Stewart earned his private pilot’s license in 1935, and not long after that, he bought his first airplane – a Stinson 105. He called it a slow, gentle, and fun-to-fly airplane, and he would take it to visit his family on the East Coast. His continued education allowed him to become a commercial pilot – or at least earn a commercial pilot’s license – in 1938 or ‘39.
Due to his experience in flying and his college degree, he was hoping to step into a role as a pilot or similar role during missions. However, the army brass was concerned about Stewart’s potential as a publicity figure – they wanted to keep him out of danger not only because he could attract more people to the fight but also because of the backlash that would occur if he was shot down.
Making His Very Own
Stewart knew he was destined to fly. Incredibly, he convinced his worry-wart of a father to help him build his own glider, based on the Curtiss pusher that he had ridden. This worked out about as well as a wooden glider made by a teenager could, with a pile of destroyed wood and zero major injuries. The glider was designed to be launched from the sloping roof of the Stewart house, but the test flight was a resounding failure.
He would later meet fellow flight enthusiast Henry Fonda, and the two men would spend time building model airplanes and flying kits. Wholesome. Once Fonda strung up a line of kites, stretching so far that the top kite had disappeared. He needed help hauling them in. Their correspondence after Fonda left for Hollywood talked about almost nothing but their model planes.
Learning to Fly
By the time Stewart had found some success in Hollywood, he was able to pivot back to learning about his favorite thing: flying. Learning to fly in a real airplane had always been a dream of his – having grown up during the infancy of transportation made it easy. Flying had the whole world’s attention. In 1935, Stewart signed up for lessons at the Minesfield Airport, which is the current location of the sprawling and gigantic Los Angeles International Airport.
The training plane he flew was a two-seat open cockpit biplane using a five-cylinder Kinney engine, the same kind of thing used to train the USAAF, eventually. At the time, Mansfield was a tiny landing strip surrounded by celery fields tended by Japanese immigrants and overrun by jackrabbits.
Lieutenant Stewart
Thanks to his experience in the air, Stewart was able to become a commissioned officer in the Army Air Forces, joining as a second lieutenant on January 1st, 1942 – at that point, the States had officially joined the war against the Axis. However, Stewart was still denied the chance to fly missions. He didn’t make any commercial films, but he was still under contract to MGM and had a busy schedule making publicity appearances.
He was on network radio, and he appeared in a short film from the First Motion Picture Unit, a division of the USAAF. The film “Winning Your Wings” was made to recruit airmen, a goal at which it succeeded mightily: it’s thought 150,000 recruits joined because of it. It was also nominated for a Best Documentary Oscar.
He Yearned to Fly
Stewart wasn’t happy that his celebrity status kept him out of the air. He spent more than a year training pilots at the Kirtland Army Airfield in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and then he begged his commander to be put into a more front-line position. His commander relented, sending Stewart to England as part of the 445th Bombardment Group, flying B-24 Liberators.
These were big vessels that could practically drown the enemy in bombs, and keeping them up and getting them back home was a big job. Following a successful run to bomb Ludwigshafen, Germany, on January 7th, 1944, Stewart was promoted to major. His success continued, and he was awarded a number of hardware for his chest, including a Distinguished Flying Cross, the French Croix de Guerre with palm, and the Air Medal with Three oak leaf clusters.