Old Negative Restored--339th FG P-51 Marinell

The digitally restored negative. Click to SUPERSIZE. Great detail.

The restored Marinell.

I found an old negative inside a P-51 Mustang pilot's photo album. It had been tucked loosely inside the album and was in rough shape. No business in Idaho Falls has the capability to restore a negative, but fortunately, I have a friend who can digitally restore it.

I believe this photo to be of the P-51D Marinell, flown by a gentleman who lives in Idaho Falls. He scored three aerial victories in her during his tour. Another pilot was flying her and crashed in France in 1944, killing the pilot. The plane was wrecked but not totally destroyed. It ended up in a scrapyard until a wealthy British hobbyist bought it and restored it a few years back. It is now flying again.

Thanks to JG McCue for the restoration. Please feel free to use this rare old photo, available for the first time ever.

Watch Marinell's first flight since 1945 here.

See another old photo of this plane here.

Read about the 339th Fighter Group here.

Read about Marinell here.

For more posts about how I found out about this plane and pilot, just enter Louey or Marinell in the search box on the blog, upper left.

June 22 Meeting With Louey

[Disclaimer: 'Louey' is not my friend's real name]

Visited my new friend 'Louey' in the nursing home yesterday. This time, I picked him up a reading lamp with a gooseneck because he was having trouble reading. His bed is in a double room with a curtain down the middle, and he is away from the window. The only light is a flourescent light halfway up the wall and it does not shed enough light for him to read, either in bed or in his chair. The new light will do the trick. We gave it a 'test-read'.

We got to talking about England, as we've both been there--he in 1943-44, me last summer. Louey was stationed at a fighter base near Cambridge, which worked out nicely because he loved to play golf. The hard part was getting to the golf course. Fighter pilots at his base were not allowed to drive, because the CO was afraid they might get hurt and be unable to fly. Louey would hitch rides to Cambridge and then find a golf partner when he got there. Most of his partners were teachers at Cambridge, as they were some of the only men still around after the British draft. Louey gave up golf some years ago "when it became more work than fun" in his words.

Cambridge, England.

We talked a little about the duties of a fighter pilot in the 8th AF in '44. According to Louey, the P-51s spent most of their time on heavy bomber escort, protecting the B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators that flew out of England and bombed Occupied Europe. It was in this capacity that Louey got his three aerial victories. None were ground victories, which he discounted as "not being worth a damn".

After escorting the heavies, the P-51 pilots were allowed to drop down to very low altitude and attack ground targets. However, when the pilots "went over the Ditch"--back across the English Channel--they would climb back to high altitude, because the British anti-aircraft gunners would shoot at them. "They didn't care who was up there. They didn't really like us very much--we drank all their beer." We laughed about the common British expression that American troops in England were "overpaid, oversexed and over here". As the war went on, rationing in England became strict. The bartenders gave the Americans "soldier beer"--meaning watered down. However, they told the pilots up front that they were getting the weaker version. Also, Louey told me that not all British beer was served warm. Cold beer was also available.

In London, Louey liked to hit the private clubs or take in a show.

Louey's tour ended when he hit the required number of flying hours. "It wasn't hard to do, because we flew four to five hours at a time," he says.

Louey is now in his nineties, and spends his days reading or watching television, except for the two or three times a week some strange guy shows up to visit. It is an honor to talk with this old flyboy and share a few stories and laughs three times a week.

2nd Visit with Louey

Items belonging to "Louey", my friend at the nursing home. Louey is not his real name. Louey was a P-51 fighter pilot in England during WWII and had two kills. I picked up this historic stuff at an estate sale, then tracked him down.

339th Fighter Group Mustangs on the flight line in England, 1944. This was Louey's outfit.

I visited my new friend Louey again today for a couple hours at the nursing home. I brought him a set of padded headphones to jack into his TV because he was concerned he was going to disturb his roommate when he watched TV at night, as well as a framed photo of a P-51 Mustang to put under his TV table, and a book about fighters in WWII.

