Roman Ohnemus · Digital Story

Planes Roman Flew

A career that stretched far beyond the B-25 — training planes, transports, and jets, told in his own words.

Planes Roman Flew

Most of Roman's stories on this site center on the B-25 and the Pacific — this one is a rundown of everything else he flew, across a career that ran well past the end of the war.

He trained on the Ryan PT-22 at Hemet Field, California, then moved through the BT-13 and AT-17 in basic training before advancing to the B-25 — the aircraft he flew in combat. After returning from the Pacific, he was sent to Florence, South Carolina, to instruct in the B-26 (a Douglas aircraft originally designated the A-26). He also flew the C-47 (a military DC-3) and the C-54, both transport planes, and logged a few hours in the B-45 jet bomber.

Roman then flew the T-6 Texan, an advanced trainer, out of active service and into the reserves, based at March Field in Riverside, California. His reserve unit flew the B-26 — and was called up for Korea shortly after he'd left it for a different assignment, following advanced twin-engine instructor training in Waco, Texas.

"They lost just about all their airplanes and all their pilots over there, so it was fortunate for me that I was called up and went into a different section before they were called up."

Once he was called back to active duty himself, Roman flew the T-33 jet and the T-28 advanced trainer — the two planes he calls the main ones from that later chapter — along with, by his own recollection, a few hours each in the C-124 and the C-119.

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