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00:00There have been many famous contenders for the coveted title of champion fighter aircraft of World War II,
00:06but few could match the knockout punch delivered by the P-51 Mustang.
00:19Mustang pilots dominated the series of epic air battles fought over Germany,
00:24which finally destroyed Hitler's mighty Luftwaffe.
00:30It's one-to-one combat, and you've got to be aggressive.
00:38If you think you're going to be defensive in a fire plane, you're lost.
00:45I wanted to be the tip of the spear. I thought that was the right place to be.
00:52Its unique blend of superb handling, high performance, devastating firepower, and long-range endurance,
00:59made the Mustang unbeatable.
01:02It was the finest, as far as I'm concerned.
01:05For many, the P-51 Mustang remains the ultimate fighter aircraft.
01:12Using archive film and color reenactment,
01:16battle stations enters the dangerous world of the crack Mustang fighter pilots.
01:20In the late summer of 1940, Britain's Royal Air Force was locked in the deadly struggle with Germany's Luftwaffe,
01:40which became known as the Battle of Britain.
01:42The situation was critical.
01:50The British Spitfire and Hurricane fighters were good machines,
01:54but they were not being built fast enough to meet the threat of a German invasion.
01:58One solution was to import fighters from America.
02:06We sold you on almost alone.
02:09We did know, I think, what we wanted,
02:11and we had some super brains who were ordering these things.
02:16We knew what we wanted, and we got it.
02:19The North American Aviation Company had the basis of a new,
02:23high-performance, long-range fighter design already on the drawing board.
02:26After just 117 days, they rolled out the finished airframe.
02:36It was a sleek and streamlined machine,
02:39which reached 382 miles per hour during early test flights,
02:44making it faster than the British Spitfire at low altitude,
02:47despite carrying twice as much fuel,
02:49which gave it twice the range.
02:56But at high altitude, its Allison engine lost power,
03:01and it took almost twice as long as the Spitfire to reach 20,000 feet.
03:07Although it was unsuited to high-altitude combat,
03:10its high speed and long range
03:12made it the ideal weapon for low-level ground attack missions.
03:15The RAF placed an order for 620 of the new aircraft,
03:21which it christened the Mustang.
03:27That's a wild horse, isn't it?
03:30It didn't have wild traits.
03:32It was a good airplane.
03:35But Mustang is...
03:37I mean, everybody would like a good Mustang horse.
03:40Yes, good name for it.
03:45This is the Mustang,
03:46the fastest army cooperation aircraft in the world.
03:49They've already been in action,
03:51ground-strafing the enemy in the Axis-occupied countries
03:53across the English Channel.
03:55The RAF pilots like them.
03:57German soldiers in northern France do not.
04:00And the Americans showed surprisingly little interest
04:03in the potent new weapon they had developed for the RAF.
04:06They had no wish to be drawn into the war
04:09that was devastating Europe.
04:15But in December 1941,
04:18the whole course of World War II was changed
04:20as Japan attacked Pearl Harbor
04:22and America entered the war.
04:25It was agreed that defeating Hitler in Europe
04:28would be the first priority for the Allied forces.
04:33Britain had narrowly escaped one invasion,
04:35but now there came another,
04:37a friendly invasion,
04:39as thousands of American troops
04:40poured into Britain to help defeat fascism.
04:47Among them were young airmen,
04:50fresh out of training,
04:51full of confidence
04:52and itching to get into the fight,
04:55whatever the risks.
04:56Now look, fellas, let's face it.
04:58This is our business.
05:00In war, there's only one place for you to be,
05:02on your toes.
05:03You know, a fighter pilot basically is an individualist.
05:08Nobody has any ego in his family
05:10because he has it all.
05:13Did you pop that fair weather pilot telling me,
05:16I can handle this?
05:18I was young and cocky, too.
05:20In fact,
05:21a conceited son of a bitch.
05:25Now, I thought I was pretty good.
05:27In fact, you've probably never heard of a pilot
05:30that didn't think he was number one fighter pilot in the world.
05:35Hell, I've met thousands of them.
05:37To stay alive, you've got to act alive.
05:40It's the deed that counts, not what you say.
05:43It's the deed.
05:44Your actions.
05:45Learn and live.
05:47If you don't, you won't.
05:49If you're going to come in combat against someone else,
05:51you know you're going to beat them.
05:53If you don't have that feeling,
05:54if you think you're going to be defensive in a fighter plane,
05:58you're lost.
