Easy Big Friend

May 29, 1944. 357th Fighter Group ace Capt. Fletcher E. Adams, in his 362nd Fighter Squadron P-51B Mustang The Southern Belle, and a squadron mate... more

by Wade Meyers

Original - Sold

Price

Not Specified

Dimensions

48.000 x 22.000 inches

Title

Easy Big Friend

Artist

Wade Meyers

Medium

Painting - Oil On Linen

Description

May 29, 1944. 357th Fighter Group ace Capt. Fletcher E. Adams, in his 362nd Fighter Squadron P-51B Mustang The Southern Belle, and a squadron mate form up with a 91st Bomb Group B-17 limping home on three engines. The Mustang pilots were returning from the 357th's 6+ hour escort mission to industrial targets at Posen with 1st Bomb Division B-17s. They were undoubtedly bone-tired after so long in their cramped and noisy Mustang cockpits, but calls from near-defenseless crippled bombers for protection were always answered promptly by fighter pilots.

Capt. Adams had shot down an Fw 190 on May 27th, bringing his official total to 8.5 (9 crosses displayed on his P-51). On the May 30th mission to Bernberg Adams shared an Me 410 with a fellow pilot, but was subsequently shot down in a surprise attack by Bf 109s coming out of the sun. Quickly split-essing and barrel-rolling straight down to avoid the attackers doing further damage, The Southern Belle was nevertheless mortally wounded and the ace was soon forced to bail out. Escaping at low altitude, Adams landed safely near the town of Tiddische, Germany - a tiny village not unlike his home town of Ida, Louisiana.

Shedding his gear, 'Fletch' was conversing with a slave-laborer from Poland who had been working nearby when he was taken into custody by three German army soldiers who intended to turn him over to their superiors at a nearby military post. While walking towards the station the party was intercepted by the local Tiddische police chief who was a fanatical Nazi and by chance had just returned from a rally where the flames of hatred for allied flyers were fanned to the extreme. Brandishing a weapon, the chief exercised his political authority and assumed custody of Capt. Adams. The fate of the young fighter pilot hours later was sealed, and, unfortunately, was not an isolated case of wartime atrocity.

The complete story of Fletcher Adams and his service with the Yoxford Boys of the 357th Fighter Group, including details of what happened on May 30th and the subsequent postwar investigation, is detailed in Joey Maddox's book, "Bleeding Sky - The Story of Captain Fletcher E. Adams and the 357th Fighter Group."

Uploaded

March 20th, 2014