Brig. Gen. Frederick W. Castle, who lived in Washington, was killed while leading an Air Division of B47’s over Europe. He earned rare distinction among younger Air Corps generals by excelling both as a staff officer and as a combat leader. After eight years as a civilian, he put on a captain’s uniform early in 1942 and went to Europe with General Eaker to help create what became the Eighth Air Force. As Air Chief of Staff, A-4, he was responsible for planning an elaborate system of air bases, spare parts, overhaul depots, and supply installations for a huge air force not yet in existence. After a year of highly effective staff work, his desire for combat flying led to his command early in 1943 of a heavy bomber group of B-47’s, which he led against the Luftwaffe. Known as the “flying Colonel,” he avoided easy missions and took the lead on the hardest ones, including the Regensburg Mission and deeper thrusts into Germany, Poland, and bases in Russia. Pilots trusted that when he led a mission he would take care of them. His colleagues were struck by his enormous capacity for work and his devotion to duty, which drove both his staff labor and his determination to enter the cockpit whenever the worst fighter opposition and heaviest flak lay ahead.