NARRATOR: New Year's Day, 1945-- an American forward
air base in Belgium called Y-29 is in the crosshairs
of a massive German assault, part of a desperate last ditch
Luftwaffe offensive designed to shatter Allied
air power in Europe. [gunfire] Now you're in the cockpit,
as P-51 Mustangs and P-47 Thunderbolts rise to
defend their own territory in an extraordinary fight
known to history as the legend of Y-29. Experience the battle,
dissect the tactics, relive the dogfights. January 1, 1945, 8:30 AM-- a flat wintry plane
near Asch, Belgium. Slag heaps dot the horizon like
a giant slate gray pyramids. Nestled in this vast expanse is
the American forward air base designated Y-29. At the north end of the
field, P-47 Thunderbolts of the 366th fighter
group prepare for takeoff, tasked
with a close air support mission over the Ardennes. BOB BRULLE: Well, we, of
course, had a New Year's party. I had a slight hangover. Not too bad. So you could say we were eight
sort of semi groggy fellas that took off that morning. NARRATOR: At the south
end of the field, blue-nosed P-51 Mustangs
in the 352nd fighter group idle on the taxiway. Group commander Lieutenant
Colonel JC Meyer has tried all morning to
obtain permission for a patrol, but 9th Air Force command
has denied his request. SANDFORD K. MOATS: There was to
be a large mission of escort, and 9th Air Force was trying to
keep the fighters on the ground in order to use them
on that mission. Well, JC sat there and
thought about it a while. He said, why don't we
just get in our airplanes, and go out, and sit
on the end of runway, and see what happens? NARRATOR: On this morning,
JC Meyer's suspicion of a German attack will pay off. At that very moment,
across the front lines, a massive armada of over
850 German Focke-Wulf 190s Messerschmitt Bf 109s descends
on the Allies, a surprise attack meant to break Allied
air superiority over Europe in a single brutal stroke. Separated into formations of
approximately 60 aircraft, they will strike 17 Allied
airfields in the Netherlands, Belgium, and northern France,
destroying as many aircraft on the ground as they can. The offensive is designated
Operation Bodenplatte. JERRY CRANDALL: Bodenplatte
means ground plate, meaning they're going to grind
their boot heel into the Allies Air Force and grind
them to a pulp. They knew that the
Americans and the British were pretty cocky by this time,
and New Year's Eve and New Year's, they're celebrating. They're gonna all be drunk. NARRATOR: But Bodenplatte
suffers an early setback. To maintain secrecy,
German flack units were not informed of the attack. JERRY CRANDALL: Well, the
Luftwaffe flack units-- anytime they saw
a large armada, it was had to be the Allies,
because we had tremendous air superiority. So they were trigger happy. They saw these airplanes
coming over, they start firing. [gunfire] One quarter of Bodenplatte's
effective strength is reduced by friendly fire. Nonetheless, the
Germans press on. Among the many fighter squadrons
are the men of Jagdgeschwader 11, comprised of 40 FW
190s and 24 Bf 109s. 30 miles Northeast of Asch,
Belgium they turn south. Their target is Y-29. At 9:15 AM, eight Thunderbolts
take off and Y-29, commanded by Captain Lowell B. Smith. Smith flies lead in the
first flight of four. The B-47s form up and head east. Just as the jug pilots settle
in for the trip to the front, Lieutenant Jack Kennedy
spots flack bursts to the north over a British
airfield designated Y-32. That was probably
the first indication that any of the airborne pilots
knew that the Germans were in the area. NARRATOR: Then another jug
pilot, Lieutenant Mel Paisley, breaks in over the radio. Bandits, 2 o'clock low. BOB BRULLE: I think that
was the first time any of us had seen flying German aircraft. And it was a whole
gaggle of them, but we were so anxious
to get into a dogfight, we just aid, to hell with it. NARRATOR: The Americans
jettison their bombs and prepare to attack. BOB BRULLE: We just
surprised them. I've read some of
the German accounts, and they said, where
the expletive did these Thunderbolts come from? NARRATOR: Mel Paisley draws
first blood in the battle. He took the
initiative and dived to meet the first German
pretty much nose to nose. [gunfire] BARRETT TILLMAN: That
