Lieutenant Dean Davenport

Dean Davenport , born on  29 June 1918, was originally from Tacoma, Spokane but grew up in Portland and graduated from Portland High School there. He was a law student at Albany College (now Lewis and Clark) and North Westernschool of Lawbefore he became a Flying Cadet in February 1941.

Dean Davenport married Mary Lowry. The couple had 4 children.

Davenport was co-pilot on Plane 7, known as the “Ruptured Duck.” That name turned out to be apropos, because after dropping its bombs, the Ruptured Duck ran out of fuel over the East China Sea just short of the beach it was trying to reach and land on, and plunged into the water. Davenport and his pilot, Ted Lawson, and two other crewmembers were thrown through the plane’s windshield, still strapped into their seats. Despite severe injuries, they managed to free themselves and make it to shore.

The "Ruptures Duck" taking off from the USS Hornet on 18 April 1942. While crash landing near the China coast 4 crew members out of 5 were thrown the plexy glass of the cockpit and were severly injuried. Dean Davenport and his pilot, Ted Lawson were thrown through the plane’s windshield, still strapped into their seats. 

Dean's life was saved by his crewmember David J. Thatcher. Thatcher brought his crew to safety after the crash. After partly recovered from his injuries in China he flew back to the USA. There he was hospitalized in the Walter Reed hopsital. Back to active duty during 1943. 

Charles L. McCurl, Dean Davenport and Robert S. Clever at the Enze Hospital in Taizhou, China after the Doolittle Raid/

Picked up by Chinese Nationalist fighters, they were carried south through hostile country in various primitive carts and trucks, a journey that took seven weeks. Finally they were rescued by an Air Force plane, which took them home to recover.

Dean Davenport was later technical advisor for film "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" which was the story of his pilot, Ted Lawson during the Doolittle Raid. He was portrayed by Tim Murdock, and he flew a B-25 bomber off a pier in Santa Monica, California, in a scene depicting the departure from the Hornet. The Army Air Forces also allowed him to fly in the wartime movie ''A Guy Named Joe,'' an aviation fantasy. He was a stand-in, in a long-distance action shot, for the actress Irene Dunne.