When a German Ace Taunted a P-47C

It’s the 26th of June 1943. Three squadrons of P-47C Thunderbolts fly across the skies of occupied France. They’re on course to meet with a formation of B-17s returning from a bombing run deep in enemy territory. 2nd Lieutenant Robert S. Johnson is badly hit. A German FW-190 pulls alongside the crippled P-47C and the pilot salutes ! Johnson thinks he’s being spared by a gallant foe…. But that was not to be.

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[cameron]

The additional details here were incredible, like the radio swapping and such. You guys always find someway to improve with every video.

[Cheezymuffin.]

I wonder if the german pilot tried to get Johnson to bail out from his plane, thinking that Johnson's refusal of bailing out was his way of saying that he wouldn't be captured.
So the german pilot, saluting him for his bravery, went to finish it off.
After shooting Johnson, he then admired his courage, so gave him one more chance to surrender, not realizing Johnson's canopy was stuck, and he couldn't bail out.
After this, he spend all his rounds, realised he failed and Johnson "won" looked at him once more before leaving.
Or of course, he was in fact, a major dick.
Sadly we will never know the german pilots side of the story.

[captain_commenter]

“When did your trust issues start?”

Lt. Robert S: *“It all started with this German pilot in a FW-190..”*

[andersonlong]

My Dad, 1st Lt. McKendree R. (Mike) Long Jr, also was a P-47 pilot and had told me a version of this when I was around 12-13 y.o. and would pepper him with questions about the war, and more about Thunderbolts. He joined right after Pearl Harbor; survived flight school and training ( most didn’t as early on there was a very high ‘wash out’ rate); and was flying out of Britain in late Spring 1943. Most of the ones that he arrived with never left Europe. He had to crash land twice after the plane being shot to pieces; once by a couple of BF- 109’s (Messerschmidt) and once by a Focke Wulf 190. The Thunderbolt was the toughest plane ever built and so had by far the highest survivability rate. He used to joke that if not for the toughness of his P-47, me and my siblings would never have been born. They were a tough breed, as tough as their planes.

[TheeNikuwa]

Aw i still remember the first video i watched from this channel, the bf-109 that spared the B-17, how times passed, from 2d animation to full on beautiful 3d! Theres so many details its difficult to keep count of! And the commentary is just amazing! Really everyone at yarnhub keeps getting better and better!

[lunaticfringe]

When the Thunderbolts first arrived in the European theater, the British were aghast at the size of the plane and didn't think the P-47 would survive long, but they soon proved their worth.

[jerry]

This really shows how survivable the P-47 was, half the ammo of a Fw-190 dumped into it and it still managed to get home.

[garylabita]

My Dad worked at Republic Aviation late fifties early sixties, mr Johnson worked in PR and pops was a vp of personnel. I got to hear the story from the man himself. He was very patient with this little kid hanging on his every sentence.

[SMichaelDeHart]

As my dad always said..."the Jug is a tough Ole Bird"!! He loved that plane and was all hands on with the P-47.
Dad served in the 20TH USAAF, 7th Army Air Corp, 414th Fighter/Bomber Group, 413th F/ B Squadron in the South Pacific Campaign on Tinian, Saipan and Iwo Jima. Dad was a flightline engineer and mechanic on the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. His unit received 2 Unit Bronze Stars in the Iwo Jima campaign.
RIP Staff Sergeant Robert E DeHart 1917-2006.

[Galm]

“We like to do a little trolling”- The 190 ace probably

[jhypyro]

Even with only one week, this team still manages to make quality and entertaining content. Thank you for your hard work, Yarnhub team.

[stuffezvous]

Honestly, Yarnhub videos are better than many high-budget productions.

[imkerrusin]

It was as though the Jug (The nickname of the P-47 Thunderbolt) was refusing to let Johnson bail and assure him he would make it back safely. I can say Republic built a fine aircraft during the campaign. While the Mustang was the iconic aircraft during the second World War, the Jug was the workhorse. It's fascinating to hear the stories about how this plane and how well it performed even under all of the stress and strain.

[androidemulator]

No wonder P47 pilots loved their "Jug's" - ability to take punishment and damage, and still fly and get home - huge radial engine to get protection behind, and no fragile liquid-cooling . Apparently one of the fastest planes in a dive ( due to their 8ton weight ), a feature many axis pilots found to their error. What a machine.
Toughness reminds me of the Grumman "ironworks" planes - Wildcat and Hellcat - not as fast and nimble as some of the Japanese planes, but woundn't suddenly burst into flames, or disentegrate either.

[jacksonlee]

"He gave up counting after reaching 200, without taking a single step"

Aircraft Mechanic: So how much damage did your plane take?

Lt. Robert S: *Y E S*

[xpossed]

"Personally i wouldnt let someone taunt me like that" - their wingman probably

[whiskey_tango_foxtrot__]

The German was trying to give the American a chance to bailout (obviously not knowing the canopy was jammed). When the American didn't, he assumed that he would take his chances in a shootout.

It wasn't taunting. The German was like WTF?

[willwright]

Read about this incident years ago and is one of my favorite WWII aviation stories. Although the video says he made a perfect landing back at base, in reality he barely got over the coastal cliffs and had no brakes or flaps due to loss of hydraulics. He nearly ground looped into a line of parked aircraft.

[jasonmariani]

This is without a doubt THE BEST World War 2 animated and narrated series to ever grace Social media. Hats off to you Yarnhub for your commitment to history telling and unmatched visuals. Sincerely, viewer.

[keatonhugo]

For anyone wondering, this is very unusual of Luftwaffe pilots. Most German pilots were very chivalrous and would think of something like taunting or toying with a wounded opponent like in this scenario, or with any opponent, as something disgusting and wrong. This behavior was so looked down upon that in many cases commanding officers and superiors would punish a pilot who was caught doing something like this.