A Pistol Whipping,
by
Stan Stokes
There were tens of thousands of aerial combat encounters during World
War II. One of the most unusual was a dogfight that took place between
Captain Arthur C. Fiedler, Jr. and an unidentified German Bf-109 pilot
on June 28, 1944. Fiedler was an Illinois native who received his wings
in July 1943. He was assigned as a flight instructor in Dover, Delaware,
but in May 1944 he was assigned to the 317th Fighter Squadron of the
325th Fighter Group. Flying P-51B Mustangs the 317th was based in Lesina,
Italy. Fiedler named his Mustang after his wife “Helen.” On a combat
mission on June 24th Fiedler claimed a probable. Four days later the
eventual ace was flying near Polesti, Rumania when a Bf-109 crossed
directly in front of his aircraft. Slamming his P-51 into a near
vertical bank he trailed the 109 for a few seconds attaining several
hits before his guns jammed. As Fiedler rolled out of his bank he found
himself flying in formation parallel to the 109, and headed towards
Russia. Fiedler was not willing to make himself a target for the 109,
and with his Mustang low on fuel and with jammed guns, Fiedler
reactively drew his service revolver. As he drew his .45 pistol, the
German pilot unexpectedly jettisoned his canopy and bailed out. Fiedler
was given the nickname “Svengali” for this incident. Fiedler continued
his combat tour into 1945, and by January he had attained 8 confirmed
aerial victories. Fiedler remained in the Air Force following the War.
Flying in both Korea and Vietnam, he was promoted to Colonel in 1969,
and retired from the Air Force in 1975. The P-51 Mustang and the
Messerschmitt Bf-109 were two of the most important aircraft of WW II.
More than 15,000 P-51s were produced, the most of any American-built
fighter, while the Bf-109 was the most produced fighter aircraft of the
war with 35,000 produced. The P-51 was designed by Raymond Rice and
Edgar Schmued of North American Aviation, because the President of the
company thought he could do better than merely produce Curtiss P-40s
under license for the RAF. Initially introduced with an Allison
liquid-cooled V-12, the P-51 performed poorly despite its superior
airframe. As early Mustangs arrived the British were anxious to see how
this aircraft would perform with the powerful Rolls Royce Merlin engine.
The aircraft was about 13% faster and could climb to combat altitude in
45% less time than the Allison-equipped aircraft. Going into production
as the P-51B the Brits received about 1000 aircraft while the USAAF took
an additional 1000. The first P-51B models were in service with the
Eighth Air Force in December 1943. The excellent performance of these
aircraft and their excellent range when equipped with external wing
tanks, made the P-51 a tremendous asset when accompanying American
daylight bombers on their raids into Germany. The 109 was arguably the
most advanced fighter aircraft from 1935 until 1940. The 109 was
designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Walter Rethel with the goal of
packing the most powerful engine available into the smallest possible
aircraft structure. During the Spanish Civil War the 109 proved its
superiority. Despite numerous technical enhancements as the war
progressed, by the end of the War the 109 was both outclassed and
outnumbered by its rivals.
Overall Print Size: 16" x 11 1/2"
|
Collector Sized Lithograph:
$40
|
|
|
225 Signature Series
Lithograph: $125
Co-signed by
Colonel
ARTHUR C. FIEDLER, JR
- WWII Ace.
|
|
