An Ace in a Day

12th October 1944: A talented and determined flyer establishes his remarkable reputation as a combat pilot by shooting down five Me 109s

P-51 Mustangs of the 357th Fighter Group take off from Leiston in 1944

Armorers carry AN/M2 Browning .50-caliber machine guns and belts of linked ammunition to a P-51 Mustang.

Charles 'Chuck" Yeager had already made a name for himself as a talented pilot. He had also had some remarkable adventures, surviving being shot down over France and escaping back to Britain via Spain. The USAAF had a policy that escaped flyers who had been on the run in occupied Europe should not fly again in the same theatre - for fear of compromising the ‘escape lines’ should they be shot down again. Yeager had had to appeal directly to General Eisenhower to be permitted back into combat flying, He had recently been promoted to Lieutenant with the 363d Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group, stationed at RAF Leiston (USAAF Station 373).

I dropped my tanks and then closed up to the last Jerry and opened fire…

On the 12th October 1944 Yeager was leading the 363rd Squadron as part of the escort for a bombing raid on Bremen. Other Squadrons remained as close escorts with the bombers while the 363rd ranged 50-100 miles ahead looking for trouble.