Colonel

Dale Orville Smith

Commanding Officer

Nov. 1943 - Oct. 1944

384th Bombardment Group (Heavy)

 

Serial Nr O-19465

 

Missions credited - 25

Flew 24 missions as Commander, and one mission as Tail Gunner.

 

Colonel Dale Orville Smith was the third commanding officer of the 384th Bomb Group, and assumed command of the group on November 23, 1943. Smith flew 24 combat missions with the 384th as a commander, one combat mission as a tail gunner, and one non-combat mission as a pilot.

In 1934, in flight school, Smith was training on Curtiss A-3 Falcons, but being 6 foot, 7 inches tall, he had trouble operating the rudders. He did not let his height deter him, and kept flying and training in all different kinds of planes. After completing flight school, Smith was assigned to Hamilton Field in California where he was among a group of officers who helped develop the Norden Bombsight.

In 1938, Smith was assigned to the 2nd Bomb Group where he was a pilot, and later a squadron commander. By 1943, Smith had worked his way up to Assistant Chief of Staff of the Army Air Forces Anti-Submarine Command. Later, in 1943, he was assigned to the 384th Bomb Group and took command of the group from Col. Julius K. Lacey.

For his time with the 384th alone, Smith was awarded the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross with three Clusters, and the Croix de Guerre with Palm. While under Smith's command, the 384th Bomb Group earned the Distinguished Unit Citation twice.

Smith remained with the 384th Bomb Group until November of 1944, when he worked as Chief of the Bombardment Branch at the Pentagon.

Smith had a long and impressive career in the Air Force and eventually retired in 1964 as a Major General. Later in life, Smith also authored two books. Screaming Eagle: Memoirs of a B-17 Group Commander and Cradle of Valor: The Intimate Letters of a Plebe at West Point Between the Two World Wars.

Smith had at least two children, and many grandchildren, and lived to be 86 years old.

The 384th aircraft "Voan" is named after one of his children, and the aircraft "Elise" is named after his wife. "Voan" was one of the group's Century Bombers, and flew 123 combat missions. "Elise" was shot down on its eighth combat mission.

Colonel Smith helped "keep the show on the road" and he is not forgotten.

Research courtesy of Mikayla Leech on behalf of 384^th Bombardment Group Museum

Photos courtesy of the 384th Bomb group website, and information courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group website, Find a Grave, and the Official United States Air Force Website