Fun in the Air

 

Jeff LPH dropped this on on me – being a sloppy sentimentalist I just had to go with it.

Joe Peterburs was a P-51 pilot in WWII who had a unique 100th birthday celebration last weekend.

Lt. Joseph Peterburs of the U.S. Army Air Corps was barely 20 when he flew “Josephine” — named for his girlfriend and later wife — on his first combat mission on Dec. 2, 1944. He and other flyers in the 55th Fighter Squadron of the 20th Fighter Group escorted a large group of Boeing B-17 bombers to and from targets in Merseburg, Germany. He had a deep admiration for the men who flew the lumbering Flying Fortresses, which were easy targets for enemy fighters and antiaircraft fire.

The young fighter pilot flew his final combat mission on April 10, 1945 — less than a month before the end of combat in Europe. After escorting bombers, his squadron searched for targets of opportunity and began strafing a German airfield. That’s when he felt two thumps and realized his P-51 had been hit antiaircraft blasts.

“Fur Sie, der Krieg ist vorbei!” (For you, the war is over!) was probably the first phrase he heard when the Germans captured him when his plane went down. But they were wrong – he was sent to a POW camp, from which he escaped and was picked up by advancing Red Army units.  But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, because also on April 10th:

That last mission turned out to be noteworthy for another reason. Peterburs spotted a Messerschmitt Me 262 that had just shot down two B-17 bombers. He zoomed in on the German jet and opened fire with his six 50-caliber machine guns. The American noticed smoke coming from one of the engines of the enemy fighter, which then ducked into a cloud bank.

Peterburs never gave much thought to what happened to the Me 262 — until 60 years later, when a historian identified him as the pilot who shot down Walter Schuck, one of Germany’s top aces with 206 confirmed kills.

The two men met face to face in 2005 and became fast friends. (Note – Schuck passed in 2015 – ed.)

“He was a real gentleman,” Peterburs recalled. “When we did air shows together, he introduced me as ‘the man who saved his life’ because he never flew combat again after I shot him down.”

Peterburs kept flying after the war, in a fairly big way. Two more wars’ worth:

After World War II, Peterburs remained in the military, joining the U.S. Air Force when it was established in 1947. He flew 76 combat missions with the Mustang in Korea, then switched to jets with the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star in 1954. In Vietnam, he served as a staff operations officer responsible for command and control in the war zone. Later, he was commander of the 600th and 601st tactical air control units and then deputy commander of the 601st Tactical Control Wing in Europe.

In 1979, Peterburs retired as a full-bird colonel. His awards include the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Air Medal and POW Medal.

He commented that during WWII the Mustang was the best plane to fly – but by Korea the old prop-job was outclassed by all the new jets. 76 combat missions in Korea with a P-51 against MiGs??

Seems he still has it – for his 100th birthday he rode in the back seat and flew a P-51 at California’s Rumble Over The Redwoods:

At 100 years old, Peterburs did not expect to be flying at Rumble Over the Redwoods on Aug. 9 and 10. But there he was at the controls of the two-seat P-51s, pulling 4Gs in loops and other aerobatic maneuvers.

“I also did a victory roll,” he said with a big smile.

He seemed to think his new wingman was pretty special (pic above). His granddaughter, Sabrina.

“It was so heartwarming to look over and see her there,” he said.

It was also a memorable moment for Sabrina, who had flown with her grandfather before but never in P-51s as a team. Military Times

 

Category: Air Force, Korea, Vietnam, WWII