Woodbine Red Leader: a P-51 Mustang Ace in the Mediterranean Theater

Air & Space Power Journal, Fall, 2004 by Daniel R. Mortensen

Woodbine Red Leader: A P-51 Mustang Ace in the Mediterranean Theater by George G. Loving. Ballantine Books (http://www.ballantinebooks. com), 1745 Broadway, New York, New York 10019, 2003, 292 pages, $6.99 (softcover).

The attraction of this narrative of a fighter pilot in World War II is that it takes place in the Mediterranean. The oft-recounted story, well told here, includes accounts of a young man's introduction to the Army Air Forces and his experiences in all phases of pilot training and combat operations. The story has been told repeatedly in published accounts of Eighth and Ninth Air Force fighters flying out of England or in northwestern Europe but not in the Mediterranean. Although fighter operations share many similarities, as one would expect, different groups--indeed, the perspective of each pilot--provide novel flavors every time. I have learned something new about operations and practices in each of the dozens of comparable books I have read.

As in Europe, pilots flying escort and interdiction out of Italy had a hairy time getting used to combat, experiencing operational accidents and aircraft malfunctions on many missions. The loss of friends and comrades concerned these men more than the task of destroying the enemy in combat. Seemingly, the Mediterranean theater provided better recovery of downed pilots than did other areas. Air rescue was good in the Adriatic, where hundreds ditched. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Airmen returned from Yugoslavia during the war, brought back by a remarkable air-recovery operation at the end of hostilities. The fact that partisans effectively kept downed pilots out of German hands gave much comfort to P-51 pilots who saw so many of their fellow flyers go down. As in Europe, very few of the original gaggle who filled out Loving's 31st Fighter Group flew 151 missions, as he did, instead suffering the shootdowns or accidents so much a part of operations in the war.

The author came into the service late enough that he underwent final stateside training on the first P-51s used for that purpose. These aircraft had Allison engines, considered obsolete for air combat, but the operational P-51s boasted the remarkable Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. When Loving first arrived in the Mediterranean theater, he checked out in a Royal Air Force Spitfire and flew this aircraft for many months in combat, much of it in ground support, before sufficient Mustangs became available. His fighter group transitioned to escort duty after acquiring the new aircraft. Eventually, Loving became a squadron leader in the summer of 1944 and pinned on captain's bars, all during the 10 months of flying and mostly before he turned 21. Young men had to grow up quickly then.

One of the most instructive parts of this narrative is the involvement of Loving's fighter group in Operation Frantic. This brief attempt to use Russian bases had the potential to provide great reach for the bombers. (Some readers may have forgotten, as I had, that Frantic III was a fighter-bomber attack on targets in Eastern Europe with turnaround on a Russian base.) Loving's fighters flew escort for some 36 P-38s carrying bombs, shooting down German aircraft over Russia. Loving himself downed a Ju-52. Hans Rudel, the famous German Stuka pilot, said this was the only time in the war when his dive-bombers had to jettison bombs due to fighter attack. The politics of the Allies, however, prevented the regularization of these shuttle-bombing operations.

Loving's story not only is enlightening but also extremely well written. I highly recommend that current Airmen read Woodbine Red Leader so they can discover the context of air combat in World War II. The lessons are more apropos than one might think.

Dr. Daniel R. Mortensen

Maxwell AFB, Alabama