In an epic battle on January 1, 1945, Captain William T. Whisner flying his assigned P-51D Moonbeam McSwine downs an Me 109 after a head-on pass despite having been hit in the oil tank and wings. Whisner and the rest of the 487th FS had taken off into a hornets nest of Messerschmitts and Focke Wulf s. At around 1,500 feet he ran into about thirty FW-190s and quickly shot one down. While doing so, "Moonbeam McSwine" was hit in the oil tank and wings. Despite his dropping oil pressure and having lost control of his left aileron, Whisner continued into the fight. Moments later, he shot down a second FW-190 then engaged a third in a dogfight that lasted ten minutes before he dispatched that one also. The airstrip was still under attack as Whisner approached and saw an Me-109 strafe the northeast end of the field. They made two head-on passed at each other, and on the second pass he hit the Messerschmitt in the nose and wings. It crashed and burned east of the strip. (This is the scene depicted above in the painting "New Year’s Bash".) After chasing several more enemy fighters without results, Capt. Whisner was forced to return to the base and land as his windshield was covered with oil. When the day’s results were tallied, the 487th had shot down twenty-three of the Luftwaffe attackers and had suffered no losses. This was Capt. Whisner’s fourth victory for the day, bringing his total to 15.5. "Whiz" later flew with the 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing and the 51st FIW in Korea scoring with both units. He shot down 5.5 Soviet MiG 15s and damaged 6 others, making him one of only a handful of "two-war aces" and giving him a grand total of 21 victories. Overall print size: 22" x 28". Edition Size: 500 50 Artist Proofs |
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