Lieutenant Edwin Wright of the 404th Fighter Group shows off the damage caused by flak to his P-47 Thunderbolt. USAAF a the airfield near Sint-Truiden, Belgium, October 1944.
‘Lt. Lucky’ Edwin Wright, just over 19 years old, returned from his 39th mission over Munster. He got hit by flak but continued on his mission; dropped his bombs, did a spot of strafing and returned. When he got back he found a hole 8″ in diameter through his 11″ diameter prop blade, caused by a direct hit from an ‘ack-ack’ shell. If the shell had deviated an inch and a half on either side, his blade would severed and he would have been brought down. This is the 6th time that Wright has been hit by flak and he is now known as ‘Lucky Wright’ . He has 5 and a half months of combat to his credit ad 39 missions.”
Edwin Wright flew a total of 88 missions in P-47 Thunderbolts over Europe in WWII. He left the Army in 1946 and was again called up for the Korean Conflict in 1950. He retired from the US Air Force as a Major. Edwin Wright passed away in 1959, from lung cancer, age 34.
