- 2 days ago
Why a shot-down American pilot stole a German Fw 190 and flew it home during WW2 — only to be shot at by his own base. This World War 2 story reveals how one "overaggressive" pilot pulled off the most daring escape of the air war.
November 2, 1944. First Lieutenant Bruce Carr, P-51 Mustang pilot with the 354th Fighter Group, was hit by flak over Czechoslovakia — two hundred miles behind enemy lines. After three days evading capture, starving and freezing, he planned to surrender. Then he spotted a fueled Fw 190 on a Luftwaffe airfield. Every rule said steal nothing, evade and escape. His commanders had already labeled him "overaggressive."
They were all wrong.
What Carr discovered that freezing November dawn wasn't just about survival. It was about doing what no American pilot had ever done — climbing into an enemy cockpit with controls he couldn't read, in a language he didn't speak. He had until sunrise to figure it out. German mechanics would arrive in thirty minutes. And even if he got airborne, every Allied gun between Czechoslovakia and France would try to shoot him down.
But stealing the Fw 190 was only the beginning of Bruce Carr's story. What happened next — and what h
November 2, 1944. First Lieutenant Bruce Carr, P-51 Mustang pilot with the 354th Fighter Group, was hit by flak over Czechoslovakia — two hundred miles behind enemy lines. After three days evading capture, starving and freezing, he planned to surrender. Then he spotted a fueled Fw 190 on a Luftwaffe airfield. Every rule said steal nothing, evade and escape. His commanders had already labeled him "overaggressive."
They were all wrong.
What Carr discovered that freezing November dawn wasn't just about survival. It was about doing what no American pilot had ever done — climbing into an enemy cockpit with controls he couldn't read, in a language he didn't speak. He had until sunrise to figure it out. German mechanics would arrive in thirty minutes. And even if he got airborne, every Allied gun between Czechoslovakia and France would try to shoot him down.
But stealing the Fw 190 was only the beginning of Bruce Carr's story. What happened next — and what h
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00:00at 1420 on november 2nd 1944 first lieutenant bruce carr felt his p-51d mustang shutter as german
00:09anti-aircraft fire ripped through the engine over czechoslovakia 200 miles behind enemy lines 20
00:15years old 37 combat missions five confirmed kills the ninth air force had lost 23 pilots to flak
00:23over czechoslovakia in october alone most never made it out of their cockpits the ones who did
00:29faced something worse german civilians had beaten three american airmen to death in the past month
00:34the wehrmacht took prisoners the gestapo took bodies carr's engine was dying oil pressure dropping
00:41temperature spiking he had maybe 90 seconds before the merlin seized completely at 4 000 feet over enemy
00:48territory he had one option he pulled the canopy release rolled the mustang inverted and fell into
00:54the freezing november sky his parachute opened at 2 000 feet below him the forests of czechoslovakia
01:01stretched in every direction no allied positions no friendly faces just german occupied territory
01:07and a 20-year-old pilot floating down into it the p-51d he had named angel's playmate hit the
01:14ground
01:14three miles east and exploded on impact carr landed in a forest clearing gathered his chute and started
01:21moving west toward france toward his base toward the 200 miles of enemy territory between him and safety
01:28the first day he covered 12 miles no food no water just his flight suit his 45 pistol and the
01:36survival
01:37training that every fighter pilot hoped they would never need he moved at night hid during daylight and
01:43listened to german patrols passing within yards of his hiding spots by the third day bruce carr was
01:48starving his hands shook his vision blurred he had covered maybe 30 miles which meant he had 170 left to
01:56go at this rate he would be dead before he reached the rhine hypothermia starvation or a german patrol one
02:03of
02:03the three would get him on the morning of november 5th carr made a decision he would surrender not to
02:10the
02:10wehrmacht not to the gestapo to the luftwaffe german pilots treated captured american airmen with professional
02:17respect fighter pilot to fighter pilot it was his best chance at surviving the war he had watched
02:24german aircraft taking off and landing from a nearby airfield luftwaffe base foker wolf 190s lined up in
02:31dispersal areas among the trees ground crews working on engines fuel trucks moving between revetments this
02:37was where he would turn himself in carr approached the perimeter fence at dusk he planned to walk onto the
02:43base at first light hands raised and hoped the luftwaffe pilots would take him prisoner before anyone
