Trained for Combat

Col. Allen J. Diefendorf (Dief) spent 33 years flying aircraft first for the Army Air Corps, and then for the United States Air Force. He flew combat missions in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Included among his accomplishments are leading an attack on von Rundstedt’s castle headquarters in the waning days of WWII, and causing an international incident in 1950 when he and another F-80 pilot attacked a Soviet airfield during the Korean War.

Dief’s interest in flying began while growing up in the small village of Silver Creek, New York. On Sundays, his father would take young Allen and his brother Charles to the Buffalo airport, among other destinations, so that they could see the rows of P-40 Warhawk aircraft that the huge Curtiss-Wright plant manufactured. Bell Aircraft would soon move in and begin to turn out the P-39 Airacobra.

On Sunday, December 7, 1941, Dief was at home working on a homework assignment (he was a senior in high school), when he heard a newsflash saying that Pearl Harbor had been attacked by Japanese forces. Enduring the remainder of the 1941-1942 school year was tough, knowing that the nation was at war. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was sworn in in November 1942.

When it was time to report, Dief was bused to Ft. Niagara, a large replacement depot. He decided to try for the Aviation
Cadet Program, passed the tests, and was accepted. Soon after, he boarded a train to the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center in Texas. There was no flying at San Antonio, but there was a lot of physical training (PT), class time, close order drill and more PT.

Upon graduation, Dief boarded a troop train and headed to Cimarron Field, Oklahoma. Cimarron Field, like many others
of its kind, was a civilian flying school with contracts with the U.S. government. The instructors were civilians with military supervisors. The aircraft were Fairchild PT-19 tandem trainers with about 175 horsepower.

Primary instruction was eight weeks, the time frame now being April-May, 1943. Dief learned the controls, airspeed control, and wind adjustments. At any time, the instructor would shout over the intercom tube, “Forced landing!” Dief would have to pick out a suitable field and set up a pattern to set down. This occurred on about every fifth flight. . . .