"Brig. Gen. Clarence "Bud" Anderson, the last American fighter pilot known as a "triple ace" for downing 16 German planes during World War II, died in his sleep May 17 at his home in Auburn, California. He was 102.
Born in Oakland, California, on Jan. 13, 1922, Clarence Emil Anderson Jr. joined the U.S. Army Air Forces on Jan. 19, 1942 and earned his pilot's wings at Luke Field, Arizona, later that year. He entered World War II as part of the 357th Fighter Group, the first unit in the U.S. Eighth Air Force to enter combat equipped with the North American P-51 Mustang.
Over the course of the war, the Mustang was credited with downing nearly 600 enemy planes - including a record 17 of Nazi Germany's Messerschmitt Me-262 jets - and destroying more than 100 aircraft on the ground. It also produced a record 42 aces, including Anderson, who at the end of the war had 16.25 victories to his credit. (Pilots are awarded a fraction of a "kill" if multiple airmen contributed to a plane's downfall.)
That dogfighting earned him the moniker of "triple ace," the military name for the rare pilot who has downed at least 15 aircraft in combat. Some others who achieved the same include Brig. Gen. Robin Olds, who shot down 17 aircraft during World War II and the Vietnam War; Capt. Joe Foss, who destroyed 26 aircraft in WWII; and Maj. Richard Bong, who totaled 40 aircraft kills in WWII.
Anderson then helped shepherd the U.S. military into the jet age as a test pilot at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and as a top test official at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, California."
continued - https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/b...&cvid=96c1e95d03774417a1e099ea51da8c3a&ei=869
Thank you, Brigadier General Anderson.
His P51-D's handle was "Old Crow".
Raising a shot of bourbon in his honor.
Born in Oakland, California, on Jan. 13, 1922, Clarence Emil Anderson Jr. joined the U.S. Army Air Forces on Jan. 19, 1942 and earned his pilot's wings at Luke Field, Arizona, later that year. He entered World War II as part of the 357th Fighter Group, the first unit in the U.S. Eighth Air Force to enter combat equipped with the North American P-51 Mustang.
Over the course of the war, the Mustang was credited with downing nearly 600 enemy planes - including a record 17 of Nazi Germany's Messerschmitt Me-262 jets - and destroying more than 100 aircraft on the ground. It also produced a record 42 aces, including Anderson, who at the end of the war had 16.25 victories to his credit. (Pilots are awarded a fraction of a "kill" if multiple airmen contributed to a plane's downfall.)
That dogfighting earned him the moniker of "triple ace," the military name for the rare pilot who has downed at least 15 aircraft in combat. Some others who achieved the same include Brig. Gen. Robin Olds, who shot down 17 aircraft during World War II and the Vietnam War; Capt. Joe Foss, who destroyed 26 aircraft in WWII; and Maj. Richard Bong, who totaled 40 aircraft kills in WWII.
Anderson then helped shepherd the U.S. military into the jet age as a test pilot at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and as a top test official at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, California."
continued - https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/b...&cvid=96c1e95d03774417a1e099ea51da8c3a&ei=869
Thank you, Brigadier General Anderson.
His P51-D's handle was "Old Crow".
Raising a shot of bourbon in his honor.
