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Ernest Bankey
Summary
Ernest Edward Bankey Jr. (August 28, 1920 – June 10, 2009) was an American World War II flying ace credited with 9.5 aerial victories. He was also an ace in a day, and rose to the rank of colonel in the United States Air Force.
Bankey was born on August 28, 1920, in Cleveland, Ohio, and was raised in Toledo, Ohio. It was during his youth that he began his interest in planes. He began building model planes from the age of eight. He also won the Soap Box Derby twice, in 1935 and 1936.
Bankey joined the Army Air Corps at Fort Hayes, Columbus, Ohio, on April 1, 1941.
As a staff sergeant, he taught aerial gunnery techniques in Las Vegas, while awaiting acceptance into Air Cadet School to start pilot training. In July 1943, Bankey gained his commission and pilot wings as part of class 43G at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona. He did his preliminary training in a Stearman PT-13 at Tulare, California, his basic training in a BT-13 Valiant in Modesto, California and advanced training in a T-6 Texan in Phoenix, Arizona.
As a second lieutenant, he joined 383rd Fighter Squadron. His first combat posting was to England with the 364th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force, in February 1944. He was reassigned to the 385th Fighter Squadron.
On December 27, 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge and whilst flying over the Bonn area of Germany, Bankey shot down five enemy planes and shared another. This earned him the designation of "ace in a day". He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Distinguished Unit Citation for this sortie. He compiled over 100 sorties and 500 combat hours in two tours of duty. Banks is credited with 9.5 air-to-air kills.
After the war, he returned to the United States, left active duty and joined the Air Force Reserve on April 18, 1946. Bankey was recalled to active duty beginning on March 15, 1953, and then completed Pilot Refresher Training at Graham AB, Florida, followed by Instructor Pilot School at Craig AFB, Alabama.
Bankey served as an instructor pilot and operations officer before serving at the U.
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