Kennedy left before his final year of law school at Harvard to enlist in the
U.S. Naval Reserve on June 24, 1941.
[6] He entered flight training to be a
Naval Aviator, and after training, he received his wings and was commissioned an
ensign on May 5, 1942.
[6] He was assigned to Patrol Squadron 203 and then Bombing Squadron 110.
[6] In September 1943, he was sent to Britain and became a member of Bomber Squadron 110, Special Air Unit ONE, in 1944. He piloted land-based
PB4Y Liberator patrol bombers on
anti-submarine details during two tours of duty in the winter of 1943–1944. Kennedy had completed 25 combat missions and was eligible to return home. He instead volunteered for an
Operation Aphrodite mission.
[7]
Operations Anvil and Aphrodite
Operation Aphrodite (U.S. Army Air Corps) & Operation Anvil (U.S. Navy) made use of unmanned, explosive-laden Army Air Corps
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Navy
Consolidated PB4Y-1 Liberator bombers that were deliberately crashed into their targets under
radio control.
[7] These aircraft could not take off safely on their own, so a crew of two would take off and fly to 2,000 feet (610 m) before activating the remote control system, arming the detonators, and parachuting from the aircraft.
Kennedy was appointed a
Lieutenant on July 1, 1944.
[6] After the U.S. Army Air Corps operation missions were drawn up on July 23, 1944, Lieutenants Wilford John Willy
[8] and Kennedy were designated as the first Navy flight crew. Willy, who was the executive officer of Special Air Unit ONE, had also volunteered for the mission and "pulled rank" over
Ensign James Simpson, who was Kennedy's regular co-pilot. Kennedy and Willy (co-pilot) flew a BQ-8 "robot" aircraft (drone; a converted B-24 Liberator) for the U.S. Navy's first Aphrodite mission. Two
Lockheed Ventura mother planes and a
Boeing B-17 navigation plane took off from
RAF Fersfield at 1800 on Saturday, August 12, 1944. Then the BQ-8 aircraft, loaded with 21,170 lb (9,600 kg) of
Torpex, took off. It was to be used against the U-boat pens at
Heligoland in the
North Sea.
[9][10]
Last photograph of Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. on day of flight, August 12, 1944.
Commemorative headstone of Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. at
Arlington National Cemetery.
Following them in a
USAAF F-8 Mosquito to film the mission were pilot Lt. Robert A. Tunnel and combat camera man Lt. David J. McCarthy, who filmed the event from the
perspex nose of the aircraft.
[11] As planned, Kennedy and Willy remained aboard as the BQ-8 completed its first remote-controlled turn at 2,000 ft (610 m) near the North Sea coast. Kennedy and Willy removed the safety pin, arming the explosive package, and Kennedy radioed the agreed code
Spade Flush, his last known words. Two minutes later (and well before the planned crew bailout, near
RAF Manston), the
Torpex explosive detonated prematurely and destroyed the Liberator, killing Kennedy and Willy instantly. Wreckage landed near the village of
Blythburgh in
Suffolk, England, causing widespread damage and small fires, but there were no injuries on the ground. According to one report, a total of 59 buildings were damaged in a nearby coastal town.
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