Pearl harbor fighter pilot 1st Lt. Samuel W. Bishop poses for a photo with a P-40B Tomahawk. Dec. 1942
Lt. Bishop was one of 3 pilots from the 44th FS on station at Bellows Field on Oʻahu on the morning of December 7th, 1941.
All three pilots attempted to get their P-40s into the air that morning.
2nd Lt. Hans C. Christiansen was strafed and killed while climbing into the cockpit.
2nd Lt. George A. Whiteman came under fire during take-off, although he managed to get into the air, his plane was hit and burst into flames before crashing at the end of the runway, ground crew attempted to save Whiteman, but he did not survive.
1st Lt. Samuel W. Bishop got his P-40 into the air. He was directly behind Whiteman on the runway and witnessed the crash.
He kept the trigger held down on takeoff as Japanese planes flew over him. After retracting the gear, he kept low over the water, trying to gain speed, but he was quickly shot up by Zeros.
Bishop was able to ditch his badly damaged P-40 in the ocean about half a mile offshore and despite suffering a bullet wound to his leg, he was able to swim back to shore.
Bishop was awarded the Silver Star for his actions.
His Citation reads -
"The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to First Lieutenant Samuel W. Bishop, United States Army Air Forces, for gallantry in action while serving with the 44th Pursuit Squadron, 18th Pursuit Group, at Bellows Field and over the Island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, and waters adjacent thereto, on 7 December 1941. When surprised by a heavy air attack by Japanese Forces on Bellows Field and the vicinity, and while under fire, First Lieutenant Bishop attempted to take off to engage the enemy, and in so doing was wounded and his plane so badly damaged that he was forced to make a crash landing in the waters nearby, and though wounded managed to swim ashore. Lieutenant Bishop's initiative, presence of mind, coolness under fire against overwhelming odds in his first battle, and determined action contributed to a large extent toward driving off this sudden enemy air attack."