In early 1940, 21 year-old Andrew E. Krieger Jr. was studying law at Cornell University, but decided
to leave school to join the Army Air Corps and was sent to Parks Air College in St. Louis, Illinois for
primary flying training in May of 1940. The following two images, taken from the June 1st, 1940 issue of the
Air Corps Newsletter, show that he was one of 459 cadets to begin training at civilian contract schools
that May, and one of 45 sent to Parks Air College. These 459 cadets comprised AAC Class 40-H.
From: 'Air Corps Newsletter Vol. XXIV No.11' via Google Books
From: 'Air Corps Newsletter Vol. XXIV No.11' via Google Books
This aerial view of Parks Air College and Curtiss Steinberg Airport is an official USAAC
photo taken on February 5th, 1940. The Saint Louis University caption reads:
"Aerial view of Parks Air College and airfield, looking toward the west and the Mississippi River."
Saint Louis University Libraries Digital Collections -
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This photo, taken at Parks in July of 1939, shows Air Corps flying cadets with several
Stearman PT-13 Kaydets, the type operated by the school during Andy's time there.
Saint Louis University Libraries Digital Collections -
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(Courtesy of Ed Sutorious)
Another view showing Air Corps cadets lined up for inspection with four PT-13s
out front of the hangars at Parks on November 14th, 1939.
Saint Louis University Libraries Digital Collections -
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After ten weeks of Primary at Parks, Andy went to Randolph Field, Texas in either late
July or early August for ten weeks of basic flying training with the North American BT-9.
A BT-9 from Randolph Field, January 1941.
LIFE Photo Collection (Dmitri Kessel photo) -
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In October of 1940 Andy progressed to the final stage of his pilot training, and was
sent to the Advanced Flying School at Kelly Field, Texas for another ten weeks of
instruction. During his time at Kelly, Andy flew the North American BC-1.
A five-ship of North American BC-1s from Kelly Field.
Here's some color footage showing BC-1s at Kelly Field in 1940.
Filmed by Harry L. Barr, Jr. via Mike Barr
Flying Cadet Krieger, Class of 40-H, in the cockpit of a BC-1 at Kelly Field.
A.E. Krieger Jr. Family
By the time of graduation on December 20th, 1940, Class 40-H had been reduced to just
270 from the 459 who entered primary training at the contract schools the previous May.
Of these 270 newly commissioned 2nd Lieutenants, about 125 were assigned as instructors
for the USAAC's rapidly expanding pilot training program and 24 were sent as part of an
exchange program to Pan American Airlines. The rest were sent overseas, including Andy.
He was assigned to the 3rd Pursuit Squadron which was at the time attached to the
4th Composite Group and based at Nichols Field near Manila in the Philippines.
When Andy reported for duty with the 3rd Pursuit Squadron in the Philippines, the outfit was
equipped with the Seversky/Republic P-35A. This photo shows six 3rd PS P-35As and a single
Boeing P-26 at Nichols Field during the Summer of 1941. The 3rd PS would later move to Iba Field.
From: 'They Fought With What They Had' by Walter D. Edmonds via Wikipedia -
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2nd Lieutenant Andrew E. Krieger Jr. with a P-35A at Nichols Field, Summer 1941.
P-35As taxi across the grass at Iba Field, late 1941. Such idyllic settings as shown here
belied the reality of duty in the Philippines; from creature comforts, to spares and equipment
to keep the aircraft in commission, they were short of nearly everything. The heat, humidity,
and all that came with it, including rampant mold infestations and fungal infections, didn't help
any. One pilot wrote his wife, "All I want to do is finish my time here, leave, and get home."
From: 'Pacific War Eagles in Original Color' by Jeff Ethell & Warren Bodie (George Armstrong photo) -
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Another difficulty... incessant rains, especially during the Philippines' rainy season,
often created less than ideal operating conditions, as this shot of a P-35A trailing
a long cloud of mist while landing at water-logged Iba Field illustrates.
None of the Army's pilots was immune to 'oopsies'... while still at Nichols Field, Andy
was involved in an accident on May 27th, 1941. I currently have no information about the
circumstances of the incident, except that it took place while he was landing at Nichols.
Here's the listing for the incident in an online accident database.
Aviation Archaeological Investigation & Research Website
In late 1941 the 3rd Pursuit Squadron converted from the P-35A to the Curtiss P-40E.
This is the type of aircraft in which Andy would see combat against the Japanese.