02:49else got to him he found a spot in the tree line with a clear view of the nearest dispersal
02:54area and
02:54settled in to wait that was when he saw it two german mechanics finishing their work on a focus wolf
03:00190
03:01they topped off the fuel tanks they ran up the engine they checked the controls then they walked away
03:08leaving the aircraft sitting there in the darkness fueled armed ready to fly bruce carr stared at that
03:16german fighter for a long time if you want to see how carr's desperate plan turned out please hit that
03:22like button it helps us bring more untold stories to life subscribe if you haven't already back to carr
03:29he was a 20 year old american pilot with 37 missions and five kills he had never sat in a
03:35german cockpit
03:36he could not read german he did not know where the starter was how the throttle worked or whether the
03:42guns were loaded the focal wolf 190 was one of the deadliest fighters in the luftwaffe inventory german
03:48pilots trained for months to fly it carr had until dawn to figure it out by 0600 the base would
03:55be awake by
03:560630 mechanics would be pre-flighting that aircraft if he was going to steal a german fighter he had
04:02exactly one chance and if he failed the gestapo would make sure his death took a very long time
04:10carr waited until full darkness 2200 hours the luftwaffe base had settled into night routine
04:18a few guards walking perimeter lights in the barracks across the field the dispersal area where the
04:23fox wolf sat was empty no mechanics no pilots just one german fighter and the trees surrounding it he
04:31moved through the fence where the wire had rusted at the bottom slowly one inch at a time every sound
04:38amplified in the silence his flight boots on frozen leaves his breathing his heartbeat pounding so loud
04:45he was certain the guards could hear it the fox wolf 190 sat 20 yards from the tree line car
04:51crossed that distance in a crouch expecting a shout or a gunshot with every step neither came he reached
04:58the wing paused listened nothing he pulled himself onto the wing root and slid into the cockpit the smell
05:07hit him first aviation fuel gun oil leather the cockpit was smaller than his mustang tighter the instrument
05:15panel covered in gauges he could not read every label in german every switch unmarked in any language
05:22he understood in the darkness he could barely see the outlines of the controls car had flown p-40 war
05:28hawks p-51 mustangs american aircraft with american instruments and american engineering the fock wolf was
05:36german engineering at its finest the instrument layout was completely different the throttle quadrant was on the
05:42left not the right the stick felt heavier the rudder pedals sat at a different angle he started
05:49memorizing by touch this switch here that lever there the throttle the mixture the propeller control
05:56except the fock wolf did not have separate controls for mixture and propeller it had something the germans
06:02called the commando get at one single lever that controlled everything throttle mixture propeller pitch
06:09supercharger all managed automatically by a mechanical computer built into the engine it was the most
06:16advanced throttle system on any fighter aircraft in the world and it was the only reason car had any
06:21chance at all in a mustang a pilot who did not know the systems would crash on takeoff trying to
06:28manage five
06:29different controls simultaneously in the fock wolf he only had to manage one the starter he needed to find the
06:38starter his fingers traced the right side of the cockpit a t-shaped handle with german text he could not
06:44read
06:45he memorized its position pull or push he would find out at dawn landing gear lever flap controls he found
06:55them
06:56by shape and location comparing them to what he knew from american aircraft similar enough maybe the canopy
07:03release was obvious the gun sight he would not need he was not planning to fight he was planning to
07:10run
07:11four hours until dawn car sat in that german cockpit in the darkness on an enemy airfield memorizing every
07:20control he could find by touch alone his hands were shaking partly from cold partly from fear partly from the
07:29simple mathematics of what he was attempting if the engine did not start he would be captured in a german
07:36cockpit if the engine started but he could not control the aircraft he would crash and die if he managed
07:43to
07:43take off but flew the wrong direction he would run out of fuel over enemy territory if he flew the
07:49right
07:50direction every german gun between czechoslovakia and france would try to shoot him down and if he somehow made
07:57it to allied lines every american gun would try to shoot him down too a folk wolf with german markings
