Levi R. Chase, Jr. was born in Cortland, N.Y., on December 23, 1917. He entered the Army in November 1940, and was accepted as an aviation cadet. As a member of Class 41-G, he received his pilot wings and commission as a second lieutenant in September 1941 at Maxwell Field, Alabama.
Assigned to the 58th Fighter Squadron, 33rd Fighter Group, flying P-40s, Chase
had his first taste of combat during the invasion of North Africa in November 1942. Newly promoted to captain, he scored two kills flying with the 58th - his first a Messerschmitt 109 on 18 December and a JU-88 four days later. Later, as commander of the 60th Fighter Squadron, then-Major Chase continued to run up his score, downing seven ME-109's and a Macchi202 between 31 January and 5 April, 1943
Major Chase returned to the States in July 1943, where he spent a year before deploying to Burma with the 2nd Air Commando Group. He later became commander of the First Provisional Fighter Group and was credited with two Japanese Oscars.
Following World War II, Chase entered civilian life, but was recalled to active duty in April 1951, and served in Korea as commander of the 8thFighter-Bomber Wing, flying F-80s and F-86s.
From December 1952 until 1964, then-Colonel Chase attended both the Air War College and the National War College and served in several command and senior staff positions throughout the United States and in Germany. In 1964, he successively commanded the 15th and 12th Tactical Fighter Wingsat MacDill AFB, Florida, the first two wings in the Air Force to become combat ready with the F-4C Phantom. He led the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing to Cam Ranh Bay Air Base, Republic of Vietnam, in 1965. Later he served as vice-commander of the 313th Air Division at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa,and as Chief of the Air Section of the Military Assistance andAdvisory Group in Taiwan, Republic of China.
General Chase returned to the United States in July 1969 to become the Tactical Air Command Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, and in July 1971 was named deputy commander of the Ninth Air Force, moving to commander in 1973. Major General Chase retired in November 1973, after 33years of military service.
This biography was supplied by the American Fighter Aces Association. An official Air Force biography is also available.