January 11, 1944 The Day German Pilots First Saw P 51 Mustangs — And Couldn't Escape

January 11, 1944: The Day German Pilots Saw P-51 Mustangs for the First Time — And Couldn’t Escape One Mustang. Thirty German fighters. And thirty minutes over Germany that no bomber crew forgot. SUMMARY This documentary tells the story of Major James Howell Howard and the P-51 Mustang mission that changed the air war over Europe. After Black Thursday at Schweinfurt in October 1943, the Eighth Air Force had learned a brutal truth: B-17 bombers could not survive deep over Germany without fighter escort. P-47 Thunderbolts and P-38 Lightnings could only go so far. When they turned back, the Luftwaffe came. Then came the P-51 Mustang. Originally dismissed as a low-altitude attack aircraft, the Mustang was transformed when Britain suggested fitting it with the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. With Packard-built Merlins, drop tanks, speed, climb, and range, the P-51B could finally escort American bombers deep into the Reich. On January 11, 1944, Major James H. Howard led Mustangs of the 354th Fighter Group on a mission to protect bombers attacking Oschersleben, Halberstadt, and Braunschweig. When weather scattered the mission and other escorts turned back, Howard found himself alone above a formation of B-17s under attack by dozens of German fighters. He could have gone home. Instead, he turned back. For nearly thirty minutes, Howard’s P-51, Ding Hao!, attacked from every direction, driving off Bf 110s, Fw 190s, and Bf 109s. Even after most of his guns jammed and only one machine gun still fired, he kept diving on German fighters to force them away from the bombers. The bomber crews called him a “one-man air force.” Howard would become the only fighter pilot in the European Theater of World War II to receive the Medal of Honor. This is the story of the man, the Mustang, and the day German pilots realized the sky over Germany was no longer safe. CHAPTERS 00:00 One Mustang Against Thirty Fighters 01:23 Black Thursday at Schweinfurt 03:35 The Escort Problem 04:11 Why the P-47 and P-38 Couldn’t Go Far Enough 05:43 The Mustang Begins as an Accident 06:32 The Merlin Engine Changes Everything 08:18 America Still Misunderstands the P-51 08:49 James H. Howard 09:37 Kidnapped in China 10:34 Naval Aviator to Flying Tiger 12:09 Howard Joins the Army Air Forces 13:09 The 354th Gets the Mustang 14:10 Howard’s First Victory in Europe 15:03 Mission 182 16:11 RAF Boxted, January 11, 1944 17:27 Bomber Crews Brief for Germany 18:51 The Mustangs Will Stay 20:00 The Luftwaffe Prepares 21:15 The Mission Is Recalled 22:33 The Thunderbolts Turn Back 23:11 The Mustangs Arrive 24:03 German Fighters Attack 24:31 Howard Scores First 25:09 Howard Is Alone 25:53 Thirty Fighters Around the Bombers 26:21 Howard Dives Back In 27:03 One Mustang Everywhere 27:46 “One-Man Air Force” 28:15 Howard’s Guns Jam 29:19 He Keeps Attacking Anyway 30:15 Bombs Fall on Halberstadt 31:14 Howard Finally Turns Home 32:18 Ding Hao! Returns to Boxted 33:46 Howard’s Debrief 35:01 The Bomber Crews Tell the Story 36:28 Who Was That Mustang Pilot? 37:19 Andy Rooney Finds the Story 38:34 The Victory Claims 39:37 Howard Becomes an Ace in Two Theaters 40:20 Medal of Honor 41:03 Howard’s Own Version 42:20 Big Week and the Fall of the Luftwaffe 43:10 Howard After the War 44:08 What German Pilots Understood 44:36 The Truth About One-Man Air Force INSIDE THIS DOCUMENTARY ▸ Why Black Thursday nearly broke the Eighth Air Force ▸ How the P-51 Mustang solved the bomber escort problem ▸ Why the Merlin engine transformed the Mustang ▸ Who James H. Howard was before Europe ▸ How Howard became a Flying Tiger in China ▸ Why January 11, 1944 became a turning point ▸ How one Mustang held off dozens of German fighters ▸ Why Howard became the only fighter pilot in Europe awarded the Medal of Honor SOURCES & REFERENCES • U.S. Eighth Air Force Mission 182 Records • 354th Fighter Group Combat Reports • 401st Bomb Group Mission Reports • James H. Howard Medal of Honor Citation • James H. Howard, Roar of the Tiger • Stars and Stripes Wartime Reporting • New York Times January 1944 Coverage • U.S. Army Air Forces P-51 Mustang Records • Luftwaffe Fighter Command Interception Reports #WorldWarII #WW2Documentary #P51Mustang #EighthAirForce #MilitaryHistory