08:04approaching an american airfield the mathematics said he should die every variable pointed toward failure
08:12but the alternative was surrender prison camp and hoping the war ended before he starved to death behind
08:18german german wire at 05 30 the sky began to lighten car heard voices in the distance german voices the
08:27base was
08:28waking up mechanics would arrive at the dispersal area within 30 minutes maybe less he found the t-handle he
08:37placed his fingers around it and he pushed nothing happened car pushed the t-handle again still nothing his mind
08:47raced through possibilities wrong control wrong direction dead battery disabled aircraft every
08:54second that passed brought the german mechanics closer he reversed direction pulled the handle instead of
09:01pushing a high-pitched whine filled the cockpit an inertia starter spooling up somewhere in the engine
09:07compartment the sound grew louder higher building towards something car pulled the handle back toward his
09:14body the bmw 801 engine coughed once twice then roared to life 14 cylinders producing nearly 2 000 horsepower
09:25the entire aircraft shook with the power of it smoke and exhaust blasted backward the propeller became a
09:32blur somewhere on the airfield germans were shouting car did not wait to find out what they were saying
09:38he released the brakes and shoved the throttle forward the fox wolf lunged the head like an animal the acceleration
09:45pressed him back into the seat he had no idea which direction the runway was he did not care ahead
09:52of him was a
09:53gap between two empty hanger foundations wide enough for the wingspan maybe the german fighter screamed across the
10:01grass at 70 miles per hour 80 90 the gap between the hangars rushed toward him car pulled back on
10:09the stick
10:09and felt the wheels leave the ground the wingtips cleared the hanger walls by what felt like inches
10:15probably was inches he was airborne in a stolen fock wolf over a luftwaffe base that was now fully awake
10:23and
10:23very confused car banked hard left and dropped to treetop level at this altitude german anti-aircraft guns
10:32could not depress low enough to track him he pushed the throttle to maximum and headed west toward france
10:38toward the allied lines 200 miles of enemy territory at 350 miles per hour the commando garage did exactly
10:47what the german engineers had designed it to do as car pushed the throttle the system automatically adjusted
10:52mixture propeller pitch and supercharger he did not need to manage anything except direction and altitude
11:00the german technology was saving an american pilot's life he flew at 50 feet sometimes lower following
11:07terrain dodging church steeples and power lines the countryside blurred beneath him at nearly six miles per
11:13minute german soldiers on the ground looked up in confusion as a luftwaffe fighter screamed overhead at
11:19maximum speed heading the wrong direction after 90 minutes carr crossed into allied controlled territory
11:26he should have felt relief instead he felt the first bullets punching through his aircraft american
11:32anti-aircraft guns opened fire the moment they saw german markings tracers streaked past the cockpit
11:38carr felt impacts in the fuselage he was too low to bail out too fast to land and flying an
11:45enemy aircraft that
11:46every gunner in france had been trained to destroy he pointed the fock wolf toward his home base at ansbach
11:51and pushed the throttle harder the engine screamed more tracers more impacts the americans were getting
11:59better at tracking him he was 20 miles from safety and every mile brought more guns ansbach appeared ahead
12:06the runway the dispersal areas american p-51s lined up in rows his squadron his base his people and they
12:16were
12:16uncovering the 40 millimeter anti-aircraft guns carr pulled up hard chopped the throttle and tried to
12:23configure for landing he needed to get this aircraft on the ground before his own base shot him out of
12:28the sky
12:29he reached for the landing gear lever and pushed nothing happened he pushed again the gear refused
12:35to extend something in the hydraulic system had failed battle damage from american guns german maintenance
12:42issue it did not matter he was out of altitude out of options and out of time below him american
12:50gunners
12:50were taking aim at a german fighter making an unauthorized approach carr had no radio no way to tell
12:56them who he was no way to stop what was about to happen car did the only thing he could
13:03he shoved the
13:04stick forward dove for the runway and belly landed the fock wolf at 120 miles per hour metal screamed
13:11against concrete sparks erupted beneath the fuselage the propeller hit the ground and shattered the aircraft
13:18slid 500 feet down the runway shedding pieces of german engineering with every yard when it finally stopped
