As a general proposition, you would expect a fighter ace – a pilot who downed at least five airplanes – to get officially credited only with shooting down enemy aircraft. Yet, in World War II, an American ace shot down an American airplane – not by accident but deliberately – and was officially credited with that shoot down. Below are thirty things about him and other heroic American airmen of WWII.
30. The American Ace Who Downed an American Airplane, and Was Credited With the Victory
The above picture shows American ace Louis Edward Curdes in his P-51 Mustang. On the fuselage below the cockpit is a painted display of his victories, each marked with a flag or emblem that denotes the downed plane’s nationality. There are swastikas for shot down German airplanes, a fascist roundel for a victory over an Italian aircraft, and a Rising Sun for a downed Japanese airplane. However, there is an oddity that stands out: an American flag, denoting that one of Curdes’ victories was over an American airplane. How did that come about?