Luftwaffe fighter broke off and tried to escape
to the east of the airfield. NARRATOR: But the
evasive tactic fails. [gunfire] Behind Paisley, Lowell Smith
barrels into the chaos, attacking an FW 190 from above. A well aimed burst downs
a second enemy plane. Simultaneously, Bob Brulle
spots a 190 just off the ground. Brulle wings over and maneuvers
into his enemy's 6 o'clock. BOB BRULLE: I almost
slammed into the ground from his prop wash. It scared me, actually. Woo. NARRATOR: The German is so close
to the ground Brulle can't aim his guns low enough, but
the young fighter pilot has an itchy trigger finger. He fires anyway. [gunfire] BOB BRULLE: Now, we only
have 20 seconds of firepower. So even if you just
go brrt, brrt, brrt-- you do that 10 times, you
used up half your ammunition. NARRATOR: As Brulle battles
his 190 on the deck, full throttle combat
in the furball rages. P-47 pilot Jack Kennedy
zeros in on a Focke-Wulf. BARRETT TILLMAN: He closed
so near to the German that he said the-- the
silhouette just filled up his gun sight. And in the limited
time available-- [gunfire] --he triggered a short burst. And he was hitting it
when his plane in turn was hit hard from behind. NARRATOR: Cannon and
machine gun rounds from an unseen pair of 109s
slam into Kennedy's jug. His right wing
bursts into flame. BARRETT TILLMAN: He
actually went so far as to unstrap his shoulder
harness, thinking that he would bail out. But when he looked
over, he realized that the right side
of his Thunderbolt was streaming flames. So rather than try a low
altitude parachute jump, he just stayed in the airplane. NARRATOR: Kennedy ducks into the
slag heaps northeast of Y-29, hoping to lose the
190s in the chaos. But the Germans hold fast. [gunfire] Jack Kennedy and the rest of
the Thunderbolts need help. The P-47s have engaged
the German formation four miles north of Y-29. The cavalry, 12 P-51 Mustangs
of the 352nd fighter group, idle on the runway
at the airbase. The 9th Air Force has continued
to deny them permission to take off, but JC Meyer, a born
leader and skilled tactician, is still wary. JC Meyer was one
heck of a leader. I would have flown through
hell with him and back. NARRATOR: Suddenly, at 9:20 AM,
Meyer spots flat to the north-- all the confirmation he needs. He says, let's go. And I looked at
him, and I thought-- quickly it just went
through my mind, this is either a decoration,
or this is a court martial, taking off without permission. NARRATOR: The Mustangs throttle
up and roll down the runway, accelerating towards takeoff
speed of 90 miles per hour. JC Meyer lifts off,
immediately spotting an FW 190. One of the classic
snapshots of the war occurred when John Meyer was
still bringing his landing gear up. And he was out of time. He was nose to nose
with a Focke-Wulf 190. So he ignored bringing
his wheels up. Just put the 190 in his gun
sight, pressed the trigger. NARRATOR: The 190 flames
and careens out of control towards the rest of the Mustangs
still lifting off the runway. Meyers' victim slams into the
ground in front of Lieutenant Sandy Moats, but Moats
manages to avoid disaster. In rapid succession, the rest
of the Blue-nosed Bastards of Bodney take to the air. We had an outstanding
fighter group, the 352nd. As General Kepner said,
we were second to none. NARRATOR: The frantic
opening moments of the battle give way to full blown aerial
combat among the treetops surrounding Y-29. One of the greatest dogfights
in history has begun. January 1, 1945--
at 9:20 AM, the men of the 352nd second fighter
group, the Blue-nosed Bastards of Bodney take to
the skies over Y-29 Lieutenant Ray Littge with
his wingman, Al Rigby, accelerate away
from the airfield. Suddenly, Al Rigby spots
on one FW 190 swinging in behind his flight lead. Rigby instinctively
calls a left break. If Littge breaks left
and the 190 follows, Rigby will have an easy
shot at the German. So I said, Littge, break left. I don't know what kind of
tones I used, but he did. And that Focke-Wulf 190
was right on his tail. NARRATOR: The move works. [gunfire] ALDEN RIGBY: I see hits from
the tail up through the cockpit. He just rolls over and goes in. At this time, I lose Littge. I watch that guy go
in, and Littge is gone. And there are so many