05:59If you don't think you're a winner,
06:01you're in the wrong business.
06:03OK?
06:05OK.
06:07The Americans certainly needed all the confidence they could get
06:10if they were to defeat the battle-hardened pilots of the Luftwaffe.
06:15They were about to enter the big league of airfighting.
06:19Well, we certainly know where we are now.
06:21Young cadets in full parade.
06:23The youthful hope and pride of the Army Air Forces.
06:26And we meet them.
06:27Yes, they're the best young flying blood in the world.
06:32And America was equally proud of the planes they would be flying.
06:37America's newest fighter plane, the P-47 Thunderbolt,
06:41has left the drafting boards and is now in mass production.
06:44One of the main contenders for the title of Top Gun American Fighter
06:48was the P-47 Thunderbolt.
06:51It was a massive machine,
06:53which tipped the scales at more than eight tons.
06:57Thousands of rounds of ammunition are stored in its wings.
07:01Guns are tested on the ground.
07:02Thunderbolts in name.
07:06They pack Thunderbolts of firepower.
07:09At low level, the Thunderbolt's weight limited its performance.
07:13But the higher it got, the better it flew.
07:16And at altitude, it was more than a match for the German fighters.
07:20But the Thunderbolt's huge engine gulped fuel
07:23at the rate of more than one gallon every 30 seconds,
07:26which severely limited its range.
07:27And range was the key to victory in the European air war.
07:36What America badly needed
07:38was a fighter which could escort its bombers
07:41from their bases in Britain
07:42all the way to the German capital,
07:45Berlin.
07:46In the summer of 1943,
07:53the Allies launched a combined bombing offensive
07:56against Nazi Germany.
07:58It was a 24-hour operation.
08:01The British bombed by night,
08:03the Americans by day.
08:04The American campaign had been based on the belief
08:17that the heavily armed Flying Fortress
08:19and Liberator bombers
08:20could defend themselves against attacking German fighters.
08:24But the daylight raid suffered heavy losses,
08:30and it soon became obvious
08:32that the bombers needed the protection of a fighter escort.
08:36The prime targets were the centres
08:38of German industrial production
08:40and the capital city, Berlin,
08:43550 miles from the American bases in southeast England.
08:49Most escort missions were entrusted
08:51to the heavyweight Thunderbolts,
08:53which would fly to the limit of their radius of action,
08:56about 200 miles from base.
08:58By adding extra fuel tanks,
09:00the range was increased to more than 300 miles,
09:03still well short of Berlin.
09:06Their sole task was to protect the bombers,
09:09and under the dynamic leadership
09:10of celebrated pilots like Colonel Don Blakesley,
09:14the Americans began to earn
09:15a formidable reputation as aggressive fighters.
09:18Don Blakesley was sort of a fighter pilot god on a pedestal.
09:26Everybody knew who he was,
09:27and he was a great leader.
09:30Colonel Don Blakesley, great leader of fourth group.
09:34I actually liked the business.
09:36It's probably a horrible thing to say,
09:38but I got a hell of a kick out of it,
09:42particularly when you're winning.
09:44My feeling was, if you see it, you go after it.
09:48Just aggressive.
09:49Just be aggressive.
09:51And it worked.
09:54The Germans soon learned to respect these formidable fighters,
09:59but they also learned to exploit their limited range.
10:04As we were going in,
10:06and we were reaching our maximum range,
10:09you could see the Germans out there circling, waiting.
10:12They knew exactly when we had to go.
10:16Just when they were needed most,
10:18the Thunderbolts were forced to turn for home,
10:21or risk running out of fuel.
10:24Now the bomber crews were on their own,
10:27knowing that the German fighters were lying in wait for them.
10:33That was rather disheartening,
10:35when you saw them turn back,
10:36because you knew you were going to catch it from then on.
10:43And as soon as we would leave,
10:45you could look back and you could see the tangling going on.
10:47And this was a horrible sight.
10:49There was nothing we could do.
10:52Fighters at six o'clock.
10:53This is what a gunner sees.
10:55A speck in the sky.
10:56That's a fighter.
10:57And then a blink.
10:58That means he's firing at you.
10:592,300 rounds a minute.
11:00You see those leading edges light up like neon signs,
11:09and you know that they're shooting at you.
11:11And they mean business.
11:20They must have got a direct hit on the bombs,
11:24because there was an explosion,
11:26little pieces of tinsel falling down,
11:28and a smoke ring started to form.
11:32And by the time we got out,
11:34the smoke ring was still in the air.
