On December 7, 1941, Kleiss's squadron, Scouting Six, became engaged with Japanese fighters during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, losing six pilots and gunners. Dobson joked, "Welcome aboard, Dusty!" For the remainder of his career in the Navy, Kleiss went by that nickname. After landing, one of his squadron mates, Ensign Cleo Dobson, told Kleiss that he had seen the whole thing. The tower control operator called over the radio, "Unknown dust cloud, who the hell are you?" Without responding, Kleiss took off for Naval Air Station Ford Island, hoping that no one had identified his plane. Unexpectedly, his plane's prop blast churned up a giant cloud of red dust, preventing two squadrons of Marine Corps fighter planes from landing on the runway. After serving as the tow-sleeve aircraft during a gunnery exercise, Kleiss landed his SBD in front of the tower, hoping to find a safe field to haul in the tow-sleeve. On May 27, 1941, Kleiss earned his nickname when he made an unauthorized landing at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa, located on the south shores of Oahu. In June, Kleiss was promoted to the rank of lieutenant (junior grade). On May 8, Enterprise set sail for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and upon its arrival, Kleiss and the other pilots began training for war, practicing their navigation, gunnery, and dive bombing in the waters around Hawaii. Kleiss and the other Scouting Six pilots flew the Douglas SBD Dauntless Dive Bomber, a two-seat scout-bomber designed by Edward Heinemann. After eleven months and not a single crash, he earned his wings on April 27, 1941.Īfter graduation from flight school, Kleiss was assigned to Scouting Squadron Six (VS-6), the scout-bombing squadron assigned to USS Enterprise (CV-6). After passing his physical and psychological tests during his time on shore at Norfolk, he reported to Naval Air Station Pensacola for flight training. From June 1938 to April 1940, Ensign Kleiss served on board three ships: USS Vincennes (CA-44), USS Goff (DD-247), and USS Yarnall (DD-143). Of these, 421 served in World War II.Īt the time of Kleiss's graduation, the United States Navy restricted academy graduates from attending flight training for two years, requiring them to first serve in the surface fleet. He graduated in June 1938, standing 245 in his class of 438 graduating midshipmen. In 1934, Kleiss accepted an appointment to the United States Naval Academy. His parents were John Louis Kleiss and Lulu Dunham Kleiss. Norman Jack “Dusty” Kleiss was born on March 7, 1916, in Coffeyville, Kansas. He was the only pilot to hit three Japanese ships with bombs during the Battle of Midway Early life Norman Jack "Dusty" Kleiss (Ma– April 22, 2016) was a dive-bomber pilot in the United States Navy during World War II.
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