[Herbert B. Hatch, Jr. oral history interview]

Fighter ace Herbert B. “Stub” Hatch, Jr. discusses his military service with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot, including his time in the Mediterranean Theater with the 71st Fighter Squadron of the 1st Fighter Group. Special focus on a dive-bombing mission against an oil refinery in Ploiești, Romania on June 10, 1944. During the mission, Hatch scored several aerial victories and became “an ace in a day.”

Herbert B. “Stub” Hatch, Jr. was born on May 23, 1918 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He joined the United States Army Air Forces in 1942 and graduated from flight training the following year. Deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, Hatch served with the 71st Fighter Squadron of the 1st Fighter Group, based in Foggia, Italy. He became “an ace in day” on June 10, 1944, when he shot down five enemy aircraft during a dogfight over Romania. Hatch left the military after the war and, in his civilian life, operated a Chevrolet dealership in northern California. He passed away in 2002.