The Adventures of Spiff Wilton, Mustang Ace
Chapter one
“Gentlemen your mission, follow and protect bomber flight 125” said Sergeant Epoch, “this flight will be over the Rhine, deep into enemy territory. Lose this flight and you’ll almost guarantee certain death for you and the bombers!! Is that Clear.” Yes sir I shouted, and so did the rest of the squadron, however It was easy to see that we didn’t mean it honestly “certain death” we men and P-51Bs can out-fly anbody in the Luftwaffe, not to mention out-gun and out-turn them. If only we knew what was to transpire, if only we knew.
So began our flight, to the planes, roll up the canopies, chalks away, FULL POWER, then finally flight! The flight from duxford was a long one and the Rolls Royce engine’s constant droning was hard to bear. Then we came upon our target the enemy supply base in the Ruhr Valley, then came the flak all around flak, flak, flak. Soon 125 was in the thick of it the, the Mustangs watched helplessly as a few big freinds were hit. It was easy to see, first a black puff, sparks, fire, smoke, and finally the chutes, billowing in the air.
Then I heard it, crackling over the radio, “behind you, Heinkels, Heinkels, dive, pull a turn but lose those bandits!” But, it was to late, tracers whizzed pass the cockpit and soon I heard another terrible thing, the sound of a tail sheering off and dropping down, headed for the german countryside now with no control I settled into my seat expecting a burst of enemy fire and impending doom. It never came, my wingman Sgt.Gladstone blew ‘em off the face of the earth. Then I hatched a plan, to hear me tell it now it sounds heroic, but I think by that point I had lost it. “Hey Gladstone I need you to me a favor, this is gonna’ sound nuts but listen, I need you to shoot my wings off, and tell the nearest big freind with an empty bomb-bay to open its doors.” “You aren’t about to try what I think your gonna try” said Gladstone, “Look Spiff whatever you do don’t pull a Richtofen Maneuver.” For those of you who don’t know to pull a Richtofen is to land in an airplane’s Bomb-bay, jump out and then with some help from the bomber’s crew dislodge the fighter and drop it 1000’s of feet to the ground.
So I tried the one maneuver they said not to do in basic training, Gladstone, though he was against it came through and directed a big friend to come in low, all I had to was fly straight ahead. Then, suddenly a burst of flak knocked my plane out of the sky now there was nothing to do but stand atop the canopy, I was to low to pull a Richtofen but I might be able to grab the hold of the big friend. The air was thin, seconds away from passing out I signaled with a piece of torn seat fabric, using Morse Code I simply said “Drop Rope Now or Spiff Crash.” They didn’t drop a rope, what emerged from the bomb-bay door was a string of radio operators connection cables, I had heard it took alot of them to control the electronics, but not 80 feet’s worth. I grabbed hold held on and passed out when I woke up, I was being slowly hoisted upwards by five airmen. Blowing every which way like an inverted kite, I waved one arm tell them I had come to, and began to shimy up the makeshift rope. When I reach then inside of theB-17, I was told that it was lucky that flack got me because I managed to reach a bomber before a squadron of ME – 262s came and in short order shot down 15 bombers and the whole squadron of Mustangs. At base I was treated for exposure, and a host of other injuries. But, I survived to become the worlds first American Mustang ace, my second Mustang’s name why “The one that got away” of course!!
THE TRAGIC TALE OF THE STEAMSHIP NOMAD
The U.S.M.S. Nomad was lost on September 26, 1907 due to a boiler explosion caused by poor craftsmanship during a 1902 refit. The explosion centered near turbine A-3 doomed the ship, flames engulfed the engine room. Although the hull was only slightly ruptured the starboard propeller was knocked off it’s mounting causing flooding through the hole in which the prop was held. 700 souls were onboard during the slow and painful sinking. The ship sported 1 funnel and 3 masts, because of the fire in the engine room the funnel belched flame as if they were erupting volcanoes. The funnels set fire to the boat deck ,and brave members of the crew had to dodge leaping flames to save the undamaged lifeboats, then without the use of davits (lifeboat lowering cranes) the life boats were loaded and floated off the stern. Sadly half the lifeboats were destroyed by the fire and only 88 souls survived including a stewardess who would later be a maid on the TITANIC! and die in the freezing water. The nomad sank 55 miles out of Boston, her home port. The survivors were found by a clipper ship somewhere near Gloucester. The wreck was declared a total loss. amidst the horror of that night a British Cornet player named Wally Bride played the tune “Song of Autumn” which he finished 10 minutes before the Nomad sank. Bride died in the disaster-along with 611 other people. And in he words of the mayor of boston “today we have lost 612 good people from every social class imaginable, the Nomad is a Tragedy for the Masses.”
The Nomad at Sea
The Nomad after being washed ashore circa 1923
