WWII - Shoot Jap Zero Down With GI M1911 Pistol?

[DougGuy]

Probably been posted before but too good of a story not to post again.. You just can't make this stuff up!

Bailed Out And Shot At, This WWII Pilot Made A Historic Kill

http://worldwarwings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/parachute-kill-735x413.jpg

One Of Those Stories For The Ages. It goes without saying but we’ll do it anyway. World War II was the bloodiest conflict in the world, sending the most amount of soldiers to a fight which ended with the greatest civilian and military casualties ever recorded. That’s saying a lot. There are a myriad of books written about this war in general, but since there were so many people involved, there are even more books written about their personal accounts.
There are so many takes on this horrendous time in our history, but think about the small incidents too. There were probably hundreds of thousands of acts of heroism that we’ll never hear about and maybe even more miracles that went unnoticed. We’re glad to say that we found one of those stories that include both.

Owen John Baggett was born in 1920 in Graham, Texas. By 1941 he graduated from college and went on to work on Wall Street, but by the following year, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps (now USAF) when the United States entered the war.
http://worldwarwings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/b24-liberator-1024x566.jpg
A studious man, he graduated from pilot training in just five months and was sent to Burma, flying a B-24 Liberator. What he happened the following year is one of those stories we just described.
On March 31st, 1943, Baggett and his squadron were sent on a mission to destroy a bridge of strategic importance. On their way, the B-24s got intercepted by Japanese Zeros which hit the squadron hard. Baggett’s plane was riddled with bullets to such an extent that the crew was forced to bail out.
While parachuting, a Japanese pilot decided that downing the plane wasn’t enough. He circled around and started shooting at the bailed out pilots, killing two of the crew. Seeing this, Baggett did the only thing he could. He played dead.
http://worldwarwings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/owen-j-baggett-1024x566.jpg (http://worldwarwings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/owen-j-baggett.jpg)
Not convinced Baggett was dead, the Zero pulled up to him at near stall speed, the pilot opening his canopy to check on his horrendous work. Not wasting any time and thinking on his feet (no pun intended), Baggett pulled out his pistol and shot the pilot right in the head.
http://worldwarwings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/m1911-pistol-1024x566.jpg (http://worldwarwings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/m1911-pistol.jpg)

This is considered the best shot by a Caliber .45 M911 pistol of ALL TIME.
The last thing he saw was the Zero spiraling toward earth.
When he landed, he and the other bailed out crew members were captured and sent to a POW camp where they remained till the end of the war. They were liberated by OSS agents (World War II version of the modern CIA) and Baggett was recognized as the only person during the war to shoot down a Zero with a pistol.

http://worldwarwings.com/bailed-out-and-shot-at-this-pilot-made-a-historical-kill?a=mk&var=ww2-pistol-plane

[leadman]

Wow! That had to be the unluckiest Japanese pilot in the air! Then to have a photo taken of the fantastic shooting of the American pilot is a miracle alone.

[rondog]

Seems like I read something about him being treated with honor and respect by the Japanese because of that shot, and being such a "great warrior" or something. Definitely heard of this incident before.

[10-x]

Yep, .45 1911 A1 wins again.

[Litl Red 3991]

Unbelievable

And even more unbelievable is the photo. Taken by what? a guncamera?

And even if the Zero pilot had slowed down a lot, it would still be going so fast he really wouldn't be able to slide the canopy back before he's out of range by that photo shopped guy under that canopy that's awfully full to be at such an angle.

The work amazing isn't adequate to describe that photo.

[rondog]

Unbelievable

And even more unbelievable is the photo. Taken by what? a guncamera?

And even if the Zero pilot had slowed down a lot, it would still be going so fast he really wouldn't be able to slide the canopy back before he's out of range by that photo shopped guy under that canopy that's awfully full to be at such an angle.

The work amazing isn't adequate to describe that photo.

My money says that "photo" is fabricated. Story's true, photo is BS.

