They Sent 2 Pilots Against 60 Japanese Fighters — His Engine Died the Second He Landed

#ww2records #ww2history #wwii Why Commander David McCampbell took just one wingman against a sky full of Japanese aircraft—and returned to USS Essex with his Hellcat nearly empty. October 24, 1944. During the Battle of Leyte Gulf, radar detected a large Japanese strike force closing on the American fleet. McCampbell, commander of Air Group 15, had only a handful of Hellcats ready, but the enemy formation was too dangerous to ignore. Instead of waiting for perfect numbers, he attacked. With Ensign Roy Rushing on his wing, McCampbell climbed for altitude, conserved ammunition, and dove into the Japanese fighters again and again. In one of the most extraordinary air battles of the Pacific War, the two pilots destroyed 15 enemy aircraft between them. McCampbell landed with fuel nearly gone, ammunition nearly spent, and a new American single-mission record. Subscribe to WW2 Vanguard for more untold World War II aviation stories. #worldwar2 #ww2history #ww2 #wwii #ww2records