For most Americans, Pearl Harbor is the first thing that comes to mind during discussion of the USA's
entry into the Second World War; often forgotten or overlooked is the Japanese assault on the Philippines
which began soon thereafter. On December 8th (Philippines time, December 7th in Hawaii) Andy was at
Iba Field with the 3rd Pursuit Squadron and was in the thick of it from the get-go. Look
HERE for an excerpt
from the book 'They Fought With What They Had' that includes an account of his experiences that day.
This map shows the locations of airfields and squadrons of the US Army's newly organized
Far East Air Force on the island of Luzon in the Philippines when the USA entered the war.
From: 'They Fought With What They Had' by Walter D. Edmonds
After that first hectic day of war in the Philippines, the second, December 9th, was uneventful so far as
Andy was concerned; he flew patrols all day without encountering the enemy. But the third day was quite
a bit different; as Andy put it, that day was "exciting enough to last in my memory for a long time".
Look
HERE
for a narrative describing the air battle in which Andy participated that day.
Many P-40s were lost on that third day of war. Some were shot down, and some simply ran out of gas
when their pilots, returning from an hours-long standing patrol in defense of Nichols Field, decided
to attempt interception of Japanese bombers despite being critically low on fuel. Several of these
pilots, including Andy, had enough gas for only ten minutes of flying... or less. In the end, Andy
was forced to bail out of his ship, and under quite dramatic circumstances, too. But other pilots
were more fortunate in being able to bring their ships down relatively intact in forced landings.
Scenes such as this one, showing an abandoned P-40E at Nichols Field, stripped of her guns
and other salvageable equipment, became increasingly common as the campaign in the Philippines
wore on. This photo was taken after the Japanese had captured Nichols in January of 1942.
The rest of Andy's experiences in the Philippines are described in a lengthy letter he wrote to his father
Colonel A. Edward Krieger Sr., after reaching Melbourne, Australia in April of 1942. Among the many things he
relates in that letter are his near-demise and the loss of a squadron-mate during a bombing attack on Nielson
Field near Manila, continued air combat in the face of insurmountable odds, jungle-combat as an infantryman,
and, finally, those last dark days ending with the fall of Bataan. You can read the entire letter
HERE.
Here's an article from the July 4th, 1942 issue of the
Buffalo Courier Express that was based on the aforementioned letter.
Fulton History via Jenifer Krieger Johnson
After evacuating to Australia in April of 1942, Andy apparently took part in the fighting for
New Guinea. Unfortunately, I currently have no information concerning his activities at that time,
have no idea how long he remained in theater, and am not even sure which outfit(s) he may have
flown with. More digging is required, and this page will be updated upon discovery of new info.
Now at the rank of Major, Andy's next assignment was with the 356th Fighter Group in England, from
September of 1943 to May of 1944. He flew with the 360th Fighter Squadron, racking up 39 missions,
and served as the Group S-3, Operations Officer. He is shown here, far right in the top row.
Roderick Lowe via The Morning Call
Martlesham Heath, home to the 356th Fighter Group during the Second World War.
American Air Museum in Britain (Roger Freeman Collection) -
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Original, full-size image HERE
Republic P-47D Thunderbolt, serial number 42-76294... though shown here while
named 'Dear Alean', coded 'PI-F', and assigned to Capt. Lester F. Kress, this 'Jug' was
also at one time assigned to Andy, named 'Fancy Nancy', and coded 'PI-K'.
After his time with the 356th FG, Andy returned to the USA and was assigned to duty with the
Army Air Forces School (formerly the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics) at Orlando AAB,
Florida. In November of 1945, the AAF School moved to Maxwell Field, Alabama and was renamed as
the Air University. At some point during his time at Maxwell, Andy was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.
He remained at Maxwell until 1950-51 when he was given the job of Deputy for Research and
Development, 11th Air Division (Defense) at Ladd Air Force Base, Alaska.
By then a full 'Bird Colonel', Andy was in charge of cold-weather testing of aircraft and eqquipment at
Ladd. He wrote an article about it that appeared in the Summer 1954 issue of Air University Quarterly Review.
From 1955 to 1958, Andy served at the Pentagon, but I have no specific information as to what he did
there. Similarly, I have no info regarding his next assignment at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, only that
he was involved in the development of some sort of missile systems and that he retired at Wright-Patt.
Many pilots rising in the ranks will find themselves spending more time behind a desk than
in the cockpit of an airplane. But most try to take a hop regularly to maintain currency,
and Colonel Krieger was no exception, maintaining his flight status throughout his entire
career, according to his daughter Jenifer. He's seen here in the cockpit of a Northrop
T-38 Talon at Wright-Patterson AFB in 1963 on the occasion of one of those flights.
