Bailed out whilst flying P-51D CG-B 44-13818 "Mah Ideel" (F. Birtciel)

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1/Lt. Carl E. Breathwit reported: "On 2 March 1945 I was leading Hellcat Blue flight, returning to base from a combat mission to eastern Germany, Lt. S.F. Anderson was my wingman and as we left the target area he signalled me that his radio was cutting out. I acknowledged his trouble and although he could transmit fairly well, he did not seem to be able to receive. We were coming out of Germany on a heading of 285 degrees and at 1300 hours I saw Lt. Anderson falter and drop behind. I did a quick 180 degree turn and rejoined him as he said his engine had quit and he did not think it was going to start again and that he might have to bail out. Our altitude was 13,000 feet when his engine failed and he started gliding down through the overcast, which was solid with tops at 11,000 feet, and base at 100 to 1,000 feet in spots. I told him to hold a 285 degree heading while trying to start it up. My number three man, F/O Totten and I let down immediately to the deck to search for him, the plane, a parachute, or any wreckage of the airplane. All attempts at radio contact failed. The ceiling was very poor, visibility very bad and there was very rough terrain at this location. We searched for fifteen minutes but found nothing. We called the group leader and then returned to base. Our position at the time of Lt. Anderson's engine failure was 50 miles inside the enemy lines near Limburg, Germany."

Lt. Anderson, under ideal conditions, could only glide his stricken P-51 thirty-seven miles from 13,000 feet and he was fifty miles inside enemy lines when his engine failed. Considering the inclement weather, his only choice was to bail out. Anderson was captured the same day he was downed and was liberated from Stalag Luft VII A, Moosburg, on April 29, 1945. "Mah Ideel", was the name of the plane Lt. Anderson was flying.
Reproduced with kind permission of Mr. Robert M. Littlefield from the author's book Double Nickel - Double Trouble