7. The WWII Pilot Who Left for a Mission on an American Plane and Returned in a German One
WWII has no shortage of heroic deeds. However, few heroic deeds during that or any other conflict could match the daring escape of United States Army Air Forces Second Lieutenant Bruce Ward Carr (1924 – 1998) from the Nazis’ clutches. Carr holds the distinction of being the only USAAF pilot to leave on a combat mission flying an American plane, and return to base flying a German one. It happened in November, 1944, when Carr flew a strafing mission in P-51 fighter, only to get shot down over enemy territory.
That was tough, but not too tough for Carr. He evaded capture, then stole an Fw190 fighter from a German airfield and flew it back home. It was just par for the course for Carr, who exhibited a daring streak from early: he started flying in 1939 when he was just fifteen years old. In 1942, when he turned eighteen, Carr joined the USAAF’s Flying Cadet Training Program. Luckily, he was assigned to the same flight instructor who had taught him how to fly back in 1939.