[Outpost75]

Circular reticle with dot is a US gun camera of the period. Expect another of our pilots was flying overwatch on his buddy and was going for the Jap. The Intel officer who poured our debrief rye whisky always drummed into us saying that, "the gun camera never lies! Wait for the film!"

[rondog]

More links....

http://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2011/3/29/the-m1911-gets-a-zero/

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/gun-nuts/2011/06/best-shot-1911-ever

http://www.neatorama.com/2014/03/10/Amazing-Story-from-World-War-II-Shooting-Down-a-Fighter-Plane-with-a-Handgun/

[M-Tecs]

Always enjoy reading that story.

[square butte]

That Zero pilot had it comin. The Good Lord sure works in mysterious and wondrous ways. Nice to see how a 1911 and one good man can be used as an instrument of God. Age old story. Not the first or the last time.

[OS OK]

"That pilot got what he deserved, 'just desert'…and…POW Camps under the Japanese…read one of any number of the books in print…those soulless cowards treated our boys with contempt and cruelty, they got theirs at the end!"

[DougGuy]

In the story it says the Jap pilot slid the canopy back to get a better look at the flyer on the parachute, and the plane in the photo has the canopy closed so the pic is probably fabricated from period era photos. Who know they might have practiced firing the 1911 while jumping and that could be a training photo with the plane superimposed on it but in a sense it looks period correct but in reality, that's not likely the pic of the actual incident. I do believe however that the story is likely true. The Japs did merciless things to US airmen in the war, I have read accounts of them flying underneath the parachutes and hitting the airmen with the propellers, lots of accounts of them strafing men and parachutes as they descended to earth.

I knew a WWII vet who ferried SBDs and Avengers from Hawaii to the Philipines, they flew with extra fuel and no ammo and on one occasion a Jap "Betty" got after him and he could out maneuver it but could not outrun it but he finally managed to get above the Betty and dive on it flying through it's tail section with his propeller and chopping it off. The Betty went down in the sea with it's crew and he limped on into Manila(?), the plane drew a lot of attention once on the ground, he had sheet metal all in the engine cowling, the wings, the propeller was all chewed up, but he made it in one piece..

Should have asked him where they refueled at because that's quite a hop but I don't think he was the kind of guy to bs about things he did during the war so I took it to be truthful.

[swheeler]

Never under estimate the 45!lol Good story and I had never read it before.

[Don Purcell]

In Europe a German Fiesler Storch observation plane was brought down by a two man crew flying an L-4 (Piper Cub) using a 1911 also. The German pilot put the plane down and had been wounded in the foot. Not sure when this happened but if it was near the end of the war he may have just said screw it and set her down.

[Tackleberry41]

The photo is obviously not true. As said, in the story the pilot put back the canopy, one in that pic is closed. Yes that may be what a gun camera sees, but in that one the US pilot would be so close he would hit the other plane. And again even the stall speed of a zero would zip past the other pilot to fast to see anything. A pilot may well have gotten lucky at one time or another. I think most of us hanging helpless from a parachute and a zero pilot came around to finish the job would empty our mag and even throw our shoes at him for some slim hope to survive.

[Thumbcocker]

Supposedly Adolph Galland was asked by Goering how he would react to an order to shoot allied air crew while they were hanging on their parachutes. His response was something to the effect the he would regard that as an order to commit murder and would not obey it. He was also reported to have flung his knights cross on the table when Goering made a statement that the German piolets were exaggerating the danger posed by allied fighters so they would get more medals. Interesting guy.

[bayjoe]

Agree most definitely about being the best shot ever by a 1911.

[Blanket]

If it happened I would be more than happy about it but I call the BS flag out

[DougGuy]

If it happened I would be more than happy about it but I call the BS flag out

Let's see.. I believe there is a bit more info here:



David and Goliath-2d Lt. Owen J. Baggett By John L. Frisbee

Many extraordinary encounters took place in the skies of World War II but none more bizarre than this.



