It’s January 11, 1944
Over 140 B17’s from the 401st Bomber Group are locked in desperate combat in the skies above Germany.
Bf 109s, 110s, and FW 190s swarm all over the American machines,
firing into their fuselages with machineguns, cannons, and rockets.
It’s a confusing and desperate storm of bullets and roaring engines.
Oil pours from holes and aircraft,as Germans line up again and again for attack runs.
Despite the best efforts of the sturdy flying fortresses the withering attacks from the masses of German defenders inevitably find their mark.
The American gunners fight back as best as they can damaging their attackers and taking down a handful of enemy fighters,
but it’s nowhere near enough, the flying fortresses are beginning to crumble and fall from the sky.
At the head of the formation Lieutenant Colonel Allison C. Brooks can do nothing but encourage his men forward and hope.
They’ve reached the rendezvous point and allied fighters should be arriving any second, they just need to hold on a little bit longer.
Meanwhile 44 P-51 Mustangs of the 354th Fighter Group race to the rescue.
Lead by Major James H. Howard he spots the battle taking place through the clouds but also a second group of
BF 109s far below, he’s evaluating the situation when suddenly a voice shouts over the radio “go down and get them!”
To his complete horror his entire fighter group immediately dives for the Messershmitts.
He tries to order them back but in the confusion only 3 of his fighters abort the run while the rest head straight into combat.
Howard is appalled the B-17’s are left defenseless, but there’s nothing he can do now.
The B-17’s need them, and with remaining fighters, he orders full throttle forward and now
outnumbered and disorganized flight charges into battle.
They burst in guns blazing, Howard’s eyes lock on an attacking Bf 110.
He pulls on the trigger and unleashes a precise four-second burst into the enemy aircraft,
it pours smoke and its wing is torn clean off, the 110 falling earth-bound in a column of black.
A nearby bomber crew witnesses the enemy get struck down followed by Howard’s Mustang streaking past, they celebrate, backup is finally here.
Immediately after taking down the 110, he sets his sights on an incoming Bf 109.
Howard fires a burst of his weapons as the German machine flies across his nose,
the bullets strike true and the enemy aircraft flees away with a trail of leaking coolant behind his tail.
Howard then instantly moves on to his next target, an FW 190 is now slow, is diving away.
He chases it down and peppers it with his guns, the German pilot feels the impacts of the bullets and sees the tracers
zip past his canopy and bails immediately, jumping out of his crippled aircraft in front of Howard’s eyes.
Howard then returns with the bomber formation expecting more trouble, but when he does he’s surprised to be met with… nothing.
Neither enemies nor allied fighters.
Unbeknownst him while he dashed from enemy to enemy his wingmen had instead locked themselves in dogfights
and were left behind by the formation.
Still the bomber crews cheer for their rescuers and Colonel Brooks can breathe a sigh of relief.
But aboard the Mustang Howard faces the fact that he is now alone.
Still, he maintains his escort, and for a few minutes the skies remain calm.
But it wouldn’t last. Up above several formations of Bf 109s and Bf 110s emerge through the clouds.
Without a second of hesitation Major Howard slams the throttle to full and races straight for the German onslaught.
He goes after a Bf 110 and cuts him down with a surgical burst of his 50calibre machine guns,
the wreck bursting into flames and tumbling out of the sky. The enemy formation scatters into disarray
as they’re split between attacking bombers and chasing after the brave American.
Howard skillfully evades his pursuers, dodging their every shot as he flies back around the B-17s.
The bombers also unleash their weapons and the chaos of the gunfight forces the pursuing Germans to turn away.
Now free, Howard dashes around the formation, moving from target to target at breakneck speed.
He takes potshots at a 109. Then at a 110. Then at another 109.
The pace is relentless but he performs to perfection, striking faster than they can react,
forcing them to abort their attack runs on the bombers, and then disappearing into the chaos before the enemy can get on his tail.
Inside the B-17s the men cannot believe what they are witnessing.
Brooks would later state "For sheer determination and guts, it was the greatest exhibition I've ever seen.
It was a case of one lone American against what seemed to be the entire Luftwaffe.
He was all over the wing, across and around it. They can't give that boy a big enough award."
But with such a numerical disadvantage it was a matter of time before he’d be under attack.
A Bf 109 gets on his 6 and opens fire.
Shells zip past Howard’s canopy and he evades with all his might, twisting and turning in the air.
The German pilot mirrors his every move, the superior maneuverability of the 109 showing its worth.
But Howard has another trick up his sleeve.
He dives downwards at full throttle, picking up massive speed.
The 109 follows closely firing away but doesn’t score any hits, the P-51 goes faster and faster until Howard pulls hard on the stick.
He’s squeezed into the seat by the massive Gs as the 109 behind attempts to follow,but the Messersmith’s
airframe isn’t as strong and the experienced German pilot is forced to pull away else he would snap his wings off his machine.
Major Howard looks back to an empty sky and smirks.
Gradually he makes his way back up to the B-17s which by now are all but free from German fighters.
He spots a Ju 88 and sets his eyes upon it and opens fire but is dismayed when he sees just one column of tracers emerge from his wings.
His other 3 browning machine guns had jammed in the high-G maneuver.
Undeterred he decides to go for a faint, turning straight towards the Ju 88 from almost straight on, making sure they’ll see him.
Sure enough, the German pilot gets spooked and pulls away.
At the end of it all Major James Howard walked away with three more confirmed victories to his name.
The 401st Bomber Group would lose 4 B-17s on that day, but none from the moment Howard joined the fight.
Upon landing his feats were the talk of the bomber crews, 16 crewmembers would step forward
during the debrief to share the incredible sights of the lone Mustang.
They would be the ones who pushed to find the pilot and grant him the Medal of Honor.
For his part Howard never bragged about the event, it was just thanks to the bomber crews
that he would be identified and his story would become sensation.
Days later he would find himself surrounded by media and when questioned why he took such risk he answered,
“I’ve seen my duty and I’ve done it.”
Major James Howell Howard was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on that day.
He passed away at his home in Bay Pines, Florida, on March 18, 1995.