aircraft that I'm not about to pick him out. But here-- I'm sitting here,
and here comes a Focke-Wulf 190 underneath me on-- just on the treetops. NARRATOR: Rigby jams the
stick right and wings over. ALDEN RIGBY: And about the
time that I get a line on him, I can't find my gun sight. I mean it's gone. The bulb is burned out, and
this is a brand new aircraft. NARRATOR: Accurate gunnery
is now nearly impossible. ALDEN RIGBY: I'm kicking
the rudder back and forth, and I'm spraying quite a bit. [gunfire] NARRATOR: Incredibly,
Rigby scores hits. The 190s engine belches smoke
and tumbles out of control. [gunfire] Rigby soars over the
wreckage of his victim and heads back toward Asch. Meanwhile, Lieutenant
Sandy Moats and his wingman throttle up and
join the fur ball. Immediately, tracers
engulf the Mustangs. A pair of 190s are making
a high speed attack. [gunfire] Moats will use the 190's
speed against them. Along with his wingman,
he'll break into the attack, forcing the 190s to overshoot. [gunfire] SANDFORD K. MOATS: I called
for my wingman to break-- that is, turn left, and he did. The one that was
beside me overshot, and as I came in behind him,
he got right in my gun sight. [gunfire] [gunfire] NARRATOR: As his foe careens
into the ground, another 190 lines up on Moats's
tail, but luckily, another Blue-noser,
Major Bill Halton, has the German in
his crosshairs. [gunfire] Moats flies on, soaring into
the midst of a swirling dogfight in the slag heaps. Well, it wouldn't seem
strange to be down flying at that low altitude, dodging
a bunch of small hills of slag heaps. On the other hand, there
were so many airplanes all over the top we were
kind of pressed down into it. NARRATOR: A half mile west of
Moats, screaming across a snow covered field, P-47
pilot Bob Brulle is still locked in a 300 mile
per hour chase scant feet off the ground. He's fired volley after
volley, but scored no hits. [gunfire] BOB BRULLE: The
first dogfight I'm in, I couldn't stop shooting. But I finally did
stop and just followed him a little bit behind
him, a little bit above him. Then I saw a puff of
smoke from his engine. And I immediately retarded the
throttle, because I thought, I bet he pulled
his throttle back. NARRATOR: As his
enemy slows down, Brulle drifts into formation. BOB BRULLE: I was
just above him, and I contemplated taking
out my .45 and shooting him, because he was so close. NARRATOR: To prevent
a stall, the 190 is forced to accelerate. Suddenly, a tree stand
looms in front of him. The Focke-Wulf pitches
up to avoid the obstacle. [gunfire] BOB BRULLE: And
as he pulled up, I was able to pull a lead on him,
and got up good burst into him. [gunfire] NARRATOR: At 350 miles per
hour, the 190 bellies in. [gunfire] An oily black fireball blooms
in front of Bob Brulle. BOB BRULLE: I was covered with
oil, and I couldn't see at all. I pulled back a little bit
to make sure I didn't run into the ground. Finally, the wind stream
parted the oil enough so that I could see through it. NARRATOR: Brulle
swivels his head, searching for another target. Then just another FW 190
pulled right in front of me, so I went after him. NARRATOR: Brulle pulls
lead and fires a burst. [gunfire] He fires again,
but to his dismay-- [gunfire] --his guns stop. [gunfire] He's out of ammunition-- a critical mistake. As Brulle's mind races
through his options, glowing fireballs
arc over his canopy. I look back, and
holy cripe, there's an ME 109 sitting there. NARRATOR: The German lobs deadly
20 millimeter cannon rounds at Brulle. [gunfire] BOB BRULLE: I was
in a left turn. They always told us to turn
to the right with an ME 109. They had a bad
stall characteristic when it turned to the right. So I started to
roll to the right, but then I said, heck,
I'm already in the left. I'm gonna continue that. So I just snap reversed my roll. NARRATOR: Brulle's
inadvertent feint to the right fools the 109. The German has lost the edge. His fire now falls
short of the P-47. BOB BRULLE: I looked back, and
I could see him shooting at me. And he's got two machine
guns up here going. And I said, gee, doesn't
that look pretty. Honest to goodness,
I thought that. NARRATOR: Brulle jams the
throttle forward into war emergency power. Water methanol is injected