We had a good visit, with some good laughs. Louey told me he really has no interest in WWII fighters any more. "I got out of that plane and never looked back." I said, okay, no problem, what do you like? He enjoys travel and nature books, so that's what I'll bring in the future.

A P-51.

My next visit, in a couple days, I will bring him a reading light to mount on his headboard, because he can't read in bed and he would like to. Got it okayed with the director of the nursing home. Also, Louey and I talked about how we are both losing our memories--me because of concussions, Louey because of Alzheimers. When I first showed up, Louey didn't remember me from the first visit, but remembered me later. We laughed, and I said if we have to start from scratch every visit, it doesn't matter.

This was actually Louey's plane, according to my research. It has been restored and belongs to a man in England.

More on Yesterday's Story

L-R: Eighth Air Force flag;Photo album filled with interesting photos, none of which are captioned; lapel pin;classified pilot information file; Brooks Field, Texas Aircraft Identification book (also restricted); 1 Jan. 1944 Instrument Flying Techniques in Weather manual; Instrument Flying handbook, 339th Fighter Group 1987 San Diego Reunion Banquet Program.

Yesterday I wrote about running across an estate sale in Idaho Falls where the possessions of a former 8th Air Force P-51 Mustang pilot of the 339th Fighter Group were being sold along with everything else in the house that the man and his wife had lived in for over forty years. It was a sad experience, but I did try to find everything related to this man's WWII flight experience and buy it so it can be preserved.

Photos, a single pilot lapel pin, an Eighth Air Force flag, and some old training manuals were all that were left to testify to the distinguished record of this airman.

Research on this individual shows him to have gotten two kills in combat during 1944, and that he reached the rank of captain. I am adding some photos of the priceless pieces of this man's war experiences today.

Photos taken at San Antonio, Texas during pilot training. These are all aerial shots taken from the aircraft.

Memories for Sale

As I drove down 17th in Idaho Falls today, I noticed a sign advertising an estate sale. Since I knew the guy running the sale, I thought I'd go ahead and check it out, though I rarely find anything at estate sales.

I showed up, parked my car, and made my way to a nice middle-class home on 23rd Street in Idaho Falls. Nothing to distinguish it from the houses around it in any way. But when I walked into the garage, I saw some WWII fighter pilot manuals. Okay, my interest was up now.

This estate sale was one of the saddest kinds. The family was selling everything left in the house when the occupants passed away, right down to the shaving lotion in the bathroom and the the slippers in the closet.

I picked my way from room to room, and could tell early on that the man of the house was a former fighter pilot from WWII. And then, I realized that this man was my brother, my fellow parishioner at Christ the King Roman Catholic Church, and his wife had been the organist and the lady who made the roses bloom like brilliant bursts of red each summer.

I found bits and pieces of the life of a former 8th Air Force fighter pilot. I asked the sales person at the sale where the man and his wife were now. It turns out the lady passed away recently, and the husband is in the Alzheimers Ward at a local nursing home. I suddenly realized I was on hallowed ground in that house.

I found an old photo album showing the pilot's service in the 8th Air Force. I found all his old training manuals, and even his flight wings from cadet school.

This individual had two kills as a P-51 Mustang pilot in the 339th Fighter Group in the US Eighth Air Force in WWII.

I will go visit this elderly vet next week at the nursing home. I will tell him how much his service meant to me, and will try to support him in his final months.

No name necessary in this story, out of respect for this great American and his wife, whose life was put on the auction block today, and I am so glad I stopped and found his records of his WWII service.