13:25carr was still alive barely he tried to open the canopy his hands would not work
13:32three days of starvation hypothermia and adrenaline had finally caught up with him
13:36he sat in the smoking cockpit of a german fighter on an american airfield too exhausted to move military
13:44police arrived within seconds they saw german markings they saw a pilot in the cockpit they climbed onto the wings
13:51and
13:51started pulling at him trying to drag out what they assumed was a luftwaffe pilot who had just crash landed
13:56on their base carr was still strapped in the mps pulled harder he could not undo the buckle his fingers
14:04had no strength left the soldiers were shouting he was shouting back nobody could understand anyone the
14:11situation was 30 seconds from becoming a tragedy then a face appeared in front of the cockpit colonel george
14:18bickle commander of the 354th fighter group carr's commanding officer the man who had watched one of
14:24his pilots disappear over czechoslovakia three days earlier bickle stared at the exhausted filthy half
14:31frozen lieutenant sitting in a german cockpit the mps stopped pulling the shouting stopped for a long moment
14:38nobody said anything then bickle shook his head and walked away the mps helped carr out of the cockpit
14:45medics took him to the infirmary within an hour he was drinking hot coffee and eating his first meal
14:51in three days the fox wolf sat on the runway for two days before intelligence officers toted away for
14:57evaluation carr had delivered them a nearly intact german fighter the aircraft showed battle damage from
15:03american anti-aircraft fire but the engine the commando garat and most of the instruments were still
15:09functional intelligence teams spent weeks studying the systems the army air forces issued an order
15:15shortly afterward no more stealing german aircraft a special unit was already collecting enemy planes for
15:21testing pilots who acquired german aircraft without authorization were creating confusion and risking
15:27friendly fire incidents the order was direct and unambiguous carr returned to flying status within a week
15:33new p-51d new missions the same aggressive flying style that had earned him the label that his superiors
15:41had used since his first days in combat the label that had followed him from the 363rd fighter group
15:47to the 354th the label that would define his entire career by december he had added two more kills to
15:55his
15:55record by february 1945 he had seven confirmed victories the 20 year old pilot who had stolen a german fighter
16:02was becoming one of the most effective pilots in the ninth air force but bruce carr was not satisfied
16:08with seven kills he was not satisfied with being an ace every mission he pushed harder flew lower
16:14attacked targets that other pilots avoided his gun camera footage showed enemy aircraft filling the entire
16:20frame before he opened fire point blank range maximum aggression minimum margin for error in march 1945 the war
16:30in europe was entering its final months germany was collapsing the luftwaffe was running out of fuel
16:35pilots and aircraft but they were not finished german fighters still rose to defend the reich and they
16:42were still dangerous on the morning of april 2nd 1945 first lieutenant bruce carr led a flight of four p
16:49-51
16:49mustangs on an armed reconnaissance mission near schweinfurt germany they were hunting ground targets trucks
16:56trains anything that moved what they found instead was 60 german fighters flying 5 000 feet above them
17:04and carr made a decision that defied every rule of air combat standard tactical doctrine was clear never
17:12attack an enemy formation that outnumbers you 15 to 1. never attack from below when the enemy holds altitude
17:18advantage never engage when surprise is impossible every rule said the same thing disengage report the
17:26contact let someone else handle it carr ignored every rule he pushed his throttle forward pulled back on
17:33the stick and climbed directly towards 60 german fighters his three wingmen followed four p-51 mustangs
17:41climbing toward a formation of fock wolf 190s and messerschmitt 109s that stretched across the sky like a wall of
17:48iron crosses the german formation was heading west probably targeting american bombers somewhere over the
17:54reich the pilots were focused on their mission they were not expecting four american fighters to climb
18:00straight into them from below the attack made no tactical sense that was exactly why it worked carr's
18:07mustang reached the rear of the german formation at 380 miles per hour he picked the trailing aircraft
18:13a fock wolf 190 flying slightly below the main group the german pilot never saw him coming car
