Favorite Ace Story
Thu Oct 05, 2006 12:30 pm
There was a earlier post concerning 5 kill missions stories. This is my favorite ace story. No planes are downed in this story but I think it shows what a real great fun loving bunch these guys were..
Lt Chuck Koenig was an ace P-51 pilot and flight leader in the 353rd Ftr. Sqd. 354th Ftr. Gp. After D-Day the 354th FG moved to Strip A-2 in Criqueville, France from their base in Lashenden, England. Lt Koenig decided that, in a attempt to show friendship and respect to the French people, he would repaint the name on his P-51D s/n 44-13551 FT+K “Little Horse” in the French language. With the help of a local who provided the translation, Koenig rechristened his a/c “Le Petite Cheval" which made the locals very happy. Another member of the 353rd FS, Lt “Sully” Sullivan, thought this was a great idea and decided to do the same to his Mustang. He sought out Koenig's assistance who found this to be a perfect opportunity for a practical joke. In due course "Kiss of Death" was repainted with the name “Bise-Mon-Ane” which Sullivan was told was the French equivalent. But after days of laughter and pointing at his airplane Sullivan grew suspicious and found out the new name on the P-51 was actually "Kiss My Ass". Sullivan decided he liked the new name and kept on.
So the name on the new FT*K s/n 45-11586 N51PE should be "Le Petite Cheval".
Lt Chuck Koenig was an ace P-51 pilot and flight leader in the 353rd Ftr. Sqd. 354th Ftr. Gp. After D-Day the 354th FG moved to Strip A-2 in Criqueville, France from their base in Lashenden, England. Lt Koenig decided that, in a attempt to show friendship and respect to the French people, he would repaint the name on his P-51D s/n 44-13551 FT+K “Little Horse” in the French language. With the help of a local who provided the translation, Koenig rechristened his a/c “Le Petite Cheval" which made the locals very happy. Another member of the 353rd FS, Lt “Sully” Sullivan, thought this was a great idea and decided to do the same to his Mustang. He sought out Koenig's assistance who found this to be a perfect opportunity for a practical joke. In due course "Kiss of Death" was repainted with the name “Bise-Mon-Ane” which Sullivan was told was the French equivalent. But after days of laughter and pointing at his airplane Sullivan grew suspicious and found out the new name on the P-51 was actually "Kiss My Ass". Sullivan decided he liked the new name and kept on.
So the name on the new FT*K s/n 45-11586 N51PE should be "Le Petite Cheval".
Thu Oct 05, 2006 1:10 pm
http://www.verticalreference.com/articl ... e_34.shtml
This is a little off-topic since it doesn't involve an ace, but it's still one of my favorite "pilot" stories.
The attached link gives a brief summary of Chief warrent Officer Frederick Ferguson's Medal of Honor citation from the battle of Hue in 1968. He volunteered to lead a flight of Hueys to rescue a group of South Vietnamese crash survivors which were hiding inside of a courtyard inside the city of Hue. The citation doesn't go into as much detail as some other reports I've read. Basically the Hueys received so much AAA damage after returning from the mission that all but one had to be scrapped. The door gunners used up all their ammunition and the pilot/c-pilot's were forced to hand over their .38 revolvers to the door gunners!
I would loved to have seen the picture of a door gunner hanging out the side of a Huey firing a snub-nosed .38 revolver like it was some sort of western movie.
John
This is a little off-topic since it doesn't involve an ace, but it's still one of my favorite "pilot" stories.
The attached link gives a brief summary of Chief warrent Officer Frederick Ferguson's Medal of Honor citation from the battle of Hue in 1968. He volunteered to lead a flight of Hueys to rescue a group of South Vietnamese crash survivors which were hiding inside of a courtyard inside the city of Hue. The citation doesn't go into as much detail as some other reports I've read. Basically the Hueys received so much AAA damage after returning from the mission that all but one had to be scrapped. The door gunners used up all their ammunition and the pilot/c-pilot's were forced to hand over their .38 revolvers to the door gunners!
I would loved to have seen the picture of a door gunner hanging out the side of a Huey firing a snub-nosed .38 revolver like it was some sort of western movie.
John