrons” manned exclusively by American pilots. King was shot down and killed over the English Channel, so his body was never recovered. Fellow American pilot and famous fighter ace Don Gentile, witnessed King’s death and wrote about it in his book, One Man Air Force.Coburn King is memorialized in the Runnymede War Memorial in Surrey, England, where his name joins those of many others of those who sacrificed their lives to defend freedom during World War II.
Coburn King of Oregon, Missouri bought an airplane and learned to fly after he graduated from Oregon High School in 1928. He eventually became a test pilot for the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in Burbank, California.
He joined the Canadian Air Force in 1940 after World War II broke out in Europe (the U.S. was not yet in the war). His unit was sent to England to help defend it against Germany. King was flying Spitfire fighter planes in the Royal Air Force when he died in combat in 1942.King grew up in the house across the street from the jail on the corner of the south side of Oregon’s square. He was a member of the Oregon High School basketball team that won the state championship in 1928 (Note: There were no school “classes” then – schools large and small competed against each other for the top spot).He was one of 250 Americans who served in Royal Air Force “Eagle Squadrons” manned exclusively by American pilots. King was shot down and killed over the English Channel, so his body was never recovered. Fellow American pilot and famous fighter ace Don Gentile, witnessed King’s death and wrote about it in his book, One Man Air Force.Coburn King is memorialized in the Runnymede War Memorial in Surrey, England, where his name joins those of many others of those who sacrificed their lives to defend freedom during World War II.
He joined the Canadian Air Force in 1940 after World War II broke out in Europe (the U.S. was not yet in the war). His unit was sent to England to help defend it against Germany. King was flying Spitfire fighter planes in the Royal Air Force when he died in combat in 1942.King grew up in the house across the street from the jail on the corner of the south side of Oregon’s square. He was a member of the Oregon High School basketball team that won the state championship in 1928 (Note: There were no school “classes” then – schools large and small competed against each other for the top spot).He was one of 250 Americans who served in Royal Air Force “Eagle Squadrons” manned exclusively by American pilots. King was shot down and killed over the English Channel, so his body was never recovered. Fellow American pilot and famous fighter ace Don Gentile, witnessed King’s death and wrote about it in his book, One Man Air Force.Coburn King is memorialized in the Runnymede War Memorial in Surrey, England, where his name joins those of many others of those who sacrificed their lives to defend freedom during World War II.
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100521
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