18:20opened fire at 200 yards the fock wolf exploded first kill he did not slow down he slid behind the
18:28next aircraft in line another fock wolf another burst of 50 caliber rounds the german fighter rolled over
18:35and fell toward the earth trailing black smoke second kill the formation was reacting now german pilots
18:42breaking left and right radio calls flooding the frequency 60 aircraft trying to figure out what
18:47was happening behind them carr kept pushing forward into the formation through the chaos a messerschmitt 109
18:55crossed in front of him carr pulled lead and fired the german fighter came apart in mid-air pieces of
19:01wing and fuselage spinning away third kill his wingmen were scoring their own victories the german formation
19:08had dissolved into individual dog fights aircraft spinning and diving in every direction tracers crisscrossing
19:14the sky the numerical advantage meant nothing when the enemy could not coordinate carr found another
19:20messerschmitt trying to dive away he followed it down closing the distance waiting until the german
19:26aircraft filled his gun sight he pressed the trigger the 109 burst into flames fourth kill one more he needed
19:35one more to become an ace in a single day the rarest achievement in fighter combat dozens of pilots had
19:42done
19:42it earlier in the war when targets were plentiful but by april 1945 the luft waffle was a shadow of
19:49its former
19:49strength german aircraft were scarce opportunities like this almost never happened carr scanned the chaos around
19:57him there a messerschmitt 109 pulling up from a dive trying to regain altitude the german pilot was
20:05focused on escaping not fighting he did not see the p-51 sliding into position behind him car
20:12closed to 150 yards point-blank range for aerial combat he could see the rivets on the german fuselage the
20:19black crosses on the wings the pilot's head moving in the cockpit looking everywhere except behind him
20:26the 50 caliber guns roared the messerschmitt shuttered as rounds tore through the engine cowling fire erupted from the
20:34exhaust stacks the aircraft rolled slowly onto its back and fell fifth kill first lieutenant bruce carr
20:42had just become an ace in a day five confirmed victories in a single mission the last american
20:48pilot to achieve this in the european theater of operations the entire engagement had lasted 11 minutes
20:56four p-51s had attacked 60 german fighters and destroyed 15 of them without losing a single aircraft
21:03carr alone had killed five and damaged a sixth the surviving german aircraft scattered in every
21:09direction the bombers they had been sent to intercept would reach their targets unopposed because one
21:16pilot decided that 15 to 1 odds were acceptable the flight turned west and headed for home carr checked
21:23his fuel checked his ammunition checked his wingman everyone was still flying it seemed impossible it was
21:31impossible but it had happened anyway the four mustangs landed at ansbach at 11 40. ground crews counted the
21:40bullet holes in each aircraft carr's p-51 had taken seven hits minor damage nothing that would keep it
21:47from flying again tomorrow debriefing lasted two hours intelligence officers reviewed gun camera footage
21:53they confirmed each kill five for car 10 more split among his wingmen 15 german aircraft destroyed in 11
22:01minutes of combat the officers kept asking the same question in different ways why did you attack a force
22:08that outnumbered you 15 to 1 carr's answer was simple the germans were heading toward american bombers
22:14someone had to stop them he had ammunition and fuel the tactical situation favored aggression
22:20he attacked the intelligence officers wrote down his words they did not write down what they were
22:25thinking that no tactical manual in any air force recommended attacking 60 enemy fighters with four
22:32aircraft that the mathematics of aerial combat did not support the outcome that first lieutenant bruce carr
22:38had done something that should have been impossible word spread through the 354th fighter group within hours
22:44the pilot who had stolen a german fighter five months earlier had just become an ace in a day the
22:50last ace in
22:51a day in the entire european theater the combination was unprecedented no other american pilot had both
22:58achievements on his record one week later on april 9th carr received his promotion to captain 21 years old
23:0514 confirmed kills one stolen enemy aircraft and now a silver bar on his collar the promotion came with new
23:13responsibilities more missions more targets the war was ending but the killing was not german resistance
23:20continued through april the luftwaffe sent up fewer aircraft each day but the ones they sent were often
23:26flown by experienced pilots with nothing left to lose carr flew every mission he could april 10th april 15th