directly into the cylinders to cool the over boosted engine. The jugs Pratt & Whitney
R-2800 howls with an extra 300 horsepower. Brulle's enemy pushes his
Messerschmitt to the limit. BOB BRULLE: And I
was gaining on him. And we made about
almost a complete 360, and I was going to be
on his tail pretty soon. NARRATOR: The German flinches
first and breaks away. Brulle lets him go. With no ammunition,
a chase is pointless. Brulle pitches up
and gains altitude. He soars over Y-29 at 200 feet. And I had every damn
gunner shooting at me. None of them hit me. But I waggled my wings. I mean, they see us every
day with the elliptical wing and the big radial engine. And they still shot at us. And that really
(WHISPERING) pissed me off. [chuckles] NARRATOR: 10 square miles
of Belgian countryside are now engulfed in battle. The Americans have
bloodied the enemy, but they're still outnumbered. The fight is far from over. [gunfire] January 1, 1945-- the fight
over Y-29 intensifies. The stakes couldn't be higher. This is a key battle in the
midst of a wider German air offensive. If the Allies are
victorious on this day, the Luftwaffe will be
broken as a fighting force. In stunned amazement,
personnel on the ground watch the battle unfold. People were just standing there,
watching like a football game. RICHARD CREAMER: Get that guy. He's on his tail. Cheering them on the best
we could from the ground and staring at those airplanes,
and it was just a deadly game to be watching. NARRATOR: With
almost no warning, a 109 roars in to
make a strafing pass. Creamer ducks behind
a mound of dirt. And as he passed
by, I was lying-- I pulled out my .45, just-- I cocked it. I shot a few fives at it and
it was like maybe hitting a fly with a BB gun. NARRATOR: Above the
air base, the combat reaches a fever pitch. It's become a grueling
test of endurance. Pilots fight exhaustion. They must stay aggressive while
conserving fuel and ammunition. Lieutenant Al Rigby
returns to the action. He spots a P-47 with
its right wing on fire. It's Lieutenant Jack Kennedy,
whose jug was hit hard early in the fight. Kennedy has managed to turn
the tables on the 109s that attacked him, despite the
damage to his Thunderbolt. ALDEN RIGBY: And I see the P-47. He fires on the 109, and I see
a couple of strikes on the tail. That 109 cranks
that thing around. The P-47 mushes to
outside, and I'm down here. So I just come up from
beneath and between them. NARRATOR: Rigby fires a burst. [gunfire] The German pilot is killed. [gunfire] The 109 lurches over, allowing
Thunderbolt pilot Jack Kennedy to break off and
retreat into the clouds. It's Al Rigby's third
victory for the day. Just then, Sandy Moats
breaks out of the melee and heads south. SANDFORD K. MOATS: As I pulled
up in the area of the slag heaps, I noticed
a Focke-Wulf 190 tackling the railroad
marshaling yard in Liege, which is just south of the
airfield and just south of the slag heaps. NARRATOR: Moats throttles
up, closing on the FW 190. The German spots the danger
and breaks into Moats. As he did, he turned
shortly to the left, and-- and put a plain view
for my sight picture. NARRATOR: Moats pulls lead,
a 30 degree deflection shot-- range, 200 yards. [gunfire] SANDFORD K. MOATS: All
the guns on my right side hit his right wing root, and
all the guns on my left side hit his left wing root. And the wings folded
up over the canopy just like that, much
like a carrier aircraft. [gunfire] He started to drop
straight down, and he turned and
moving any other way. And I flew by him and
looked down at him. I could see him in the cockpit,
and he looked up at me. He didn't have a chance. He looked like his
hands were trying to get out of the airplane. Within 400 feet, there
was no possibility. He dropped straight in. NARRATOR: To the north, intense
combat directly over the base shows no sign of abating. There was a time then between
that and the next victory when there was a good deal of
effort spent in just keeping from having midair collisions
with all of those aircraft in this tiny airspace. Finally, I was able
to get behind one. Again, I had about a
30 degree deflection. NARRATOR: The German breaks
hard, but Moats is not shaken. The 650 caliber Brownings in
the Mustang's wings erupt. The Focke-Wulf shudders under
