God Is My CoPilot
Well, here's another story kinda like Big Al's story about the Faith , Hope & Charity Galdiators on Malta.
Col. Robert L. Scott flew a P-40E, serial number 41-1456 (Page 93, if you have the paperback version) against the Japanese in Burma out of Assam. Col. Scott flew alone against the Japanese, and in May of 1942, he flew sorties against the Japanese at Lashio & Mogaung with the spinner of his lone P-40, "Old Exterminator", painted different colors on different missions; and he approached the enemy from different directions to create the impression that there was more than a single P-40 attacking them.
I happened to catch his P-40, replicated to resemble his original "Old Exterminator", coming in to "The Last Roundup of Mustang Legends" Airshow here in Columbus in the summer of 2007. Although I'm not sure it was in fact him at the controls.
From page 103 (paperback) of Col. Scott's book, God Is My CoPilot, concerning the venerable P-40...
When he found out that I was serious, and that my ambition was to get over there and fly with them [AVG], so that in the end I might teach it to our younger pilots who would be coming out, he [George Paxton -AVG Pilot] told me things I would never have learned otherwise.
"First", he said, leading me off under the wing of one of the P-40s, "first, the Old Man [Claire Chennault] says, never turn with one of the Zeros. He says that's bad."
I learned that the Japanese ship would out maneuver anything, and would outclimb the P-40 four to one. "But that doesn't matter," Paxton said. "The P-40 is the strongest ship in the world. It's heavy as hell, but that makes it outdive just about anything, and it'll outdive the Japanese two to one. With the two Fifties and four thirty-caliber guns in the B's we have done pretty good. Now with six Fifties in the new Kittyhawks we outgun anything."
He told me that Hill, Rector, Bond, Neal, Lawler and other aces had seen Zeros disintegrate in front of their six Fifties, and went on to advise that I use the good qualities of the P-40's against the bad qualities of the Japanese, but never try to beat him at his own game-climbing and maneuverability.
Paxton did me a lot of good- he got me my first flight with the AVG on the Emperor's birthday. But the Japanese didn't come in. We were the most griped bunch you've ever seen. Everyone up and waiting at three A.M.-and then the dirty so-and-so's didn't have the guts to come in!
I heard a story on George Paxton that will show you the kind of tough Texan he was. It was down over Rangoon, near Mingaladon airdrome, in the early days of the Burma war. Doctor Gentry, who told me the story, said that the squadron George was in was aloft and engaging the Japanese over the field. Looking upstairs, you could see the condensation streamers criss-crossing the sky, and every now and then a trail of smoke as a Japanese Zero burned and pluged toward the earth.
Finally eight or nine Zeros ganged up on George Paxton. They got on his tail and they got all over him. He fought his way partially out of the trap, but two of them right on his tail literally shot him to pieces. George's ship was seen to trail smoke and dive straight down, from about fifteen thousand feet. Doctor Gentry said they watched the stricken Forty and knew who it was by the number. As it disappeared behind the trees they mentally crossed the boy Paxton off their list of living men.
But George and the sturdy P-40 were not through. There was the surging screem of an Allison engine's last boost, and the ship skimmed over the trees and made a belly landing on the soft part of the field. Even then, considering the number of Japanese who had been using George for target practice and the way the ship looked, with big holes in the tail, wings, and fusalage, as they drove out for him in the jeep they expected to find just a body.
Instead, they found George Paxton standing by the side of his ship, swearing and shaking his fist at the sky.
Doctor Gentry said he looked into the cockpit. The instrument panel was just about shot away, the rudder pedals were partly shot to pieces, the armor of the pilot's seat was badly bent-but Paxton was out there yelling: "I still say those little--------can't shoot!"
Even his Texas boots were practically shot off. Two doctors picked rivets from Paxton's back all the afternoon, and Japanese explosive particles from his feet, legs and hands. The worst injuries had been caused by the Japanese explosive bullets hitting the seat armor and driving the rivets through into George's back. But for the armor, those explosives would have been in Paxton's back, instead of just the rivets.
That book is a great read, if you ever get the chance!
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Originally Posted by WilliamBarkerVC
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