11:36That's all there was left of them.
11:38Sad.
11:46That kind of thing was dreamlike.
11:48To see this panorama of destruction in the sky,
11:54and little dots sometimes jumping out of the bombers.
11:57Guys, people, guys, jumping out,
12:01some chutes opening,
12:02sometimes you see a dot disappear.
12:05Just the dot.
12:11Come on, you guys, get out of that plane.
12:13Bail out.
12:14There's one.
12:14He come out of the bomb bay.
12:15Yeah, I see him.
12:16There's a tail gunner coming out.
12:18Right in front of me,
12:19his tail gunner bailed out,
12:20and he didn't have his chute snapped on.
12:22And he had it in his hand,
12:24but the slipstream took it away from him.
12:27And I saw him fall.
12:29And he had to go 26,000 feet
12:32with no visible means of support.
12:36The only thing I could think of,
12:38well, he's got plenty of time to say his prayers
12:40on the way down.
12:41Those bomber crews were brave men.
12:49What they did,
12:51I would not want to do.
12:53The only time that you feel miserable,
12:59as far as I was concerned,
13:01is when I watched the bombers going down,
13:03and you couldn't do a darn thing about it.
13:05And you know they're not going to make it,
13:08and it is the most disheartening experience.
13:13Sometimes you come back,
13:14and you're practically in tears.
13:18He knew that there are 10 guys in there
13:22that aren't going to be home that night.
13:25And there was nothing I,
13:26as a fighter pilot, could do about it.
13:33The need for long-range fighter escorts
13:35was proved beyond any doubt
13:37on the 17th of August, 1943.
13:41During raids on Schweinfurt and Regensburg,
13:4460 aircraft,
13:46each with a crew of 10 men,
13:48were lost.
13:50During a single week in October,
13:52148 bombers and 1,500 crew members
13:56failed to return from bombing missions.
13:59The operation was too costly to sustain.
14:04If the American bombing campaign
14:06over Germany was to succeed,
14:08an effective long-range fighter
14:10had to be found.
14:12A few people were convinced
14:17that the answer lay with the neglected Mustang.
14:21It had the range.
14:22It had the speed.
14:24It had the firepower.
14:25All it needed was the ability to fight
14:27at high altitude.
14:28Back in 1942,
14:34a team of Rolls-Royce engineers
14:37had tried replacing the Mustang's Allison engine
14:40with their Merlin,
14:42the engine that powered the British Spitfire.
14:44Unlike the Allison,
14:47it was highly efficient
14:48at high altitude.
14:51The result was an instant
14:53and dramatic improvement in performance.
14:55The Merlin actually delivered more power
15:04at 25,000 feet
15:05than the Allison had on take-off,
15:08and it did it on half the fuel
15:09consumed by the Thunderbolts engine.
15:12The RAF
15:13and the US Army Air Force
15:16were suitably impressed.
15:18They placed large orders for the Mustang.
15:20It was agreed
15:27that the American-built Packard Merlin
15:29should become the standard engine
15:31for all future production.
15:34I don't think the Americans
15:36would have had that sort of fighter
15:39if we hadn't tactfully got in the Merlin.
15:43I think it's one of the greatest examples
15:45of cooperation between two countries in trouble.
15:49I think it shows
15:52that all those brilliant minds
15:53could actually get together
15:55and work together without jealousies.
16:01The final pieces of the Mustang jigsaw
16:04were put in place
16:05when the P-51D
16:07was introduced in May 1944.
16:09The new model was redesigned
16:20with a low-back fuselage
16:21and a bubble canopy of clear plastic,
16:24giving an unrestricted field of vision
16:26while creating an entirely new
16:29and distinctive profile.
16:31The Mustang was now a thoroughbred,
16:34the undisputed champion
16:35in the Allied fighter stable.
16:38Even on the ground,
16:40with its wheels down,
16:42it looked like it was going forward.
16:44It was beautifully streamlined.
16:47It had all the right contours, I guess.
16:50It looked like a fighter plane should look.
16:52And it has a sound all of its own.
16:56There's no sound
16:57for like the P-51.
16:58The Mustang is the pilot's airplane.
17:08You have to understand that.
17:10You climb into that plane
17:13and that airplane becomes a part of you.
17:23It responded so well to the controls
17:26and it just felt good to fly.
17:31We used to say,
17:32if you wanted to turn left,
17:35you were all your eyeballs left
17:36and that was about all you needed.
17:41You were a part of the plane.