the impact of the burst. As Moats's third
victory smolders, Mustang pilot Captain
Henry M. "Stew" Stewart spots a 109 and
dives aggressively. Stewart stays padlocked
on the 109's tail, screaming over the tree
tops at 350 miles per hour. Both pilots pull six G's,
neck muscles straining to keep their heads up. The high G chase
bleeds airspeed. If Stewart gets too
slow, he'll stall-- certain death at low altitude. He carefully works the
throttle, his senses tuned to his Merlin engine's
every shake and quiver. Whoever stalls first dies. January 1, 1945-- the
legendary dog fight over Y-29 enters its final stages. [gunfire] Lieutenant Henry "Stew" Stewart
turns around a slag heap east of the field, a
109 just ahead of him. He fights to pull
lead for a shot, but must avoid stalling out. The solution he came up with
was that, rather than trying to cram more power on, he
lowered his flaps, which came down almost flush from
beneath the bottom of the wing. That gave him additional lift
for the same amount of power, and consequently, he was able
to maintain that tight turn and stay behind the
109 so he could shoot. NARRATOR: After the third
turn around the slag pile, Stewart pulls lead on his enemy. His finger closes around the
trigger, but nothing happens. Then he realized that, in
the excitement of that intense combat, jostling
around in the cockpit, his knee had hit the-- the
safety over the-- the gun switch. NARRATOR: In a frenzy,
Stewart ripped the metal guard off the safety. [gunfire] 50 caliber rounds shred the 109. [gunfire] Stewart soars over
the slag heaps. High above him, P-47
pilot Bob Brulle watches a loan 190 trying
to escape with two Mustangs in hot pursuit. BOB BRULLE: He was heading
east, but he was starting to go under my wing, so
I rolled over like this to keep my eye on him, figuring
I didn't want him to stand the hell up and get me. He must've seen me, and he
turned up to meet me head on. NARRATOR: The Mustang sees
the opportunity and fire a long range deflection shot. BOB BRULLE: I always thought I
should've gotten an assist that kill. [chuckles] NARRATOR: To the
west, Brulle spots a lull in the action over Y-29. He makes a quick approach
and sets his Thunderbolt down before combat returns. BOB BRULLE: I landed and rolled
to the end of the runway. I suddenly saw two
ME 109s coming over to strafe our field. I says, holy cripe. Here I am sitting there with
the engine turning over. Well, I shut the engine off
and bailed out the airplane. [gunfire] NARRATOR: The 109s roar over
the field pursued by a P-51 300 yards in trail. BOB BRULLE: Of course, the
ack-ack gunners opened up. They never leaded
the planes enough. I mean, they're
coming in full blow at probably 350,
375 miles an hour. And they hit the 51. And we said, no, you
got-- hit the wrong one. And while we sat there,
we saw them hit the 51. And he just came around,
dropped his gear, and landed. NARRATOR: The unfortunate
Mustang pilot is Dean Huston. Huston guides his
wounded P-51 off the PSP, coasting to a stop,
a frustrating end to the day for him. But at that very moment, his
flight lead, Sandy Moats, roars over the south
west end of the field. He's made a series of head on
passes with a Focke-Wulf 190. Abruptly, the German
makes a break for home. Moats cranks his
Mustang around, slipping in trail of the retreating 190. He fires several volleys,
scoring hits from wingtip to wingtip. [gunfire] But the rugged Focke-Wulf
190 absorbs the punishment. [gunfire] Another burst, and the
190's drop tank ignites. Then an explosion
rocks the Mustang. [gunfire] [boom] SANDFORD K. MOATS: A
black blast went off right between my propeller
and my right wing root. It made a loud noise,
a bright flash. It startled me, of course. And I pulled up to the side
to see if I was all right. NARRATOR: Incredibly, his
Mustang appears undamaged. Moats drops in on
his mark again, firing another deadly
accurate burst. I pulled back in on this
aircraft, and this time above him, because my guns
had been shooting low. Then I fired a burst, which
hit him on the right side of the cockpit. [gunfire] It was just a few rounds. He just turned over
and went straight in. [boom] [gunfire] NARRATOR: Moats breaks off
the chase and returns to Y-29. Over the airfield, Al Rigby