Tuskegee Airman Marches in Inauguration Parade

By Gabe Pressman
NBCNewYork.com
updated 4:45 p.m. MT, Wed., Jan. 14, 2009

Roscoe Brown will march with pride in the Inauguration Day Parade in Washington. For 86 years this New Yorker has fought battle after battle against what he calls “the stupidity of racism.” This will be the ultimate day in a lifetime of helping to break down barriers. Brown and about 330 of his fellow pilots and ground crew members who still live have been invited to attend the inauguration of the first black president, Barack Obama.Brown, a professor and former president of Hostos College, will be wearing the black cap of the Tuskegee Airmen, the African-American men who fought for America in World War II. They were trained to fly at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. They had to confront the Jim Crow practices of the south even as they were educated to fly fighter planes in combat at a segregated institution.It was a little more than six decades ago -- yet what a sad world it was for a young black man! Restaurants were segregated and, after they received commissions as second lieutenants, these trail blazers were denied admission to officers' clubs on various bases. They experienced bigotry frequently. They had to disprove the vicious bias of white officers who insulted them and said they would never fight like white men. But the young black airmen persisted. By the end of World War II 994 pilots and about 15,000 ground personnel had been trained at the segregated Tuskegee Army Air Field.On the March 15, 1945, Roscoe Brown was part of the longest mission flown by the air force in World War II. He flew 1,500 miles from southern Italy to Berlin to take on a group of German jets. He shot down one of the German planes and he has a vivid memory of buzzing his home base as he and other pilots celebrated their triumph when they returned.“I was a kid, 23 years old,” Brown remembers. “And we were, like all pilots, a fun-loving, happy go lucky group.”As he marches down Pennsylvania Avenue on Inauguration Day, he'll be remembering that and many other moments in his life. This past Election Night, he celebrated the outcome with Congressman Charles Rangel, who was decorated for his bravery in the Korean War. Blondell's Restaurant in Harlem was crowded with people hailing the outcome of the election. At about 11 p.m., when Sen. Obama was declared president-elect, Brown recalls, “we shouted: 'We did it!'”And indeed they did. “I was so thrilled. Obama has shown such competence.”Does he think the new president's deeds will be as impressive as his words? “Politics,” said Brown, “is the art of the possible. I think Obama will make a good run at it.”The Tuskegee Airmen, an elite corps that contributed to America's victory in World War II, still faced discrimination when they returned home. Finally, six decades later, their achievements were recognized when they received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor Congress can give. And their performance helped move President Harry Truman to desegregate the armed services in 1948.“My career in public service was made possible by the path heroes like the Tuskegee Airmen trail-blazed, ” Obama said.Roscoe Brown is a patient man. He looks forward to more barriers being torn down, including economic inequality. He doesn't rail against the racists who said black men would never be good soldiers. To him racists are just stupid. And he adds: “I'm just proud of being part of history.”

New Norman Feltwell Warbird Photos

Polikarpov

P-39Q Airacobra

P-51 D Mustang

Englishman Norman Feltwell takes incredible photos of WWII warbirds. I'm lucky enough to be on his mailing list, and he has kindly given me permission to share. The above photos were all taken by Mr. Feltwell.

America's Fighter 'Sportscar'--The P-51 Mustang

Arguably the greatest escort fighter of World War Two, the P-51 Mustang saved the lives of many American bomber crewmen in the deadly skies over Europe in WWII. English photographer Norman Feltwell captures two of these classic warbirds in flight in this photo. Thanks, Norman!!

Honoring the Great Tuskegee Airmen of WWII

William Holloman of Kent, Washington, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, bows his head Monday at the Museum of Flight while taps is played at the end of a ceremony honoring the veterans, who were the nation's first African American military pilots. (May 28, 2007)

Barrier-Shattering Black aviators fought on 2 fronts

by CRAIG T. KOJIMA, Star Bulletin

"Lt. Col. Bill Holloman flew "Red Tail" P-51s with the 332nd
Fighter Group in World War II -- the famed Tuskegee
Airmen. He continued flying during the Korean War and
Vietnam, was the first black helicopter pilot in the Air Force
and later became a professor of history at the University of
Washington.

