P-51 pilot Refuses orders and Spares Enemy

This is the incredible story of when a p-51 pilot went against orders to take down an enemy aircraft

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NOTE : The Footage and Thumbnail of this video is the best closest representation to what happened. It is not the actual footage.

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Background history on the P-51 Mustang

P-51, also called Mustang, a single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft originally designed and produced by North American Aviation for the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and later adopted by the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF). The P-51 is widely regarded as the finest all-around piston-engined fighter of World War II to be produced in significant numbers.

The P-51 originated with an April 1940 proposal to the British Aircraft Purchasing Commission by the chief designer of North American Aviation, J.H. (“Dutch”) Kindelberger, to design a fighter from the ground up rather than produce another fighter, the Curtiss P-40, under license. The result was a trim low-wing monoplane powered by a liquid-cooled in-line Allison engine. Other fighters powered by non-turbo-supercharged Allisons, notably the P-40 and P-39, had shown mediocre performance, and the U.S. War Department had reserved turbo-supercharger production for four-engined bombers (the P-38 Lightning being the only exception at that point). Nevertheless, by using experimental data obtained from the U.S. National Advisory Committee on Aviation, Kindelberger’s team achieved a giant leap in performance. Their design, dubbed Mustang by the British, had a low-drag laminar-flow wing and an efficient low-drag engine cooling system that gave it exceptional speed and range. It had a maximum speed of about 390 miles (630 km) per hour and a combat range of roughly 750 miles (1,200 km). The use of external drop tanks nearly doubled its operational range to 1,375 miles (2,200 km). The only drawback was the Allison’s lack of an efficient high-altitude supercharger, which restricted the plane to low-altitude operations below 15,000 feet (4,600 metres). The Mustang first flew in October 1940, entered production in May 1941, and began combat operations with the RAF in April 1942. Some 1,579 Allison-powered Mustangs were produced. They were typically equipped with two .50-calibre nose-mounted and four .30-calibre wing-mounted machine guns, although one model had four 20-mm cannons and another (the A-36A) was a dive-bomber for the USAAF. They served as low-altitude fighters and as long-range photo-reconnaissance aircraft under the designation F-6, mostly with the RAF.

In the meantime, the British had experimented with Mustangs fitted with the powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, and they discovered that the Merlin’s efficient mechanical supercharger gave the fighter outstanding high-altitude performance. North American quickly followed suit. The Merlin was already being produced under license in the United States by the Packard Motor Company, and by the summer of 1943 Packard Merlin-powered P-51s were coming off North American’s assembly line. Merlin-powered P-51s, equipped with jettisonable drop tanks, had an operational range of more than 1,600 miles (2,500 km), and they mounted their first long-range bomber escort missions over Germany in mid-December 1943. They quickly established ascendancy over Germany’s premier fighters, the Me 109 and the Fw 190. The P-51’s superiority was particularly evident above 20,000 feet (6,000 metres). By March 1944, P-51s were available in quantity and, in combination with drop tank-equipped P-47 Thunderbolts and P-38s, had taken the Luftwaffe’s measure in the daylight skies over Germany.

The crippling losses which the U.S. bombers had previously suffered were thereafter drastically reduced: in October 1943 as many as 9.1 percent of the Eighth Air Force bomber sorties credited with attacking their targets had failed to return, and a further 45.6 percent had been damaged. In February 1944 the corresponding figures fell to 3.5 percent and 29.9 percent. From that point, Germany was effectively under round-the-clock bombardment. Though fewer in number, the P-51 could penetrate deeper into German airspace than the other U.S. fighters and was better in air-to-air combat; it thus played a disproportionately large role in the defeat of the Luftwaffe.

P-51 pilot Refuses orders and Spares his Enemy

[jeffrogge]

My drill sergeant once told us that the greatest irony of war is that those facing each other on the battlefield have more in common with each other than the politicians who sent them.

[gstlb]

A friend was a scout in the Vietnam War. He told me that once he came across a single Vietcong scout, about 10 feet away. They stared at each other, keeping their weapons down. My friend shook his head and slowly backed away, and the other did the same. People don’t want to die nor to kill others.

[moistmike]

My heart goes out to the Preddy family - Losing two sons in one year must have been a terrible blow.

[graham]

I would like to point out that allied pilots and air crew and their crash sites are to this day remembered and honored across Europe.
As the grandson of a member of the RCAF still over there, thank you as it means a lot to me.

[lordemed]

So many stories told and yet to be told, so many tragic endings, so many great men.

[paulx]

My father spared a kamikaze pilot who set his plane on the sea, next to their LCT, rather than crash for the Emperor. His commander ordered my father to kill the pilot, but he refused and they picked him up instead. That was the only war story he ever told me.

[Paladin]

I only knew about his famous brother, George, one of America's top aces, who had been killed on Christmas Day 1944 by friendly AA fire while he was attacking German aircraft over Allied lines. The brothers are buried side by side in the Lorraine American Military Cemetery, St. Avold, France. Thanks for posting this story about William.

[patriot]

I know an old timer in his late 90’s who was a P-51 pilot in the Euro theatre (Normandy onward) and said he remember’s being in somewhat of a fighter formation when he looked over at the same time they were taking anti-ground fire and said he saw his buddy next to him disappear. Literally that fast.

[fumblerooskie]

The guys in both planes were better men than I'll ever be, that's for sure. Lt. Preddy's honour is what separates warriors from murderers.

[robertlyndon]

Enjoyed hearing this story of the P-51 mustang pilot. He gave them a fighting chance and the respect of a crew down for the count, no need to slaughter. Excellent choice brother. ❤️

[edjo]

It’s stories like this that make me feel better about humanity. RIP William R Peddy. You are a credit to the human race.

[McEddyOfficial]

Czech guy here, thank you for this great story and I'm glad that Czech woman did her best to save him.

[juansanabria]

Isn't it awesome that during the war without mercy that there were moments of mercy on both sides and in both theaters of operations. Thank God for such occurrences

[akula]

He was no longer needed in this realm. He had done his good work.

[robbabcock_]

Thanks for a poignant tale. Chivalry is difficult in war but ultimately a man has to be true to his own code.

[wyattmann]

I'd heard of George Preddy before. I never knew of his brother.

Rest in peace, gentlemen. We are proud of you. And grateful...

[RollingStoneZzzzz]

My father inlaw was a P-47 Thunderbolt pilot during WWII. THIS Pilot was a honorable man for not killing the doomed aircraft. RIP!

[robertbowers]

So many stories of gallantry like this. Men of honor!

[privatepilot]

A noble man. With some morals and respect for human life.

[gregmccartney]

So many stories about the honourable men and woman of this era. A lot of respect for Czech lady.