17:43It was as if you were a bird.
17:47It flew beautifully.
17:49It responded perfectly.
17:51It flew with power and grace.
17:57It was gorgeous to be in that plane and flying.
18:04I really think it was a love affair
18:06between a young pilot and his airplane.
18:09We felt that we were capable
18:12of doing anything we wanted to do in the airplane.
18:15The enemy was defeated in our mind
18:18when we crawled into the cockpit.
18:22They had been given
18:23the most potent fighter
18:24in the Allied arsenal.
18:26It had the best engine available.
18:29Its six heavy machine guns,
18:31three in each wing,
18:32could unleash a total of 1,880 rounds.
18:36It carried over 400 gallons of fuel
18:38with two disposable drop tanks
18:41fitted under the wings
18:42and could fly more than 2,000 miles.
18:45To have been given an airplane like this,
18:54a P-51 Mustang fighter,
18:57as my own,
18:58I felt terrific.
19:01At last,
19:02the American bombers
19:03had the protection
19:04they so desperately needed.
19:07A high-performance fighter
19:08that could escort them
19:09all the way to Berlin and back.
19:11It was a turning point
19:13in the war.
19:18The Mustang,
19:20the P-51,
19:21the longest range fighter
19:22in the world.
19:24Speed,
19:24fast climb,
19:26quick dive,
19:27tight turn.
19:29Into these great fighters,
19:31America poured its genius,
19:33its millions of man-hours of labor,
19:35its faith in victory
19:37against the Luftwaffe.
19:39And in their single cockpits,
19:41it placed these men.
19:43I didn't have the faintest idea
19:44what the hell was going on.
19:46I knew why we were fighting,
19:49but I didn't know how.
19:52The first time I really realized
19:54that I was in combat
19:56was I saw my wingman
19:58shot up and going down.
20:00And I had never seen
20:01the enemy aircraft that did it.
20:03I know at the time
20:06I thought to myself,
20:07what the hell am I doing here?
20:09I'm way out of my league.
20:11If they were to survive in combat,
20:14the young pilots had to learn
20:15and learn fast.
20:17You still can feel
20:19your heart pounding pretty fast.
20:22And there's some fear
20:24of the first mission or two
20:25that how's this really going to go?
20:29I was scared to death.
20:31And I'll tell you,
20:31anybody that says
20:32they weren't scared to death
20:33is a liar.
20:35I was new and nervous.
20:37And with the gyrations
20:39of the plane,
20:40I started to,
20:43I had to throw up.
20:48And when I got back
20:50to Steeple Morden,
20:51landed,
20:53oh, I felt terrible.
20:54I felt maybe I didn't
20:57have what it takes.
20:59I felt humiliated.
21:00I came up to the hard stand
21:04and the crew chief
21:05climbs on the wing
21:07and the canopy goes back.
21:08and I saw him look
21:13and I told him,
21:15I'm terribly sorry.
21:16I'm terribly sorry.
21:18I'll help you clean it up.
21:21And he said,
21:22look,
21:23I've seen worse
21:25and I felt wonderful.
21:30It meant there were others too.
21:34It wasn't just me.
21:35But those three words
21:37were a psychological turning point
21:39for me.
21:40And I never threw up again.
21:41I felt I could do it.
21:51Each pilot depended
21:53on his crew chief.
21:55He led the ground crew
21:56that serviced
21:57and armed the fighter.
21:59They were all dedicated
22:00to the pilot's welfare,
22:02provided he looked after
22:03their aircraft
22:04as well as they
22:06looked after him.
22:07The crew chiefs felt
22:08it was their plane.
22:10The plane was charged out
22:11to the crew chief,
22:12not to the pilot.
22:15And he took care
22:16of that thing
22:17as if it was
22:18a little baby.
22:20Right.
22:20He did everything
22:21but put a diaper on it.
22:24I'm still fighting
22:26with my old crew chief
22:27for 55 years
22:28as to who owned
22:29my airplane.
22:30You talk to a crew chief,
22:31he owned it.
22:32You talk to a pilot,
22:33the pilot owned it.
22:34He says he owned it
22:35and you only fly
22:36because I let you.
22:39When the airplane
22:40is on the ground,
22:42it belongs
22:43to the crew chief.
22:44It's his airplane.
22:46And it's almost like
22:47a father with his daughter.
22:49And you come
22:50as a high school kid
22:51and you're going
22:52to take his daughter out,
22:53you know.
22:53So he looks you over
22:55and he checks you out
22:56and everything
22:56and you're very careful.
