Welcome back to another episode of our Minnesota Aces Series, this time covering Captain Francis J. Lent of Melrose, MN! Lent served with the 431st FS of the famed 475th FG, downing 11 aircraft in the New Guinea Air Campaign. Follow along to hear about Lent's life and combat career, along with context on the air battle for New Guinea in 1943.

In this episode of our Minnesota Aces series, the guys travel back to the First World War to discuss the combat career of Lake Benton native Harold Boysen. Boysen saw extensive combat with No. 66 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps on the Italian Front. Tune in to learn about an American flying with the British and a little-known air campaign from the dawn of air combat!

In this episode, the guys discuss the life and combat career of First Lieutenant Hipolitus T. Biel. Also known as Tom or "Hippo", Biel had a successful combat career with the 334th FS, 4th Fighter group in the European Theater of Operations, becoming an ace in just a short time with the squadron before unfortunately meeting his end in combat. Tune in to learn more about Biel, the 4th FG, and Mustangs!

Biel Victory Records:

http://www.cieldegloire.fr/014_biel_h_t.php

In our eleventh installment of the Minnesota Aces series, the guys discuss the life and combat career of Colonel Leslie E. "Andy" Andersen. A Leader, MN native, Andersen had a successful combat career with the 96th Fighter Squadron of the 82nd Fighter Group in the Mediterranean Theater (MTO) during the Second World War, downing five aircraft. Thanks for listening!

In this installment of our Minnesota Aces series, we have a very special one for you, featuring Waseca native Percy Bartelt. Bartelt was an ace belonging to the American Volunteer Group, better known as the Flying Tigers. Tune in to learn about the AVG, Bartelt's exploits, and the aircraft he flew.

The Planes on the Prairie crew are excited to bring to you this very special episode, featuring Captain William "Bill" Hennon, who was a fighter pilot in P-40s during the darkest days of the Pacific War, racking up aerial victories in the ill-fated Java campaign along with the struggle for air superiority over Northern Australia in early 1942.

This episode is very special to us because we were able to get in touch with Hennon's son, Mike Raudenbush, who not only was able to provide us with great insight on his father's personal life and combat exploits, but also to join us on this episode of the podcast. Episodes like this are why we are doing this series, and it has been a blast working with Mike.

With that being said, we hope you enjoy this installment of our Minnesota Aces series!

In this episode, the guys cover Major William J. Stangel, a Thief River Falls, Minnesota native. Tune in to learn about his combat exploits during the final years of the Second World War and learn about the famed 352nd Fighter Group!

In our next episode, we discuss our seventh MN Ace, this time featuring Captain Herbert N. Houck, a Corona, Minnesota native. Tune in to learn about Houck's impressive combat career with VF-9 of the US Navy, the air engagements he was apart of, and the famous sinking of the Yamato.