"I'm proud to be associated with that group of men who not only fought racism among the Nazis, but also here in America," Holloman says.

He'll speak on the contributions of the Tuskegee Airmen in a Black History Month presentation at the Pacific Aviation Museum at Pearl Harbor tomorrow and Sunday.

It's one of the great stories rising from the so-called Greatest Generation, the tale of the
"Tuskegee Airmen," the all-black squadrons that not only scored victories over Nazis in the air,
they scored strikes against racism on the homefront. As an inspirational paen, it's a story that
can't be told often enough.

Particularly now, during Black History Month. Which is why the Pacific Aviation Museum at PearlHarbor is bringing in Tuskegee Airman Bill Holloman and others to give a couple of talks on the subject this week. Except that ... ..."During the war, nobody ever heard of Tuskegee Airmen," explains Holloman.

Say what?

"We were 'those colored pilots,' " said Holloman. "Then we were 'Negros' until 1963, when we
became 'black.' Then somebody dreamed up 'African-American,' which I sort of resent. I'm an
American who happens to be of African descent. And I'm proud to be associated with that group
of men who not only fought racism among the Nazis, but also here in America. Some of our pilots
who were captured by the Germans were asked, why would you fly for a country that treats you as second-class citizens? Compared to what the Nazis were doing, America is the greatest nation
on Earth."

The phrase "Tuskegee Airmen," Hollomen explained, came about in the 1970s when veterans of
the fighter group organized an educational trust under that name. It comes from the all-black
Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, a university that served as a conduit for young black men to join
the Army Air Forces.

In 1941, Congress pressured the military into creating a black flying unit, but the plan was nearly scuttled by overt racism within the War Department, which commissioned "scientific" studies from the University of Texas proving that blacks couldn't handle anything as complex as a flying machine. This notion was scuttled by, of all people, Eleanor Roosevelt, who showed up at the flying field one day and insisted that she be taken up in the air in a Piper Cub flown by a black pilot.

Eventually, the 99th, 100th, 301st and 302nd all-black squadron were formed, collectively under the 332nd Fighter Group. And if you're wondering why there are four squadrons instead of the usual three, "we were the only four-squadron group in the armed forces," said Holloman. "And it was because we were segregated."

Not just pilots. The Tuskegee Airmen also consisted of hundreds of black support personnel.
"And one of the beautiful things about being in a segregated unit," said Holloman, "is that you
couldn't be transferred out away from your friends. We became a family."

Holloman hails from St. Louis, and like many aviators of the era, tried flying by jumping off the
garage roof with a sheet tied across his shoulders. "That is, until my mother got wind of it, and my father had us try jumping off a box instead. 'If you can fly off the box,' he said, 'I'll let you jump off the garage.' "

The airplane-crazy kid went to Tuskegee for training, graduating in class 44H, and Holloman says that nearby Tuskegee Airfield was unique in the sheer variety of training aircraft. "Usually, cadets would move from one field to another, learning different types of aircraft. But since we were segregated, instead, all the types of aircraft came to Tuskegee."

Holloman became rated in the famous P-40, P-39 and P-47 fighters, and like many aviators, his
heart was stolen by the sleek P-51 Mustang. The 332nd painted their aircraft with distinctively
crimson control surfaces, and thoroughout the campaign in Europe, the "Red Tails" were noted
as a fierce bunch of fighter pilots who went the extra air mile to protect bombers -- and often the crews who praised them didn't know the Red Tails were black.

Richard Taylor's painting of the Red Tails at work, protecting the heavy bombers over Europe in WWII.

"Star Wars" creator George Lucas' dream project is a movie about the 332nd, called, naturally,
"Red Tails." Holloman was called to Los Angeles last week to consult on the script.

