branch birth_place allegiance awards battles birth_date nickname rank article_title name
united states army air corps conshohocken , pennsylvania united states of america fighter ace '' ` world war ii '' ' september 8 , 1921 frank lt. colonel david thwaites -lrb- flying ace -rrb-
 david f. thwaites
david thwaites -lrb- flying ace -rrb-

david f. thwaites was an aviator in the united states army air corps during world war ii .
he became a fighter ace piloting the p-47 thunderbolt as a member of the 361st fighter squadron of the 356th fighter group .
thwaites , based out of raf martlesham heath in england was the second highest scoring pilot in his squadron , with six confirmed victories and the only pilot of the 356th fg to score all of his victories while serving with the group .
he scored his victories using three different p-47s however he nicknamed them all `` polly '' .
following the completion of his tour in september 1944 he returned to the united states and became an instructor .
following the surrender of germany , thwaites was stationed in germany and on august 19 , 1946 , while a member of the 396th fighter squadron/368th fighter group , his p-47 thunderbolt was involved in an aerial collision in the vicinity of borkum .
