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August 31, 2016
Then his plane caught fire, but he made it back to base.
plus five 20 mm cannon strikes which punctured a tyre and rendered the flaps inoperative. In the first attack Caldwell suffered bullet wounds to the back, left shoulder, and leg. In the next pass one shot slammed through the canopy, causing splinters which wounded him with perspex in the face and shrapnel in the neck. Two cannon shells also punched their way through the rear fuselage just behind him and the starboard wing was badly damaged. Despite damage to both himself and the aircraft, Caldwell, feeling, as he remembers, “quite hostile” turned on his attackers and sent down one of the Bf 109s in flames. The pilot of the second Messerschmitt, the renowned Leutnant Schroer, shocked by this turn of events, evidently made off in some haste. - - WW2 Today
Posted by gerardvanderleun at August 31, 2016 4:31 PM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.
Your Say
Killer Caldwell: Renaissance Man. In the drawing, he has downed aircraft from the 3 Axis big powers of Germany, Italy and Japan. Top P-40 ace.
Posted by: Casey Klahn ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://americandigest.org/sidelines/nav-commenters.gif)
at August 31, 2016 1:37 PM
Curtis LeMay's first advice to his P-40 pilots was to avoid dogfighting because that particular airplane was not designed for it. It took a blessed and special kind of pilot to disregard LeMay and Caldwell was that guy.
Amazing that he walked away with his life when so many was after it.
Posted by: Jack at September 1, 2016 6:40 AM
The P-40 was not helpless. It had good diving speed, decent firepower, and plenty of durability. Flown properly, it was a worthy combatant, especially early in the war. You didn't want to get into a turning dogfight with a Zero, and by 1943 it was far outclassed by the newer fighters, but it helped the Allies hold the line until the better designs went into production.
Posted by: waltj at September 2, 2016 2:43 PM