22:58You bring my daughter back
22:59and it's the same thing
23:00with the airplane.
23:02But when you climb
23:03into that airplane
23:04and the crew chief
23:05and the assistant crew chief
23:07buckle you in,
23:08they snap on your harness
23:09and the umbilical cord
23:11is tied.
23:11It's no longer
23:12his airplane.
23:13It's my bird.
23:16It was my girlfriend.
23:17It was my baby.
23:19The Mustang pilots
23:20liked to personalize
23:22their aircraft.
23:23Most were named,
23:25often in honor
23:26of wives
23:26or girlfriends
23:27back home.
23:28At that time,
23:30Walt Disney's
23:31motion picture
23:31Dumbo
23:32had come out
23:33and in Dumbo
23:34there was a song
23:35that the mother sings
23:37to Dumbo,
23:39Baby Mine,
23:40Don't You Cry,
23:40so forth.
23:41And that song
23:42used to go through my head
23:43when I was flying.
23:43I said,
23:44that's a perfect name.
23:45So I'll call it
23:46Baby Mine.
23:47Then whenever I went out
23:48with a girl,
23:48they'd say,
23:49what did you name
23:49your plane?
23:50I said,
23:50I named it after you,
23:51Baby Mine.
23:52And it worked.
23:53Day after day,
23:57huge formations
23:58of American bombers
23:59and fighters
24:00would set out
24:01to make the dangerous
24:02journey into German airspace.
24:04They flew from dozens
24:06of airfields
24:07dotted across the rural
24:08landscape of southeast England.
24:17We were sort of like
24:19a flying gun platform
24:20in a flying gas tank.
24:23That's what you were.
24:24Because every inch
24:25of that plane practically
24:26was loaded with gas
24:27and ammunition.
24:33As the air crews
24:34shuttled each day
24:35between the peace
24:36of the English countryside
24:37with its water meadows
24:39and thatched cottages
24:41and the full horror
24:43of modern airborne warfare,
24:45they shared a strange,
24:47disjointed life.
24:51Like Roman gladiators,
24:53they could be celebrating
24:54a victory one day
24:56and mourning a lost
24:58comrade the next.
25:00The only certainty
25:01was that each mission
25:02could be their last.
25:04I always knew
25:13I was coming back.
25:16It's always the old story
25:17if there's a hundred
25:19fighter pilots in a room
25:20and the old man said
25:21this mission is so dangerous
25:23only one of you
25:24is coming back,
25:25you'll look at all the others
25:26and say you poor fellas.
25:27A fellow in my barracks
25:34had a chess board
25:35and he and I ran
25:37an ongoing chess game
25:39at all times
25:39and we often said,
25:41well this is to guarantee
25:42that both of us
25:43are coming back
25:43because we want to see
25:46who wins this chess game.
25:47and it's so random.
25:51You don't know
25:52where it's going to happen
25:53or to whom.
25:56We would really feel bad
26:08if we lost some of our people
26:09and we'd often wonder
26:11what has happened to them,
26:13what happened
26:13and in the debriefing
26:15no one would really know.
26:18They just didn't come back
26:20or someone would see them
26:21bailing out
26:22or someone would see them
26:24going into the ground
26:25but we never really knew
26:27what happened after that.
26:30He was there today,
26:32he was there yesterday
26:33and he won't be there tomorrow.
26:37This was the highly charged world
26:39of the crack Mustang units
26:41which the Luftwaffe pilots
26:43had learned to respect.
26:45They were certainly
26:46a tough bunch to meet in combat
26:48and many pilots
26:49had notched up
26:50the five kills
26:51needed to qualify
26:53for the unofficial title
26:54of fighter ace.
26:59Being a fighter pilot
27:00in combat
27:01is always a matter of goals.
27:03You want to destroy
27:05your first enemy airplane.
27:08So once you've destroyed
27:09the first
27:09then you want
27:10you become greedy.
27:12You want four more
27:14so you can become an ace.
27:16then you become greedier yet
27:19because now you want
27:20to destroy it more
27:21than anybody else
27:23in the group.
27:24It's just a matter of
27:25wanting more
27:26all the time.
27:31When that P-51 engine
27:34turns over
27:35and each of the cylinders
27:37hit with one explosion
27:39after the other
27:40and a roar
27:41you don't hear the noise
27:43you feel it in your stomach
27:44in your gut.
27:47You're strapped in tight
27:49you roll up the canopy
27:50you push the throttle forward
27:53and you go.