The Tenth Air Force in India was, throughout most of its life, the smallest of the AAF’s combat air forces but with a large geographical area of responsibility and an important mission. It was responsible for helping to defend the supply line from India to China and for interdicting the Japanese supply net running from Rangoon, Burma, to the north of that country. Its heavy bomber force – consisting of a few B-24s – was the 7th Bomb Group, based at Pandaveswar, northwest of Calcutta, whence it flew very long missions to targets mostly in Burma. On March 31, 1943, the 7th BG’s 9th Bomb Squadron was dispatched to destroy a railroad bridge at Pyinmana, about halfway between Rangoon and Mandalay and near two active enemy fighter bases. The formation was led by Col. Conrad F. Necrason, 7th BG commander, The B-24 on his right wing was piloted by 1st Lt. Lloyd Jensen whose copilot was 2d Lt. Owen J. Baggett. On that mission, Baggett was to earn a distinction believed to be unique in Air Force history.

Before reaching the target, the B- 24s were attacked by fighters. Colonel Necrason was severely wounded, and Jensen’s aircraft was fatally damaged. Oxygen bottles were shattered, intensifying a fire in the rear of Jensen’s bomber. Nineteen-year-old Sgt. Samuel Crostic slid out of his top turret, grabbed two fire extinguishers, and fought the fire in the rear of the aircraft while standing on a catwalk over the open bomb bay. The plane still was under attack by enemy fighters, taking many hits along its fuselage. To help defend the aircraft, copilot Baggett took over the top turret until Sergeant Crostic had emptied his fire extinguishers, giving the crew time to prepare for bailout. Smoke and fumes filled the 8-24. Jensen ordered the crew to bail out.


With the intercom inoperative, Baggett hand-signaled the gunners to hit the silk and, nearly overcome by fumes, put on his own chute. He next remembers floating down with a good chute. He saw four more open canopies before the bomber exploded. The Japanese pilots immediately began strafing the surviving crewmen, apparently killing some of them and grazing Lieutenant Baggett’s arm. The pilot who had hit Baggett circled to finish him off or perhaps only to get a better look at his victim. Baggett pretended to be dead, hoping the Zero pilot would not fire again. In any event, the pilot opened his canopy and approached within feet of Baggett’s chute, nose up and on the verge of a stall. Baggett, enraged by the strafing of his helpless crew mates, raised the .45 automatic concealed against his leg and fired four shots at the open cockpit. The Zero stalled and spun in.


After Baggett hit the ground, enemy pilots continued to strafe him, but he escaped by hiding behind a tree. Lieutenant Jensen and one of the gunners landed near him. All three were captured by the Burmese and turned over to the Japanese. Sergeant Crostic also survived the bail-out. Baggett and Jensen were flown out of Burma in an enemy bomber and imprisoned near Singapore. In the more than two years he was held prisoner, Owen Baggett’s weight dropped from 180 pounds to ninety. He had ample time to think about his midair dual. He did not at first believe it possible that he could have shot down the enemy while swinging in his chute, but gradually pieces of the puzzle came together. Shortly after he was imprisoned, Baggett, Jensen, and another officer were taken before a Japanese major general who was in charge of all POWs in the area and who subsequently was executed as a war criminal. Baggett appeared to be treated like a celebrity. He was offered the opportunity of and given instructions on how to do the “honorable thing” – commit hara-kiri, a proposal he declined.


A few months later, Col. Harry Melton, commander of the 311th Fighter Group who had been shot down, passed through the POW camp and told Baggett that a Japanese colonel said the pilot Owen Baggett had fired at had been thrown clear of his plane when it crashed and burned. He was found dead of a single bullet in his head. Colonel Melton intended to make an official report of the incident but lost his life when the ship on which he was being taken to Japan was sunk. Two other pieces of evidence support Baggett’s account: First, no friendly fighters were in the area that could have downed the Zero pilot. Second, the incident took place at an altitude of 4,000 to 5,000 feet. The pilot could have recovered from an unintentional stall and spin. Retired Colonel Baggett, now living in San Antonio, Tex., believes he shot down the Japanese pilot, but because that judgment is based on largely indirect and circumstantial evidence, he remains reluctant to talk much about it. We think the jury no longer is out. There appears to be no reasonable doubt that Owen Baggett performed a unique act of valor, unlikely to be repeated in the unfolding annals of air warfare.


