S1E5: 8th Air Force in Europe, WW 2: Part 5 - Maj James Howard, USAAF, P-51B Mustang

The Aviation Medals of Honor

The only fighter pilot to be awarded the Medal of Honor from the European Theater of Operations, Maj James Howard took on 30 plus Luftwaffe fighters while protecting 8th Air Force bombers over Oschersleben, Germany on January 11th, 1944. This episode covers the development of the P-51 Mustang, from it's beginnings as a British program to it's arrival in the ETO as an air superiority fighter.

*Although assigned to the 9th Air Force, Major Howard was operationally assigned to the 8th Air Force.

Selected readings:

Roar of the Tiger: From Flying Tigers to Mustangs, James Howard

Fighting at 425 MPH, Popular Science, August 1944

P-51, P-47, and P-38 Tactical Planning Characteristics and Performance Charts, USAAF, May 1944

P-51 Mustang, Robert Grinsell

Big Week: The Biggest Air Battle of World War 2, James Holland *McGinty quote from here

The Mighty Eighth series by Roger Freeman

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