After serving a stint as a P-40 fighter pilot with the Flying Tigers slaying Zeros over Burma, James Howard now found himself slaying Jerry over Europe.
On January 11, 1944, Howard and his squadron of P-51 Mustangs were escorting a formation of B17 bombers back from a mission to wipe out some aircraft factories near Berlin. While still over Germany, Nazi fighter planes attacked the American formation, and Howard, along with the other escorts, swooped in to defend the bombers.
After a short battle, all of the German fighters were either driven off or shot down, but Howard found himself alone, separated from the rest of his squadron.
He returned to the bomber formation by himself, only to find the sky swarming with between 30 and 40 German fighters.
Rather than wait for the rest of his squadron, Howard blazed directly into the heart of the German fighter formation. For the next 30 minutes, Howard viciously attacked the German planes with the astonished bomber crews looking on in awe. He shot down or damaged at least six enemy aircraft and received in return only a single bullet through the wing.
Running dangerously low on fuel and with half of his guns jammed, Howard continued to swoop in on the enemy planes and force them away from the bombers before the German aircraft eventually gave up the chase.
When Howard returned to his base in the U.K., he didn't tell anyone what had happened. Only after an inquiry by the bomber crews was Howard's identity as the legendary Mustang pilot revealed.
For his actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
In a press conference a few weeks later, a reporter asked Howard why he didn't wait for the rest of his squadron, and his response was: "He who rides a tiger cannot dismount." The leader of the bomber formation later reported, "For sheer determination and guts, it was the greatest exhibition I've ever seen. It was a case of one lone American against what seemed to be the entire Luftwaffe. He was all over the wing, across and around it. They can't give that boy a big enough award." #imapilot #ww2 #holyshit #stayzero #zerofoxtrot