A P-51 Mustang Story You Won't Believe

This is the story of Ed McNeff and his first dogfight against the German Luftwaffe, as well as some of his training. Ed flew in the P-47 Thunderbolt and the P-51 Mustang over Europe and was a member of the 355th Fighter Group. If you want to watch the other videos from Ed's story, you can find them here!

This was made using the World War II flight simulator War Thunder as well as IL-2 Sturmovik Great Battles. Hope you enjoy! Please like, comment, and subscribe. #WW2 #WWIIHistory #WarThunder

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[LancelotChan]

Seeing a grandfather like figure touting the terms "torque", "compressibility", "trim tabs" and describing things we learned from sims only, really give me a chilling realization that they're the real deal and we're just kids trying to follow their footsteps and shadows.

[BradTracy]

being a retired US Navy veteran, I have been able to meet other retired veterans. My wife works at Asbury Solomon's, and she introduced me to the oldest living West Point grad and P-51 pilot who flew during WWII. He's Col. Kermit R. Dyke and passed away in May 2019. It's awe-inspiring and humbling at the same me meeting such men and women who helped change the direction and out come of WWII. Our WWII vets are almost gone, thanks for keeping their experiences alive, may we never forget what they did for all of us.

[fishpants]

Ed is a national treasure. Thank you for preserving history and reminding us that there was a time when men strapped themselves to flying machine guns and threw themselves into hell.

[brooksroth]

These stories need to be told. I met a ww2 vet many years ago who recanted his experience of being a charter member of the 82nd airborne div.

[retaliaterguitar]

The P51 Mustang is one of my favorite aircraft pieces of all time. Beautiful piece of machinery. 🇺🇸

[Spitfiresammons]

Fantastic job on Ed Mcneff story TJ3. Can’t wait for part 2.

[jimc]

I could listen to Ed McNeff all day and then some!! Integral part of the greatest generation! I have no idea where these super brave men and women found the strength and fortitude to go to war and fight tyranny but my gratitude to them has no bounds!! Jim C.

[richardlahan]

The Luftwaffe had been in combat since the Spanish Civil War in 1937. When the US got into the air war in Europe, it was a steep learning curve.

[otosere]

My grandfather, Richard Irwin Kuehl, made the same journey this man did. P47's at Duxford and graduated to P51's. He was an ace, he also was shot down and captured by the Germans for a brief time. The germans executed all the American airmen at this particular camp---except my grandfather. His last name, KUEHL is the name of the town mentioned in this vid when he was diving on the ME 109 and encountered compressibility over, Kuehl, Germany. My grandfather lived to 99 years old and passed in 2020---with his family at his side and I was holding his hand.

We will never know a greater generation. I miss my grandpa more than words can express. He NEVER would have allowed America to degrade like we are. He'd have rallied the boys and stopped the commies in DC.

Love you, Grandpa. See you after we fix

[ZOTT]

Thank you TJ, for all your time and effort saving the stories of the true heros before they are lost forever. Great story as always, looking forward to part 2.

[FozzyZ]

Great video fella, I love how you're preserving the man, the story for all eternity! 😁😁👍 🏅🎖️

[DavidRichardson]

I have two, one of which was a relative.

About 10 years ago, I was at a Veterans Day ceremony at the university I was attending at the time. Well, calling it a ceremony is a bit generous - it was just an outdoor speech with a flyover by the local CAF timed to the speech's closing. Anyway, I ended up speaking with the oldest veteran who was there. He was a Navy veteran, but he was not wearing a baseball cap that showed his ship, which was a little surprising. We talked a little bit, and I saw he was wearing pilot's wings. I pointed it out, and he said originally fought in the Pacific as an F4F Wildcat pilot. I asked him if he had flown at Midway or Guadalcanal, and apparently, those specifics caught him a bit off-guard. He quickly recomposed himself and said that his time started just as Guadalcanal was wrapping up. I then asked if he transitioned to the F6F Hellcat later on. My question surprised him a bit, but he answered with a slight smile that he did indeed.

The highlight came when I then asked which carrier he served on. He answered, "CV-10, " to which I immediately said, "The Yorktown? And the Essex-class one at that, huh? Then again, the previous Yorktown was lost at Midway, and you said you came in after then, so that makes sense." The look on his face said that he did not expect someone as young as me (I was in my mid-20s then) to know about the Yorktown or as much as I did about the timeline of the Pacific theater.

He asked me why I knew what I did and what had to have sparked the passion needed to know those details, I told him about my great uncle (paternal grandfather's brother) who fought in the Pacific as well, but he was in the Army and was a part of MacArthur's escort back to the Philippines. My great uncle had said that he had shot at Japanese soldiers, but he never hit, let alone killed any, at least not as far as he or his unit knew.

My great uncle's unit managed to get through their tours without suffering any serious injuries or casualties - a couple of Purple Hearts but no actual losses. They stayed silent about their seemingly supernatural luck/protection out of fear of possibly ending it if they spoke of it to anyone while they were still serving. They finished with no awards beyond the aforementioned Purple Hearts, but as far as they were concerned, getting through more-or-less unscathed was enough of an award for them. The only things from the war he brought back home with him were the M1 Garand and M1911 that were issued to him (their provenance is verified and certified), and before he passed away, he gave those to my older brother, who has been properly caring for them since.

I regret not getting that Navy veteran's name. He has likely already passed away, and I hope he went peacefully.

[thedillpickle]

Other side of the war, my Dad was a member of the Navy's new fighting construction battalion, the Seabees. They turned atolls into emergency landing strips in the South Pacific. Saved lots of men and areoplanes.

[ualret]

Interviews with these veterans like Ed are priceless. There aren’t too many left to interview, unfortunately. Another great piece.

[LordFalconsword]

So much of this history is passing away every day. Thank you.

[donnabonning]

A friend just told me about this video. I've been researching a fighter pilot by the name of Leonard B. Fuller of the 355th Fighter Group. 357th fighter squadron. I just looked at my records. I have goosebumps. This man flew with Leonard. He was in the same squadron. He flew on the same missions. I have the records. I see his name. I would love to contact him. Please tell me this heroic man is still with us.

[josefhorndl]

Well done, TJ! On March 16, 1944 the 8. USAAF attacked aircraft factories in Augsburg, Ulm and Friedrichshafen. 740 heavy bombers and 868 fighters came into bad weather and so some of the bombers attacked "targets of opportunity". Because of bad weather, heavy clouds and snowfall the I. and II./JG 1 (Fw 190 A-7) didn't have contact to the US armada. But a few Bf 109 G-6 of III./JG 1 had dogfights with Mustangs over the area of Ulm. No air victories were confirmed by the German pilots. Lt Hans Halbey reported, that they were low on fuel, so they had to return to their base. So it could be, that Ed McNeff escaped, because the unknown but experienced German pilot of III./JG 1 (probably) didn't have enough fuel to finish the lucky Mustang pilot. Can't wait for part 2 of Ed's story :)

[TJ]

If you want to watch the other videos from Ed's story, you can find them here!

[tip]

Awesome! Just awesome! Good on you for interviewing this vet. If we don't do it, we lose out on what is an important moment in history! Much love from Canada!

[danzervos]

My father finished advance flying school (the schools were ground, primary, intermediate and advanced, if I remember correctly) in 1943. The whole class signed up for a P-47 group forming up in Maine. The Air Force needed about half the class and took them alphabetically, starting with A. I noticed that in Chuck Yeager's book, his buddies had surnames toward the end of the alphabet.