27:56It was several mornings
28:13when we were escorting
28:15and the sun
28:17was just coming up
28:18and it looked like
28:20a silver road in the sky
28:21with those bombers.
28:22It was an amazing sight
28:26one that I'll never forget.
28:31A thousand bomber mission
28:33meant that there were
28:36700 fighters
28:37escorting the thousand bombers.
28:40There were 10 men
28:41in each bomber
28:42so that's 10,700 men
28:45that were flying
28:46in any one day.
28:48This happened
28:49on a daily basis.
28:52It must have been terrifying
28:58to look up
28:58and see
28:591,500 contrails
29:01that would whiten the sky
29:02as we swept in
29:05over Germany.
29:07And watching
29:08for those tell-tale
29:09white streamers
29:10would be the German
29:11anti-aircraft gunners
29:13and fighter pilots
29:14determined to defend
29:15their homeland
29:16whatever the past.
29:18flying several thousand feet
29:27above the bombers
29:28the fighter escorts
29:30would weave to and fro
29:31constantly on the lookout
29:32for the enemy.
29:36If there's one characteristic
29:38that you need
29:39to be a fighter pilot
29:40it's a neck that turns.
29:42If you're up there
29:44and flying at say
29:4522,000, 25,000 feet
29:47there's a heck
29:48of a lot of sky
29:49and you're constantly
29:51looking around
29:52not only to protect
29:53the bombers
29:54but to protect yourself.
29:55We loved to see them
29:59escort
29:59because we knew
30:01when they were around
30:02we were not likely
30:03to get any fighter attacks
30:05or if we did
30:06they would be chased off
30:07in a hurry.
30:08But we thought
30:09the fighter escort
30:09that took us all the way
30:10to Berlin and back
30:11that was really
30:12something great.
30:15Escort duty
30:16could be lonely work
30:17with only the minimum
30:19of radio contact
30:20to break the isolation.
30:22You didn't hear
30:23swishing or anything
30:24like that
30:25of wind going by
30:26all you heard
30:27was the noise
30:28of this powerful
30:30Rolls-Royce Merlin engine
30:32in front of you
30:33and you hoped
30:34you heard that noise
30:35through the entire flight.
30:38The pilot would regularly
30:40switch between
30:41the Mustang's
30:42five fuel tanks
30:43draining the external
30:45tanks first.
30:47They would be dropped
30:48before going into action.
30:52Escort missions
30:53could often last
30:54for more than six hours
30:56and pilot fatigue
30:57was always a problem.
30:59You were the only person
31:00in the plane of course.
31:01You were the pilot,
31:02you were the navigator
31:03and you were the gunner.
31:05When I got up a high there
31:07like 22,000 or 23,000 feet
31:09and I might not have
31:10no one else's around
31:11I had this terrible
31:13lonesome feeling
31:14with the earth
31:15way down there.
31:18When you get up
31:19the cockpit altitude
31:19it's 50 degrees
31:21below zero centigrade
31:22outside that plane
31:23and when you have
31:24an eighth of an inch
31:25aluminum between you
31:26it doesn't insulate you
31:28it conducts the cold
31:29into the cockpit
31:30so it is cold.
31:33Numbed by the cold,
31:35dazzled by the blinding sun
31:37and deafened by the roar
31:38of his engine
31:39his senses were dulled
31:41and it was easy
31:43to lose concentration.
31:45I think more than
31:46the fatigue
31:46and I have to be
31:47candid about it
31:48was the boredom.
31:52The actual boredom
31:54of flying a long range
31:56escort mission
31:57and not getting
31:59any action at all
32:00because you'd often wonder
32:03what am I doing out here
32:04you know
32:05why don't these fellas
32:06come up
32:07why don't we get
32:08a little excitement going.
32:11Suddenly the radio
32:14would burst into life
32:15with a shouted warning
32:16as the German fighters
32:18pounced on the bomber
32:19formation below.
32:21It was instant.
32:22We dropped tanks
32:23and went into them.
32:26We were supposed
32:27to defend the bombers
32:28that was our responsibility
32:30and we always attacked.
32:33We always attacked
32:34no matter how many.
32:37To hit a moving target
32:38at speed
32:39involved complex
32:40but instinctive calculations
32:41by the pilot.
32:44It's just like
32:44playing football
32:45throwing a pass.
32:46You just had to lead them
32:47and take a guess.
32:49And my markmanship
32:51was good.
32:54Tenths of a second
32:55meant something.
