I like many but I consider the P-40 my favorite, probably because at a young age I discovered the Flying Tigers. There was always something appealing about that shark mouth artwork and the leaping tiger near the cockpit.
![](http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i306/Aggieman/WarBirds/FlyingTigers.jpg)
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All excellent picks. Picking a favorite WWII airbird is kind of like picking your favorite variety of chocolate themed Blue Bell ice cream - do you want milk chocolate, chocolate chip, triple chocolate, or something else?
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I, too, love 'em all. But it is funny that the P-51 and the B-17 get all the good press, when the stats show that the planes that won the war were the B-24 and the P-47. More bombs dropped, more enemy fighters shot down, etc. etc.
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During the Aug. 1, 1943 bombing mission over the Ploesti oil fields in Romania, Hughes was the pilot of a B-24 heavy bombardment aircraft flying in the last element of a formation.
He arrived in the target area after previous flights had thoroughly alerted the enemy defenses. Approaching the target through intense and accurate antiaircraft fire and dense balloon barrages at dangerously low altitude, his airplane received several direct hits from both large and small caliber antiaircraft guns that seriously damaged his aircraft. Sheets of escaping gasoline streamed from the bomb bay and from the left wing. The leak was so heavy that it was blinding his waist gunner's view. The damage was inflicted prior to reaching the target when Hughes could have made a forced landing in any of the grain fields readily available at that time. The target area was blazing with burning oil tanks and damaged refinery installations from which flames leaped high above the bombing level of the formation. Knowing the consequences of entering the inferno when his airplane was leaking gasoline in two separate locations, Hughes elected not to make a forced landing or turn back from the attack. Instead, rather than jeopardize the formation and the success of the attack, he flew into the wall of fire at about 30 feet above the ground and dropped his bomb load with precision.
After successfully bombing the objective, he emerged from the conflagration with the left wing of his aircraft on fire. He attempted to pull up and away from the action, trying to save his plane and crew. He successfully slowed the plane's speed form 225 to 100 miles an hour. It looked as if he was going to be able to crash land when suddenly the left wing flew off and the plane cartwheeled into the ground. All in the plane were killed.
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Re-enactors. Hence the smiley face? Gotta luv it, though. Thanks for the pics.
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Re-enactors. Hence the smiley face? Gotta luv it, though. Thanks for the pics.