Rest in Peace Mr. Overstreet
Thank you for posting this Black Sheep! I had never heard this story.
Wouldn’t it make a cool diorama to reenact this dogfight at the point they flew under the Eiffel Tower!
Wow! That’s a great story.
Great story. RIP Mr Overstreet. Does anyone know his totals for number of kills
I wasn’t aware either.thanks for posting that
Years ago, I read an account of a French resistance man who saw the plane get shot down into the city block over from him. Apparently, people all over were cheering, though there were some injuries on the ground. It really lifted morale.
The only information I could find regarding the number of kills Mr. Overstreet chalked up in his P-51 Mustang (aka: The Berlin Express) was 3 1/2 kills according to this decal set:
Saw this on the news the other night. In an interview, he said something to the effect that it wasn’t such a big deal. He said that there was plenty of room under there, it’s bigger than it looks.
R.I.P. Mr Overstreet.
Jim [cptn]
But those are the decals for his P-51C. Did he continue to fly in this aircraft until the war’s end or did he switch to a P-51D where another decal sheet may reflect further kills?
I found this short autobiography by Bill Overstreet on Clarence “Bud” Anderson’s webpage:
www.cebudanderson.com/overstreet.htm
For those of you who haven’t stumbled across this gem of a web-site, I highly recommend it. There is a ton of info on Bud Anderson (pilot of “Old Crow”) and the entire 357th fighter group. Including a huge section devoted to modeling the aircraft, and links to very large model galleries. There is also some info on Luftwaffe aircraft. You could spend a day on this site. It’s amazing
At the bottom of the page I linked to above, there is a link to a profile of the Berlin Express. Including modeling tips from the man himself. The profile there shows him having 2 kills.
The web-site http://www.acesofww2.com/USA/ credits him with 3. I was unable to find him listed on other aces websites I looked at.
He tells an amusing story about running into some Luftwaffe and the German pilots just running away. One pilot was apparently so scared of getting shot down that he just bailed out. Bill was offered credit for the “kill” because he was the closest to him at the time. The story is funny, because he had left ammo behind on the ground because they got a hold of some beet vodka (which they preferred to potato vodka) and he couldn’t bare to leave it behind.
He refused credit for the kill, but maybe some lists are giving him credit for it?
I read the news a few days ago on OnlineMail and it was truly an amazing feat though he was the second pilot to have flown under the Eiffel Tower but better to be chasing a 109 than trying to lose one on your tail. So many of these brave souls have left us now and so few are left now, it was the greatest generation ever.
Scott
A friend of mine was based near a place that had two really big smoke stacks about 500 feet apart. They used to fly through those- he said it was a little hairy.