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To: Snowyman
I saw a story a few years ago from the Battle of Britain.

A German pilot was shot down over England, near an RAF base. He was captured by a civilian with a gun and held until the authorities could collect him.

He was picked up and taken under guard to a holding cell on the base he had - a couple of hours earlier - participated in bombing and strafing. As he was being led from the lorry to his cell, he looked at the damage (lots of burning aircraft, huge holes in the runway, a pall of smoke hanging over everything) and said, in English, to the British officer who was guarding him "what do you think of that?"

He was conducted to his cell without comment, where he kept overnight until someone could come and transport him to a POW facility.

The next morning he was to be picked up. The same officer went down to his cell to get him. When he was brought out into the daylight, he the German witnessed a total transformation. The runway was usable, with all the craters filled in. Crews were rapidly re-paving it. Most amazingly, there were dozens of brand-new American-made P-51s standing where the hulks of the bombed and strafed Spitfires and Hurricanes had stood the day before.

The RAF officer said to him: "what do you think of that?

The German replied "that's why you're winning the war."

8 posted on 09/15/2015 8:24:26 AM PDT by Steely Tom (Vote GOP: A Slower Handbasket)
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To: Steely Tom

As much as I can appreciate your story, North American Aviation didn’t deliver the first Mustang until the end of 1941. Even then it’s Allison engine had to be replaced by a Rolls Royce Merlin which was better at high altitudes. The first Merlin-equipped Mustang, the P-51B, flew in November, 1942.

At 30,000 feet, the Merlin equipped Mustang reached 440 MPH, almost 100 MPH faster than the Allison-equipped Mustang at that altitude.

An amazing plane.

http://acepilots.com/planes/p51_mustang.html


13 posted on 09/15/2015 8:53:00 AM PDT by Snowyman
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To: Steely Tom

Great story!


18 posted on 09/15/2015 9:01:08 AM PDT by HereInTheHeartland (Going to Planned Parenthood for medical care; would be like going to Auschwitz for medical care.)
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