Three WWII test pilots’ first-hand recollections of flying
with their infamous leader, “Daddy” Thyson
“Don’t call me Colonel, call me Daddy”… that’s what Lt. Colonel N.C. Thyson said to the dozen or so Army Air Corps test pilots who reported to him during World War II. Not exactly standard Army protocol, but there was nothing about Daddy Thyson that was even close to orthodox. Thyson’s style rubbed off on his men, producing a series of outlandish exploits that were recorded by three of them over forty years later. Those stories make up the bulk of this one-of-a-kind memoir, authored by Mike Thieme, the only one of the three men still living, with research and annotations by his daughter.
These antics seemingly couldn’t, or wouldn’t, or shouldn’t have happened in the military, then or now. On one occasion Thieme protested, “Colonel, this is just too hot to handle!” But Thyson loved thwarting the system, and he was astute, persuasive, and lucky enough to get away with it.
Maybe in spite of Thyson, these noncombat pilots made important contributions to the war effort, testing the latest military aircraft and engineering solutions under extreme winter conditions near Fairbanks, Alaska. It was hazardous work, to say the least. There was one fatality, one miraculous survival story, and many near misses. Shortly after the war, Thyson’s luck ran out, spectacularly, enhancing his mythic status in the eyes of the men who served with him. The three contributors of these stories went on to become leaders in their chosen fields of business and law, remaining friends throughout their lives.