"By 1945, we pretty much controlled the air," said Holloman. "We'd do five escort missions, then
get to do one search-and-destroy or strafing mission, which we preferred because it was more
exciting! As a whole, fighter pilots are crazy young men, and we liked it that way."
The armed forces were desegregated in 1948 by executive order, creating by law -- supposedly the only fully integrated communities in the United States. "I discovered quickly that you can have friends in the military, and be treated as an equal, as long as our kids didn't date," said Holloman.

"If there was any good that came out of World War II, it was the notion that we ignore the color of our skin when we're in the trenches together. America is not perfect -- 'America' is a goal, a
dream to work toward."

Chuck Yeager, Flying Legend

Brig. Gen. Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager was born in Myra, W.Va., on Feb. 13, 1923. He enlisted as a private in the Army Air Corps in September 1941 and, after serving briefly as an aircraft mechanic, entered enlisted pilot training in September 1942. He graduated as an enlisted flight officer from Luke Field, Ariz., in March 1943 and was assigned to the 363rd Fighter Squadron (357th Fighter Group) where he flew P-39s.

In November 1943, his unit was sent to England where he entered combat flying a P-51 Mustang . He downed a German aircraft before being shot down over occupied France during his eighth mission on March 5,1944. He evaded capture and managed to convince Gen. Dwight Eisenhower to permit him to return to combat with his squadron. He flew 56 more combat missions during which he shot down 11 more German aircraft (including five Me 109s during a single mission Oct. 12, 1944). He returned to the United States in February 1945 and was assigned to Perrin Field, Texas, as a basic flying instructor. Then, in July 1945, he was assigned as a maintenance officer to the Flight Test Division at Wright Field, Ohio, an assignment which was destined to lead to a major turning point in his career.

His remarkably superb flying skills quickly caught the attention of Col. Albert Boyd, chief of the division, and Col. Fred Ascani, his deputy. As Ascani recalled, Yeager flew an airplane "as though he was an integral part of it; his 'feel' for a new airplane was instinctive, intuitive and as natural as if he had already flown it for a hundred or more hours."In 1946, he graduated from the Flight Performance School (initial designation of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School) at Wright Field and, in 1947, Boyd selected him as project pilot for one of the most important series of flights in history. In late summer 1947, he was sent to Muroc Army Air Field (now Edwards Air Force Base) to fly the rocket-powered Bell X-1. After launch from a B-29, Oct. 14, 1947, he accelerated to a speed of Mach 1.06 at 42,000 feet and shattered the myth of the once-dreaded "sound barrier" forever. Spectacular though it was, Yeager's first supersonic flight represented just the beginning of a seven-year career at Edwards (1947-54) during which he would establish himself as one of the truly legendary figures among the world's fraternity of test pilots.

The late 1940s and '50s were an era when the limits of time and space were being dramatically expanded. A whole series of "X-" or experimental aircraft were designed to explore bold new concepts. Because of his consummate piloting skill, his coolness under pressure and ability to detect a problem, quickly analyze it and take appropriate action, Yeager was selected to probe some of the most challenging unknowns of flight in aircraft such as the X-1A, X-3, X-4, X-5 and XF-92A.He continued to explore the enigmas of high-speed flight, for example, as he piloted the rocket-powered X-1A to a record 1,650 mph (Mach 2.44) on Dec. 12, 1953. During this flight, he became the first pilot to encounter inertia coupling. The aircraft literally tumbled about all three axes as it plummeted for more than 40,000 feet before he was able to recover it to level flight. Even his legendary rival, Scott Crossfield, has since conceded that it was "probably fortunate" that Yeager was the pilot on that flight "so we had the airplane to fly another day."By latter-day standards, it is remarkable that, while engaged in a wide range of such highly experimental flight research programs, he was also involved in the evaluation of virtually all of the aircraft that were then being considered for the Air Force's operational inventory. Indeed, he averaged more than 100 flying hours per month from 1947-1954 and, at one point, actually flew 27 different types and models of aircraft within the span of a single month.

