The story of a New York pilot Joe McCarthy is truly inspiring. It is full of courage, resilience and determination. He heroically passed the Second World War and took part in one of the largest operations to attack German dams. Read more on new-york-yes.com.
Career as a pilot
Joe McCarthy was born in 1919. He grew up in the suburbs of New York and from an early age dreamed of becoming a pilot. As a teenager, McCarthy came a little closer to his dream. Thus, he worked as a lifeguard at Coney Island. There he learned to fly. Shortly before the United States entered World War II, 22-year-old McCarthy enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force.
He quickly climbed the military career ladder and became a lieutenant in 1942. During his time in the Royal Air Force, he flew a variety of aircraft including the Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire.
Participation in the battles of the Second World War
Despite his young age, McCarthy was very good at flying. He was a born pilot. During 1941-1943, McCarthy took part in thirty bombing raids on Nazi Germany. Three bombings were carried out directly over Berlin.
However, the most famous bombing involving the legendary New York pilot happened in 1943. The Chastise was one of the greatest operations in which McCarthy participated. The Royal Canadian Air Force aimed to attack German dams. Pilot McCarthy of the 617th Squadron of the RAF Bomber Command destroyed the German dams with the help of bouncing bombs. McCarthy flew the T-Tommy in the second bombing wave. His bomb hit the dam but did not destroy it. Operation Chastise led to catastrophic consequences. The Ruhr valley and several villages in the Eder valley were completely flooded. The dam itself was not damaged by the bombing but two hydroelectric plants were destroyed and some were damaged. Ruhr factories and mines were partially destroyed. In addition, more than 1,600 civilians, 600 Germans and about 1,000 enslaved people from the USSR died as a result of the RAF bombing.
For his participation in the successful air operation, McCarthy was awarded:
- Distinguished Flying Cross
- Distinguished Service Order
- Bar
After the end of the Second World War, McCarthy lived for some time in England. There he worked as an aircraft tester. In addition, he experienced jet aircraft there for the first time. Also in the 1940s and 1950s, McCarthy worked as:
- a base executive officer at the NATO base in France
- the head of the Test and Development Establishment in Canada.
He held various positions in different parts of the world. In the mid-1960s he returned to his native America, where he worked for several years in planning and policy for the United States Navy‘s Commander-in-Chief, US Atlantic Fleet at Naval Station Norfolk.
McCarthy was an outstanding pilot and military leader. He went through a difficult path, fought in many combat missions of the Second World War and is rightfully considered one of the world’s legendary pilots.
McCarthy spent the last years of his life in the USA, in the city of Virginia Beach. The legendary pilot’s heart stopped beating in 1998. McCarthy was 79 years old.
An interesting fact about McCarthy and his participation in Operation Chastise is that in 1955, The Dam Busters movie was made about it. His name was only mentioned in the film, which mostly focuses on the first wave of the German dams bombing.
