only pilot known to leave on a mission flying a Mustang and return flying a Focke-Wul

[daveT]

Great WWII Fighter Pilot Story!!

Bruce Carr the only pilot known to leave on a mission flying a Mustang and return flying a Focke-Wulf
story attached

[rochie]

amazing story

[T Bolt]

Great Story! Thanks for posting it.

[T Bolt]

I did a little looking around and found these pictures. Two of the Fw 190 Carr belly landed there is one of him in a mustang shortly before he passed away a few years ago and the rest are of one of his mustangs. The link is to a color video of a couple of pilots starting up P-51s. The first pilot is Carr
Google Image Result for http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NFtqCMIGTKU/TTXLO-w4TUI/AAAAAAAADWo/6ugc5gktBlQ/s1600/73777ac.jpg

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

No matter how many times I read this story I get a big kick out of it. Mr. Carr is one of the true pilots.

[N4521U]

One hellofa story.
Would the FW classify as a Colonel Bruce Carr "Aces" GB plane I wonder?????????

[Crimea_River]

If the story fits, why not?

[RabidAlien]

This one never gets old! to Mr. Carr for his flying career...now teaching angels how to REALLY fly!

[evangilder]

That's a great story!

As an aside, Bob Hoover left for a mission in a Spitfire and returned 16 months later in an FW-190, though not at his home base. He escaped from a POW camp and stole it.

Those were some brave guys!

[Gnomey]

Indeed Eric!

Great story!

[Wayne Little]

Some sources I have read seem to indicate otherwise...quote taken from a note i kept some time ago...

Quote...."Discussion of this event has raised some very strong emotions and there is lot's of confusion related to it. Let's start by saying that neither me nor anyone else has said that Bruce Carr in any way contributed to, or furthered, any "embellishments" of the story. Rather it seems that writers and editors over the many years since the event may well have. There are two distinct versions of the story. One holds that Lieutenant Carr was shot down behind enemy lines, evaded capture for several days and finally fashioned a scheme to steal a fighter from a Luftwaffe base and fly it to safety but had to belly in the plane on arrival. The other version which appeared in AIRFOIL magazine some years ago attempted to tell the story based on the first hand account of one Col.Felix Kozaczka USAF (Ret). Col Kozaczka flew with Carr in the 354th F.G. and sometimes as wingman. The Colonel's account states that actually the plane (Fw190 "Red 31")was taken from a captured airbase and flown back to the 354th's base at Ansbach where it was bellied in due to either a malfunction or inability to lower the landing gear. There are three things that substantiate the latter version: first, the Colonel was there and involved (I know that's not hard evidence); second, photographs taken of the crash site immediately after the landing show Carr standing with the plane clean shaven, and in a neat uniform w/tie etc.. That hardly fits with someone clawing around the countryside for several days (and by some accounts eating raw chickens to survive!); thirdly, and I think most importantly there are no AF records (according to the article) that show Lt.Carr as shot down and MIA nor are there any aircraft loss records that correspond to the time."