23:33april 20th each sortie brought new targets trains convoys the occasional german aircraft that rose to challenge
23:41them he added two more kills to his record before the month ended his last aerial victories came on april
23:4825th
23:491945 two german fighters destroyed over what remained of the reich the war had 13 days left
23:56carr did not know that he only knew that there were still enemies in the sky and he still had
24:02ammunition
24:03may 8th victory in europe the german surrender was signed at rheims the guns fell silent
24:10the skies over germany belonged to the allies captain bruce carr had flown 172 combat missions he had
24:18confirmed 14 or 15 aerial victories depending on which records you consulted he had destroyed dozens
24:25more enemy aircraft on the ground he had been shot down once and escaped by stealing an enemy fighter
24:31he had attacked 60 german aircraft with three wingmen and one he was 21 years old the 354th fighter group
24:40began standing down pilots received orders for reassignment or discharge the war in the pacific was
24:47still ongoing but germany was finished some men wanted to go home some wanted to keep fighting car
24:54belonged to the second group but the army air forces had other plans for their aces experienced combat
25:01pilots were valuable too valuable to risk in continued operations they were needed for training for
25:07recruitment for the public relations machinery that would shape how america remembered the war
25:12carr received orders in june he was being assigned to a new unit not a combat squadron a demonstration team
25:19the acrojets america's first jet-powered aerobatic team flying the new p80 shooting star at williams air
25:28force base in arizona the war was over the flying was not and bruce carr was about to discover that
25:35peace
25:36time brought challenges that combat had never prepared him for he was a fighter pilot without a war for now
25:44the distinguished service cross arrived in may 1945 the nation's second highest award for valor in
25:51combat the citation described the action over schweinfurt in precise military language leading four
25:58aircraft against more than 60 enemy fighters completely disregarding personal safety destroying five
26:04enemy aircraft and damaging a sixth extraordinary heroism general orders number 55 from headquarters united
26:12states strategic forces in europe dated may 27 1945 captain bruce ward carr distinguished service cross
26:21the paperwork made official what his squadron already knew their most aggressive pilot had earned
26:27his place among the most decorated airmen of the war the acrojets assignment lasted through 1946
26:34carr flew the p-80 shooting star in formation demonstrations across the american southwest the jet age had
26:41arrived propellers were becoming obsolete the skills that had made him deadly in a mustang needed
26:46translation to aircraft that flew twice as fast he adapted he always adapted that was what made him
26:54different from pilots who peaked in one aircraft or one war carr learned the jets the same way he had
26:59learned the faulk wolf by sitting in the cockpit by memorizing the controls by pushing the limits until he
27:06understood what the machine could do korea came in 1950 the first jet war mig alley chinese pilots flying
27:15soviet aircraft against american f-86 sabers carr requested combat assignment the air force sent him to the
27:22336th fighter interceptor squadron at kimpo airbase in south korea he flew 57 combat missions over korea
27:30different war different enemy different aircraft same pilot the man who had stolen a german fighter and attacked
27:3960 aircraft with four was now hunting migs over the yalu river he did not achieve ace status in korea
27:46few pilots did
27:47the mig-15 was a formidable opponent and the rules of engagement limited pursuit across the chinese border
27:53after korea carr took command of the 336 fighter interceptor squadron at misawa airbase in japan
28:02leadership now not just flying the aggressive young lieutenant had become a squadron commander
28:08responsible for dozens of pilots and aircraft the transition required skills that combat never taught
28:14administration politics patience he served through the 1950s and early 60s the cold war nuclear deterrence
28:23the constant readiness for a war that everyone hoped would never come carr trained pilots who would
28:29never see the kind of combat he had experienced he wondered sometimes if they understood what air war
28:35actually meant vietnam answered that question in november 1968 colonel bruce carr deployed to tui hua airbase
28:43in south vietnam 44 years old flying the f-100 super saber close air support missions bombing and strafing runs
28:52in support of ground troops a different kind of war than the ones he had known before he flew 286
