Germans Couldn't Kill America's Top Ace in 3 Years — His Own Gunners Did It in 3 Seconds
WW2 Records
46,603 views
Why Major George Preddy became America's deadliest P-51 Mustang ace — and why his own gunners killed him in 3 seconds. This World War 2 story reveals how the greatest fighter pilot of his generation was destroyed by friendly fire on Christmas Day 1944.
December 25, 1944. Major George Preddy, commanding officer of the 328th Fighter Squadron, was chasing a German Fw-190 at treetop level over Belgium. He had just shot down two more Bf-109s, bringing his total to 26.83 confirmed kills — more than any P-51 pilot in history. Four months earlier, he had destroyed six German fighters in a single mission, earning the Distinguished Service Cross. The Navy had rejected him three times for being too small. The Luftwaffe couldn't touch him in three years of combat.
American anti-aircraft gunners did it in three seconds.
What happened over those frozen Belgian fields wasn't about enemy skill or bad luck. It was about the chaos of the Battle of the Bulge, trigger-happy gunners, and a system that couldn't tell friend from foe at 400 miles per hour. By the time Preddy's wingman radioed warnings, fifty-caliber rounds had already torn through "Cripes A'Mighty."
His record of 26.83 aerial victories in the P-51 Mustang has never been surpassed. The principles of aggressive fighter tactics he pioneered influenced American combat aviation for decades.
🔔 Subscribe for more untold WW2 stories: @wwii-records
👍 Like this video if you learned something new
💬 Comment below: What other WW2 aces should we cover?
#worldwar2 #ww2history #ww2 #wwii #ww2records
20 Comments
Germans Couldn't Kill America's Top Ace in 3 Years — His Own Gunners Did It in 3 Seconds
WW2 Records
46,603 views
Why Major George Preddy became America's deadliest P-51 Mustang ace — and why his own gunners killed him in 3 seconds. This World War 2 story reveals how the greatest fighter pilot of his generation was destroyed by friendly fire on Christmas Day 1944.
December 25, 1944. Major George Preddy, commanding officer of the 328th Fighter Squadron, was chasing a German Fw-190 at treetop level over Belgium. He had just shot down two more Bf-109s, bringing his total to 26.83 confirmed kills — more than any P-51 pilot in history. Four months earlier, he had destroyed six German fighters in a single mission, earning the Distinguished Service Cross. The Navy had rejected him three times for being too small. The Luftwaffe couldn't touch him in three years of combat.
American anti-aircraft gunners did it in three seconds.
What happened over those frozen Belgian fields wasn't about enemy skill or bad luck. It was about the chaos of the Battle of the Bulge, trigger-happy gunners, and a system that couldn't tell friend from foe at 400 miles per hour. By the time Preddy's wingman radioed warnings, fifty-caliber rounds had already torn through "Cripes A'Mighty."
His record of 26.83 aerial victories in the P-51 Mustang has never been surpassed. The principles of aggressive fighter tactics he pioneered influenced American combat aviation for decades.
🔔 Subscribe for more untold WW2 stories: @wwii-records
👍 Like this video if you learned something new
💬 Comment below: What other WW2 aces should we cover?
#worldwar2 #ww2history #ww2 #wwii #ww2records