30 German Fighters Attacking Bombers — One Pilot Fought Them All Alone

Описание: 30 German Fighters Attacking Bombers — One Pilot Fought Them All Alone
January 11th, 1944. Oschersleben, Germany. Major James Howard pushed his P-51B Mustang into a screaming dive toward 30 German fighters attacking B-17 bombers.
He was 30. Former Flying Tiger. Already killed Japanese pilots over Burma. In four minutes, he'd be completely alone.
The Eighth Air Force launched over 650 heavy bombers that morning. Target: aircraft factories deep inside Germany. Fighter escort was inadequate. P-51 Mustangs were new. Groups spread thin. Gaps in coverage inevitable. Germans knew where those gaps would occur.
Howard's unit, the 354th Fighter Group, was assigned escort for the 401st Bombardment Group. Howard led a flight of four P-51s.
At 13:30, the attack came. More than 30 German fighters climbing from southeast. BF-109s and FW-190s. Positioning for head-on attacks on the bombers.
Howard pushed throttle forward. Called his flight to follow into a dive. The P-51B accelerated past 400 mph.
His three wingmen lost contact during the initial dive. Engaged individual targets. Became separated. Unable to rejoin.
Within minutes, James Howard was alone.
One P-51 Mustang against 30+ German fighters.
Standard doctrine: disengage. One fighter couldn't defend bombers against 30 attackers. The mathematics were impossible.
Howard didn't disengage. The bombers were his responsibility. 210 young Americans in those B-17s. If he left, there'd be nothing between them and 30 German fighters with cannons.
He attacked.
First target: BF-109 pulling up for another run. Howard closed to 300 yards. Fired. Rounds struck engine and fuselage. Glycol coolant streaming. The 109 rolled over, dove trailing white smoke.
No time to confirm. Already swinging toward next threat. FW-190 lining up on lead bomber. Howard cut across flight path. Deflection shot. Burst caught the 190 in wing root. Shuddered. Broke off. Dove away.
Two Germans driven off in under a minute. Twenty-eight more still attacking.
For 30 minutes, Howard flew back and forth across the bomber formation like a sheepdog. Attacked every German fighter that approached. Diving. Firing. Pulling up. Rolling into another attack.
German pilots were confused. Expected organized groups. Instead, one Mustang everywhere at once. Every time they lined up, the lone P-51 appeared from unexpected angle.

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