32:57If you're going
32:58400 miles an hour
32:59that's 600 feet a second.
33:03Okay?
33:03And in a tenth of a second
33:05you're 60 feet away
33:05from where you were.
33:07That doesn't give you
33:08very much time
33:09to ponder
33:10what your next action is.
33:12You've got to do it
33:13in real time fast.
33:16Very fast.
33:21The best way to do it
33:23is to fly up their butt
33:24and let them have it.
33:25That works every time.
33:26I'd say at least
33:3250% of the time
33:33the victim
33:34was unaware
33:35that he was being
33:36attacked.
33:37And that was
33:38the ideal situation
33:39for getting a kill.
33:40But you sneak up
33:41on a guy
33:41and doesn't even know
33:42you're there
33:42and then you blow
33:43him out of the sky.
33:43We flew right under
33:52a flight of 109s.
33:54My wingman,
33:56Bert Stiles,
33:56was yelling,
33:58109s!
33:59Let's get out of here!
34:00And I just said,
34:02don't panic, Bert.
34:03He was fairly new.
34:05Don't panic.
34:07I pulled in behind him
34:09and I thought,
34:09boy, we're going
34:10to get something here.
34:12And Bert's screaming
34:14on to me again,
34:14let's get out of here!
34:15Let's get out of here!
34:16He sees that there's
34:17another flight
34:18following a VAC flight
34:19and we're in between them
34:22and I'm fat,
34:24dumb, and happy
34:24until I realized
34:26that those sounds
34:27I heard outside
34:28the cockpit
34:29were not my engine
34:31backfiring
34:32but 20mm shells
34:34exploding.
34:37And then I knew
34:38Bert knew more
34:40than I did.
34:42I slammed the stick
34:43towards the left
34:44and kicked the right rudder
34:45just as hard
34:46as it could
34:46to snap roll
34:47the airplane
34:48down into the clouds
34:49again.
34:50Got down below,
34:51everything's nice,
34:52peaceful down there.
34:56Once a running dogfight
34:57had developed,
34:58the odds were more even.
35:01Combat quickly became
35:02a confused series
35:03of chance encounters
35:04and narrow escapes.
35:06I looked to the left
35:08and there was
35:10an ME-109
35:12shooting at me,
35:14coming through
35:15this break in the clouds
35:17and you could see
35:18the black smoke
35:19coming from the wings
35:20as he was firing
35:21but he was head-on
35:23to me.
35:24I yelled,
35:25break left,
35:27yellow flight.
35:32Attempts to outdive
35:33an attacker
35:33often ended
35:34with a high-speed chase
35:36at low level.
35:38With no chance
35:39to bail out,
35:40it meant almost
35:41certain death
35:42for the loser.
35:42He knew he was
35:45going to crash
35:46so he pulled up
35:47trying to get
35:48Attitude to bail out.
35:54And he didn't
35:55quite make it.
35:56The parachute
35:56didn't quite open
35:57and of course
35:58I saw him hit the ground
35:59and that was a very,
36:02well, it was a
36:03difficult moment,
36:05let's say.
36:06Then you realize
36:07those people
36:09are just like I am.
36:11He's fighting
36:12a fighter pilot
36:12and I was too.
36:16All this happens
36:17in a matter of seconds.
36:21And that's a long
36:22time of seconds.
36:28The German capital,
36:30Berlin,
36:31was ringed
36:31by hundreds
36:32of anti-aircraft guns.
36:34As the bombers
36:35neared their target,
36:37they had no choice
36:38but to fly straight
36:39into the barrage
36:39of exploding shells.
36:40Now the escorting
36:43fighter pilots
36:43could do nothing
36:44except watch.
36:46Even the Mustang
36:47couldn't fight
36:48the flag.
36:51When you were
36:52on a bomb run,
36:53you knew that
36:53bombardier,
36:54his bombsite,
36:55was controlling
36:55the airplane
36:56and you knew
36:57that he wasn't
36:58going to take
36:58any evasive action.
37:00No way he could.
37:02And so you were
37:03a sort of a sitting duck.
37:04When I talked
37:08to fighter pilots,
37:10they said,
37:10boy, I wouldn't
37:11want to be
37:12in your shoes.
37:13You know,
37:13yeah, they're flying
37:14through all that flack.
37:15We don't mess with that.
37:17Then I say,
37:17well, I wouldn't want
37:18to be in your shoes
37:19either.
