CL-41 Tribute Home
USS Philadelphia
Aviators



Operation Husky, June 10, 1943
Events of the that day resulting in the loss
of a Philly scout plane
have been documented in an article
by researcher Jan Bos.

Click HERE for the article

On August 21, 1944 one of the ship's planes was shot down with the loss of both crewmembers,
Lt. James Cahill (pilot) and William H. Ryan (Radioman)

Francis Cahill, and his friend and Radio man William RYAN
flew scouting missions for the US Navy
for the D-Day landings in Normandy and
the D-Day landings in Southern France.
Unfortunately,
Francis and William were killed
while trying to land on their ship – the USS Philadelphia
Their plane exploded when according to crew memories
"they were hit by a German 88mm AA gun"
First person memories of Wm Ryan and the other aviators lost - provided by Russ Simpson, ship radio operator during many flights in a letter to Dan O'Conner


The photo above was provided by George Brucia, a member of the Aviation Division. William Ryan is top left with his hands in his pockets.

Memorial Day 2009

Family members of William Ryan visited his grave in the Rhone American Military Cemetery (Draguignan, France)



Gravesite photos below were contributed
by
photo volunteer Andy
at findagrave.com


Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross - November 1943
First Row: Shafer, F. Gibson
Second Row: Tavernier, Hogg, Fierstein, Meshanec, Lawry, Ryan, Ramsey
 
From Album of Doc Rountree - Recovering a Philly Scout Plane

The following picture is a Navy Archive photo and identified as the recovery of a SOC-2 off North Africa in 1942.
Philly Aviator Takes Prisoners
(Article submitted by Pat Fisher)
Naval Gunfire Support of Amphibious Operations: Past, Present, and Future ( Donald M Weller, Major General, USMC (Ret))
Prepared for Naval Sea Systems Command and Headquarters, USMC
Naval Surface Weapons Station, Dahlgren, VA
Approved for Public Release, October 1977
full text (pdf format)