World War II – The Insane Pilot with the Craziest Feat Ever Known
Britain was on the edge of defeat, her back against the wall. The once-proud British Expeditionary Force had been battered and nearly annihilated at Dunkirk. Above London, the skies thundered with the relentless onslaught of German bombers. In a desperate bid for survival, Britain reached across the Atlantic, requesting aid in the form of any modern aircraft. The United States, with its dormant aircraft industry, could only offer a trickle of aid. The British Royal Air Force got their hands on P-40 Warhawks, but it was a drop in the ocean. The world-spanning conflict demanded more, much more. When the Curtiss Corporation could not meet the demand for P-40s. Britain’s desperate gaze turned to James H. Kindleberger, the leader of a newly born aircraft manufacturer. Kindleberger came up with a wild pitch – he couldn’t just deliver those P-40s Britain desperately needed, but he could do one better. He swore he could design a brand-new fighter that would knock anything out of the sky and have it ready in no more than 120 days. Kindleberger was on the edge of birthing the most aerodynamically sleek pursuit plane ever conceived – the P-51 Mustang. Fast, nimble, and tough, this bird was set to turn the tide of war. But the Mustang’s first flights uncovered a crippling Achilles’ heel – a defect so severe the United States Army Air Corps washed its hands of it. Relegated to the sidelines, the Mustang was doomed to obscurity, performing escort and recon missions. Yet, the saga of the Mustang was far from over; as destiny still had one hell of a card to play… Credit to : WW2 on TV