28:59combat missions over vietnam
29:01more than he had flown in world war ii the targets were different jungle trails instead of german factories supply
29:08convoys
29:08instead of luftwaffe formations but the danger was the same anti-aircraft fire surface-to-air missiles the constant
29:16possibility that any mission could be the last the air force awarded him the legion of merit for his
29:22service in vietnam three more distinguished flying crosses joined his collection by the time he rotated
29:28back to the united states in november 1969 colonel bruce carr had accumulated more than 500 combat missions
29:35across three wars he retired from the air force in 1973 31 years of service three wars 14 aerial victories
29:45one stolen enemy aircraft more decorations than most pilots earned in a lifetime the retirement was quiet
29:52no ceremonies no speeches just a pilot walking away from the only life he had known since he was 15
29:59years
29:59old bruce carr settled in florida he kept flying not combat not demonstrations just flying because that was who he
30:09was
30:11in retirement bruce carr did what he had always done he flew through the 1970s 80s and 90s
30:19he remained in the cockpit air shows private flights anything that kept him in the air
30:26the man who had learned to fly at 15 never stopped in 1997 at 73 years old carr visited the
30:34fantasy of
30:35flight museum in florida he arrived the way he had arrived at every airfield for 50 years flying
30:42a p-51 mustang screamed over the crowd at 300 knots and 50 feet before breaking into a perfect approach
30:49the spectators watched an elderly man climb out of the cockpit most had no idea they were looking at
30:55one of the most decorated pilots in american history he spent hours talking with visitors
31:01that day young pilots who wanted to know what air combat was really like veterans who remembered the
31:07war children who had never seen a propeller driven fighter carr answered every question he signed
31:14autographs he posed for photographs he never mentioned the distinguished service cross or the stolen
31:20fockwolf unless someone asked the cancer diagnosis came in 1997 prostate cancer the same disease that
31:29claimed thousands of men his age every year carr faced it the way he had faced german fighters and
31:35korean migs and vietnamese anti-aircraft fire without complaint without drama just another mission he died on
31:44april 25th 1998 74 years old 53 years to the day after his final aerial victories over germany the coincidence
31:54was too precise to ignore as if the universe had decided to bookend his combat career with a single date
32:02arlington national cemetery section 60 the same ground that holds presidents and generals and medal of honor
32:10recipients bruce ward carr rests among them a white marble headstone marks the spot colonel united states
32:19air force the dates of his birth and death nothing about the stolen fighter nothing about the 60 germans
32:26nothing about the three wars and 500 missions the headstone does not need to tell those stories
32:32the records tell them the gun camera footage tells them the men who flew with him told them for as
32:37long as
32:38they lived the 354th fighter group held reunions for decades after the war the pilots who survived gathered
32:45to remember the ones who did not they told stories about missions and aircraft and the moments that defined
32:51them carr's name came up at every reunion the pilot who stole a fockwolf the pilot who attacked 60 germans
32:58with
32:58four mustangs the pilot who never stopped being aggressive today the 354th survives as the 354th fighter wing at
33:08eilson air force base in alaska they fly f-35 lightning 2s now stealth fighters with capabilities that carr could
33:15never have imagined when he was dodging church steeples in a stolen german aircraft but the lineage remains
33:22unbroken the pilots who fly those f-35s inherit a tradition that bruce carr helped build some stories
33:29survive because they appear in official histories some survive because hollywood makes movies about them
33:34bruce carr's story survives because it represents something that cannot be taught in flight school
33:39or written in tactical manuals the willingness to act when action seems impossible the refusal to accept
33:46odds that mathematics says you cannot beat he was a 15 year old who decided to fly a 20 year
33:53old who stole
33:54an enemy fighter a 21 year old who attacked 60 aircraft with four a 73 year old who still flew
34:01mustangs at 300
34:02knots bruce carr spent his entire life doing what everyone said could not be done if this story moved
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34:21dusty archives every single day stories about pilots who escaped with stolen fighters and attacked
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