one of the greats.
possibly the greatest.
Bob Hoover - dead at 94
of course, he knew chuck yeager.
possibly the greatest.
Bob Hoover - dead at 94
During World War II, while based in North Africa and southern Europe, Hoover flew 58 missions as a fighter pilot with the Army Air Forces. On his 59th, on Feb. 9, 1944, he was shot down off the coast of southern France and was plucked from the sea by a German patrol boat.
He spent 16 months in a German prison camp before he and a fellow American climbed the fence and fled into the nearby woods. With the war coming to an end, German civilians were more cooperative, and a farmwoman gave Hoover and his fellow escapee a gun.
"She said it would do us a lot more good than it did her, and she was right," Hoover later told the Los Angeles Daily News.
He and his friend came upon a field with hundreds of damaged German warplanes. Hoover found one that had a full gas tank.
When a German mechanic approached, Hoover's friend pulled the gun on him.
"We told him unless he could get us airborne fast, we were going to kill him," Hoover recalled years later.
The German plane's engine started, but Hoover's buddy refused to get aboard, vowing never to fly in another airplane. Instead, he took his chances on foot - and years later was reunited with Hoover.
The stolen plane had a German cross painted on the side, and Hoover was fearful of being attacked by Allied forces as he flew along the coast of Germany toward the Netherlands.
"I didn't have any maps or charts," he said in a 2007 interview with the publication Airport Journals. "I knew that if I turned west and followed the shoreline, I would be safe when I saw windmills."
He landed in a field and was quickly surrounded by Dutch farmers with pitchforks. Soon afterward, a British army truck rolled up, and Hoover was taken to safety.
He spent 16 months in a German prison camp before he and a fellow American climbed the fence and fled into the nearby woods. With the war coming to an end, German civilians were more cooperative, and a farmwoman gave Hoover and his fellow escapee a gun.
"She said it would do us a lot more good than it did her, and she was right," Hoover later told the Los Angeles Daily News.
He and his friend came upon a field with hundreds of damaged German warplanes. Hoover found one that had a full gas tank.
When a German mechanic approached, Hoover's friend pulled the gun on him.
"We told him unless he could get us airborne fast, we were going to kill him," Hoover recalled years later.
The German plane's engine started, but Hoover's buddy refused to get aboard, vowing never to fly in another airplane. Instead, he took his chances on foot - and years later was reunited with Hoover.
The stolen plane had a German cross painted on the side, and Hoover was fearful of being attacked by Allied forces as he flew along the coast of Germany toward the Netherlands.
"I didn't have any maps or charts," he said in a 2007 interview with the publication Airport Journals. "I knew that if I turned west and followed the shoreline, I would be safe when I saw windmills."
He landed in a field and was quickly surrounded by Dutch farmers with pitchforks. Soon afterward, a British army truck rolled up, and Hoover was taken to safety.
In his book, Hoover wrote, "Hell, I would fly an old Dodge truck if they put wings on the side."
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