KILL
or be killed
From Colonel Bud Anderson
Entering the Dogfight with a TRIPLE-ACE Pilot
Col . Clarence E . “ Bud ” Anderson is a retired fighter pilot in the United States Air Force . During WWII , Anderson was the highest scoring ace in his P-51 Mustang squadron , credited with taking down 16 and a quarter German aircraft .
Nearing the end of his second tour in Europe , Anderson was promoted to Major at age 22 , a remarkably young age for any airman to receive such a promotion .
Following a distinguished career , which included a combat tour in Vietnam , Anderson retired with the rank of colonel in 1972 .
Recently , Col . Anderson sat down with the American Veterans Center & World War II Veterans Committee ’ s weekly radio show , Veterans Chronicles , to share his story . The following article is adapted from that interview .
Although I was born in Oakland , I always considered Newcastle , California , my home of record . It was there that my parents operated the farm I grew up on and where I spent the entirety of my childhood .
On my 20th birthday , January 13 , 1942 , right after Pearl Harbor , I decided to join the Army Air Corps through the Aviation Cadet Program .
I always wanted to be a fighter pilot , which was probably influenced by watching Battle of Britain news reels and seeing pilots in dogfights with contrails in the sky . I think I also liked the control . If I was in a single engine , a single pilot airplane , I ’ d be in control of my environment . I ’ d be in control of my life . I ’ d be the pilot , the navigator , the gunner , the radio operator , and I wouldn ’ t have to depend on other people . On top of that , I thought fighters were a little bit cooler than bombers . So that ’ s what I wanted to do . In those days , pilots were needed in every facet of military operations , from flight instructors to cargo , bomber , and fighter pilots . If you could convince your instructor that you would be a good fighter pilot , your chances were pretty good of getting an assignment .
After training with the 357th Fighter Group at several air fields in California and Nevada , we eventually ended up in Casper , Wyoming . Most of us wondered where we ’ d go for combat . We did know that the P-39s we flew were increasingly employed for combat in the South Pacific and in North Africa . Before long , we got on a troop train and went to Camp Shanks , New York . From there , we got on the Queen Elizabeth , one of the two largest ocean liners in the world , and sailed to England .
The bomber pilots were trained to fly in large formations , during daylight , when they could use the Norden bombsight to go after military targets and destroy the war-making capability of Germany . The bomber air power enthusiasts figured the boots on the ground could then come in and close the war . Well it didn ’ t exactly work that way .
The British told us that we would take terrible losses if we conducted these operations in daylight . They suggested we fly over the area and do the bombing at night . But because we could only effectively use the bombsight during the day , we stuck
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