In October 1954, he was assigned to command the 417th Fighter Squadron, first in Germany and then in France. Returning to the United States in September 1957, he served as commander of the 1st Fighter Squadron at George Air Force Base, Calif.After graduating from the Air War College in June of 1961, he returned to Edwards where, in July 1962, he was selected to serve as commandant of the U.S. Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School (designation of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School from 1961 to 1972) where he was responsible for the training of U.S. military astronaut candidates.In July 1966, he assumed command of the 405th Fighter Wing at Clark Air Base in the Philippines. During this tour, he flew 127 combat missions over Vietnam.

After a 34-year military career, he retired on March 1, 1975. At the time of his retirement, he had flown more than 10,000 hours in more than 330 different types and models of aircraft. The magnitude of his achievements may be surmised from the fact that he has been the recipient of every major award in the field of flight from the Collier Trophy to the Harmon International Trophy and the Federation Aeronautique International Gold Medal as well as the highest honors that his own nation can accord, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and a special peacetime Medal of Honor. Indeed, those achievements have earned him a place in that small pantheon of aviators which includes such names as Charles Lindburg and Jimmy Doolittle.

Recommended reading about Chuck Yeager:

Yeager: An Autobiography, by Chuck Yeager. I have a signed copy of this excellent book. Find a copy for yourself at http://www.amazon.com/Yeager-Autobiography-Chuck/dp/0553256742/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-1823667-6149529?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192310357&sr=8-1.

The Right Stuff, by Thomas Wolfe, about the early supersonic pioneers and astronauts. Find a copy at http://www.amazon.com/Right-Stuff-Tom-Wolfe/dp/1579124585/ref=pd_bbs_11/104-1823667-6149529?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192310357&sr=8-11

Chuck Yeager and the Bell X-1: Breaking the Sound Barrier (Hardcover) by Dominic A. Pisano et al. Get a copy here at http://www.amazon.com/Chuck-Yeager-Bell-X-1-Breaking/dp/0810955350/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/104-1823667-6149529?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192310357&sr=8-2

F-15 and Mustang in Formation

The picture says it all.

Thrift Store Find-- A Piece of Aviation History

Found in a thrift store today for less than a dollar, here is a piece of aviation history--one of the Champion Spark Plugs from the record-setting modified P-51 Mustang that broke the world record for speed for a piston-powered aircraft in 1979 flown by Steve Hinton.

One of the fun things about visiting thrift stores is you just never know what you're going to find.

Take today, for example. At one place, I found three Rolling Stones albums, including a first-pressing of Beggar's Banquet, plus The Who's 'Tommy' double-LP and Volume Two of 'The Best of Cream--LIVE".

But that's not likely to interest many aviation readers.

However, I also found this unique item--an original Champion Spark Plug from the specialized P-51 Mustang, actually called an RB-51, that was flown by legendary film stunt pilot and air racer Steve Hinton in 1979 to set the World's Record for piston-driven aircraft. Steve flew the modifed Mustang at 499.046 miles per hour in 1979 at Tonopah, Nevada.

This little plaque has one of the original spark plugs from the plane, called 'Red Baron', and a metal plaque that tells about the exploit.

I paid fifty cents for it.

A photo of Hinton and the modified Mustang setting the world speed record for piston aircraft in 1979.

A neat computer-simulated shot of the RB-51 setting the record.

You can see it on eBay at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280158219605&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=018.

WWII Aircraft: View from the Cockpit

Ever wondered what the cockpits of the great fighters and bombers of WWII looked like? Today, the blog takes you on a tour of some of the European air war's most famous aircraft.
Enjoy!

P-38 Lightning fighter (USA)

Hawker Hurricane Fighter (British)

Spitfire Fighter (British)

P-51 Mustang fighter (USA)

P-47 Thunderbolt Fighter (USA)

Fw-190 fighter (German)

Lancaster bomber (British)

B-24 Liberator bomber (USA)

Me-109 (German fighter)

B-17 Flying Fortress Cockpit, heavily modifed with up-to-date avionics. (USA)



I had to throw this one in for sentimental reasons. This is the cockpit of the Cessna 150. I learned how to fly in this plane in 1978. It has about as much in common with the other planes as a Volkswagen Bug has with a Formula racing car.