circles, picking a target. With little ammo left,
he must be judicious. I don't know now that
I've got even a round left, but here's two P-51s
mixing it up with a 109. And I mean that 109 is good. NARRATOR: Rigby makes diving
passes at the expertly flown 109, but the German makes
a mockery of his attempts, kicking the tail around
and diving for air speed before Rigby can
even hope for a shot. The other Mustangs
in the fight circle, making passes of their own. [gunfire] But the 109 evades them all,
firing as opportunity allows. [gunfire] ALDEN RIGBY: The 109,
for one maneuver, he rolls that thing
on its back and does a split S from what I guess
would be perhaps 1,000 feet. But I can still see that 109
as he pulls that thing out. The treetops shutter, and
wing trips and screamers. And he's back in the fight. NARRATOR: The German holds
them at bay with guts and superior airmanship. The P-51s have him boxed in. Somehow, they've got
to knock him out. [gunfire] January 1, 1945-- [boom] --over a forward airbase
in Belgium designated Y-29, a sprawling dogfight has seen
some of the most intense air combat of the war. Now Mustang pilot Al
Rigby with two other P-51s have engaged the best German
pilot they've ever seen. Just then, Sandy Moats
returns to the area. The expert 109 stumbles
across his path. [gunfire] He broke into me. That is, he turned into me
in an aggressive manner, but as I turned into him
to try to get behind him, he pulled straight up,
which is kind of a surprise. NARRATOR: The 109 barrel
rolls in an effort to shake the Mustang. Moats follows through
the dizzying maneuver. Then, unexpectedly, the 109
chops his throttle and tumbles. As he spun down, I
thought, well, there goes number five for
the simple reason, as I watched him
spinning down, there's no way he could have pulled
out from that low altitude. Amazingly, he did pull out. And I had no more ammunition,
and all I could do was look and watch. NARRATOR: But the stunning
maneuver proves futile. [gunfire] ALDEN RIGBY: One of
these P-51s fires, and I see what I think is a
couple of hits on this guy. Turns him directly
in front of me. He's right here. I'm right here. All I have to do is a hard
left, point the nose ahead, and the last of my ammunition
shatters the cockpit. I'm close enough to see the
pilot, the shatter, everything. So now I don't see
any more fights. As far as I can see,
the fight's over. NARRATOR: The remaining
Germans retreat. Sandy Moats, Al Rigby, and
the rest of the fighters still in the air return to base,
setting their Mustangs down on the runway at Y-29. I see about one
fire on the field, and I couldn't believe that we
had gotten by with so little visible damage on the field. NARRATOR: Incredibly,
only one P-47 is shot down in the attack, and no Mustangs. The Germans lose 24 aircraft. Only four enemy pilots
survive to be taken prisoner. The lopsided defeat at Y-29
encapsulated the failure of operation
Bodenplatte as a whole. At 17 different
Allied airfields, the Luftwaffe lost
approximately one third of the total force
put in the air-- a staggering number
of casualties. Bodenplatte was
a big blow to them. Instead of the Allies, yeah,
they-- they did have success. They shot up a lot
of Allied aircraft, and the Allies lost some pilots,
but the Allies could afford it. [gunfire] The Luftwaffe couldn't. They were at their wit's end. They had no more fuel,
no more trained pilots. [gunfire] NARRATOR: It was a blow from
which the Luftwaffe would never recover. The action over Y-29
was the centerpiece of this historic defeat. It was a battle that I don't
see anybody could duplicate with all those aircraft flying
around and not losing men. It was just unbelievable. Just unbelievable. All of our mechanics, and all
of the mess people who fed us, and all the other people
who took care of us-- those in the motor pool, the
military police who guarded the place-- and they got to the
see for the first time an aerial battle that took place
right smack over the airfield in full sight in front of
them with all of the action, and all of the noise, and
all of the excitement. [gunfire] NARRATOR: At Y-29, the
Americans dominated their enemy. [gunfire] Their exploits became
the stuff of legend and hastened the death
of the Luftwaffe. [boom]