37:19But it just seemed
37:21to me like what
37:22they were doing
37:23was a heck of a lot
37:23more dangerous
37:24than what we were doing.
37:25Once the bombers
37:33had delivered
37:33their deadly cargo
37:35and cleared enemy airspace,
37:37the escort fighters
37:38could use up
37:39any remaining ammunition
37:40on targets of opportunity
37:41at ground level.
37:44Luftwaffe bases,
37:46road convoys
37:46and supply trains
37:47were the favorite targets.
37:55We were authorized
38:00to go down
38:00on the deck.
38:02And then you have
38:03a lot of fun there.
38:04Anything moves,
38:05you shoot it.
38:07But ground attacks
38:08were highly dangerous
38:09operations.
38:11For every Mustang
38:11shot down
38:12by enemy aircraft,
38:14five were lost
38:15to ground fire.
38:16You'd come in
38:16over the treetops,
38:17you'd come up like this,
38:18and as soon as you came up,
38:21tracer bullets,
38:23all these red golf balls,
38:25would be coming at you.
38:29My mind flipped back
38:30to when I was a little kid
38:31sitting in a dentist chair.
38:33I thought,
38:34it's not going to hurt long.
38:36And that's what I thought
38:37every time
38:37that I was in a situation
38:38like that.
38:40It won't hurt long.
38:50As the bombs rained down
38:52on German industrial cities,
38:54they tore the heart
38:55out of the Nazi war machine.
38:58We knew that we were
39:00causing a lot
39:01of devastation down there.
39:03And it bothered me
39:05a little sometimes,
39:06the fact that
39:07we sometimes
39:09dropped through
39:09an overcast,
39:10so we weren't
39:11hitting a military target,
39:12we were just
39:12hitting the city.
39:14And I rather imagined
39:17sometimes that my bombs
39:18might be killing somebody
39:19that I'd rather not kill.
39:24The crack German
39:26fighting units
39:26that had once
39:27dominated the air war
39:28now found themselves
39:30running out of everything,
39:31from spare parts
39:32and fuel
39:33to serviceable aircraft
39:35and trained pilots.
39:36toward the end of the war,
39:40they were scraping
39:41the bottom of the barrel
39:42and these kids,
39:43I don't know how much
39:44training they had,
39:46but it was obvious
39:47they didn't have too much.
39:49So,
39:49I like shooting fish
39:50in a barrel.
39:52And if it's the enemy,
39:54I don't mind shooting
39:54fish in a barrel.
39:55On the 14th of January,
40:021945,
40:04Mustangs
40:05notched up 161 kills.
40:08During a series
40:09of turkey shoots
40:10on the 16th of April,
40:12more than 700
40:13German aircraft
40:14were destroyed,
40:16mostly on the ground.
40:18More than 80 aircraft
40:20were destroyed
40:20in a single attack
40:21on one airfield.
40:23Hitler's once
40:25mighty Luftwaffe
40:26was finished.
40:32I didn't dislike
40:33the Germans.
40:34I hated
40:35the son of a bitches.
40:37So that took care
40:38of a lot of my problems
40:39because if I thought
40:41I could get one,
40:43I'd do a certain number.
40:44If I figured
40:45I could get a thousand,
40:46I'd have done
40:46a hell of a lot more.
40:52The Allies
40:52were now masters
40:53of the skies
40:54and without fighter cover,
40:57the German ground forces
40:58were at their mercy
40:59as they steadily advanced
41:01into the very heart
41:02of Germany.
41:09Hermann Goering,
41:10the chief
41:11of Hitler's Luftwaffe,
41:13knew only too well
41:14the part played
41:14by the Mustang
41:15in his defeat.
41:16When I saw the fighters
41:20over Berlin,
41:21he told his captors,
41:22I knew the jig
41:23was up.
41:27When the war
41:28in Europe
41:28finally ended
41:29in May 1945,
41:31the Mustang
41:32still played
41:33a crucial role
41:33in the Pacific,
41:35but its glory days
41:36as a long-range
41:38escort fighter
41:38were almost over.
41:40It was a hell
41:41of a plane.
41:44It was one
41:45of a kind
41:45in its day.
41:48I mean,
41:48it was the finest
41:49as far as I'm concerned.
41:54You'd never forget it.
41:55I've got to tell you this.
41:56I think what it is,
41:58that was the only thing
42:01I've ever done
42:02in my life
42:03that did anything
42:04for mankind.
42:06So you'd never forget it.
42:07I dream about
42:13missions today.
42:15I dream about
42:16what I do.
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