Two P-51s Lost at Air Show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin

One of the two P-51s impacts the runway during the airshow.

Two vintage P-51 Mustangs crashed at an air show this weekend, part of a two-plane collision that killed one of the pilots.

The accident happened while the two planes were landing during the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual AirVenture show, Friday, July 27, 2007, in Oshkosh, Wis.

The FAA said the accident with the two P-51 Mustangs happened after the planes finished a performance at the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual AirVenture show.

The collision left one pilot confirmed dead, the FAA said. The annual convention is considered one of the world's largest gatherings of recreational aviators. (AP Photo/Mike Paschal)

My prayers go out to the men involved in this terrible accident, and their families.

One British Town Celebrates July 4--and the Pilot Who Saved It

Captain John Pershing Perrin, 1918-1944

July 4th is Independence Day in the United States, a day of family get-togethers, hot dogs, baseball games and fireworks. But for one small town in England, July 4 is the day chosen to honor the memory of Army Air Corps Captain John Pershing Perrin, who stayed with his aircraft and perished rather than letting it crash into the village of Stafford.


On July 4, 1944, Perrin had just taken off from Wharton, Lancashire, on what was to be a routine training flight to another town 160 miles away. The flight should have taken Perrin about forty minutes. Perrin was already an ace, meaning he had shot down five enemy aircraft, and was an experienced pilot. However, he was flying a P-51D Mustang for the first time. The plane had an 85-gallon fuel tank attached, and he was learning the P-51's flight characteristics with this added piece of heavy equipment.


Shortly after takeoff, a fuel leak developed in the engine. It became worse, filling the cockpit with fuel vapor and then smoke. Perrin was unable to see out of the aircraft. At this point, he should have bailed out, but chose to stay with the plane and attempt to land it at the nearest air base, as he was flying over a populated area. Perrin knew how explosive his plane would be with a full load of fuel, and didn't want to risk it.


According to one eyewitness who saw the last moments of Perrin's life: “It was a very courageous decision to stay with his craft, to accept the worsening risk of an explosion in the cockpit rather than bail out. He was skimming over houses and schools, people - untold others in the town, going about their daily business, kids walking home from school, and this then-pilotless plane, fuel-laden, would be crashing among them."



As Perrin attempted to bring the craft to an unpopulated area, the vapors finally exploded, killing him instantly. No one on the ground was injured.


So along with the United States, Stafford England will be having its own celebration today---honoring the valor of a brave American who gave up his life to save others. At today's ceremony, Perrin's relatives and British villagers, along with diplomats from both countries, will honor Perrin by dedicating an eight-foot stone monument in his memory.


The monument will be in the shape of Perrin's beloved Mustang.


The town also has a Mustang Drive in honor of Perrin.


The BBC website for Stoke and Staffordshire has an excellent article on Perrin and his last actions, and I highly recommend it. The link is http://www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/content/articles/2005/06/06/captain_perrin_feature.shtml



John Pershing Perrin ‘40
(b. November 5, 1918, Atlantic City, NJ-d. July 4, 1944, England)


Attended Toms River High School, Toms River, NJ


Entered Rutgers September 1936, attended one term


Entered Service March 11, 1941, U.S. Army Air Corps, commissioned 2nd Lt., January 14, 1942, 1st Lt., July 1943, Captain, April 1944


John served overseas in England where he died during a plane crash at Creswell, Stafford, England. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters posthumously.

In 2005, Stanley Jones, a British man who lived in Strafford as a child, recalled Perrin's final flight for a BBC online presentation entitled, "'Saviour of Stafford' WW2 pilot Captain Perrin."