One P-51 Mustang. Thirty Luftwaffe fighters. Three hundred bomber crewmen with no one else to protect them.
On January 11, 1944, Major James Howard found himself completely alone over Oschersleben, Germany — his entire squadron scattered after a dogfight. Below him, three formations of B-17 Flying Fortresses were heading home with zero fighter escort. The Luftwaffe saw the opening and attacked in force.
Howard had a choice: break off and save himself, or stay and fight odds that no pilot should survive. He stayed. And then his situation got worse. Much worse. What he did next with an empty aircraft over enemy territory — the bomber crews who watched it couldn't believe what they were seeing.
Sixteen B-17 pilots filed reports about the same man after landing that day.
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