Thomas Mantell was born on 30 June 1922 in Franklin, Kentucky, USA. He was married to Peggy Mantell Bruckert. He died on 7 January 1948 in Franklin, Kentucky, USA.
On January 7, 1948, 25-year-old Captain Thomas Mantell, a Kentucky Air National Guard pilot, died in the crash of his F-51 Mustang fighter, after being sent in pursuit of an unidentified flying object (UFO) in the skies near Fort Knox.