Thanks to Colonel Baggett and to Charles V. Duncan, Jr., author of B-24 Over Burma.



AIR FORCE Magazine / July 1996

http://www.sightm1911.com/1911-Myth.htm

[DougGuy]

The photo is obviously edited, but I believe the story to be factual. There is more evidence pointing to the validity of the story than pointing to it being absolutely false.

Anyway, it's easy to get a wartime photo of a Japanese Zero. The aircraft in this photo, is in fact the same aircraft in the photo with the flyer on the way down in the parachute. It has been flipped 180° and the number on it's tail has been smudged out, the aux fuel tank below the fuselage is edited out but it's the same Zero, look at the markings.

http://d3vlrk5fm1gp81.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/Webcontent/images/2011-3/201133083435-a6m3_model22_ui105_nishizawa_f.jpg

http://worldwarwings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/parachute-kill-735x413.jpg

[MtGun44]

Zero was a carrier plane, stall speed would have been about 60 mph or maybe even less. Not
easy shot, but certainly not impossible, by any means.

Cool!

[Ballistics in Scotland]

There was also a propaganda story about a Japanese pilot whose undercarriage failed to lower, who cut holes in the bottom of the fuselage and landed successfully by sticking his legs out. That of course is theoretically impossible, while the .45 story is theoretically possible. But then, it is theoretically possible to down an aircraft by launching a carrier pigeon at it. The Zero not being a balloon, it would be passing at great speed. Not many things could justify slowing to stalling speed in combat, with the loss of ability to change direction which that imposes.

There isn't automatically anything underhand or unlawful about pilots shooting at descending parachutists. Sir Hugh Dowding, commander of Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain, instructed his pilots that there was no legal justification for shooting German pilots parachuting to the UK or coastal waters, as they were heading for imprisonment. There was no excuse in Germans doing the same, because that would be to British pilots who would be rejoining the fight in the near future, as many had.

[MaryB]

I put it into photoshop and enlarged the heck out of it, no artifacts like you find on edited pictures...


My money says that "photo" is fabricated. Story's true, photo is BS.

[MaryB]

60mph, more or less coming straight on at you for a close pass... so not that difficult of a shot really, not like a 90 degree crossing 25+ yards out...


Zero was a carrier plane, stall speed would have been about 60 mph or maybe even less. Not
easy shot, but certainly not impossible, by any means.

Cool!

[M-Tecs]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_A6M_Zero

It had a fairly high-lift, low-speed wing with a very low wing loading (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_loading). This, combined with its light weight, resulted in a very low stalling speed (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stall_(flight)) of well below 60 kn (110 km/h; 69 mph). This was the main reason for its phenomenal maneuverability, allowing it to out-turn any Allied fighter of the time.

[rondog]

The photo is obviously edited, but I believe the story to be factual. There is more evidence pointing to the validity of the story than pointing to it being absolutely false.

Anyway, it's easy to get a wartime photo of a Japanese Zero. The aircraft in this photo, is in fact the same aircraft in the photo with the flyer on the way down in the parachute. It has been flipped 180° and the number on it's tail has been smudged out, the aux fuel tank below the fuselage is edited out but it's the same Zero, look at the markings.

http://d3vlrk5fm1gp81.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/Webcontent/images/2011-3/201133083435-a6m3_model22_ui105_nishizawa_f.jpg

http://worldwarwings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/parachute-kill-735x413.jpg
I agree, same plane in both photos. The chances of there being someone nearby to actually take a photo of a man under canopy taking pot shots at a Zero with his pistol are ridiculously astronomical. In the chaos, terror and confusion of aerial combat? Please. And gun cameras only operate when the guns are fired, they don't just run all the time and the pilots didn't have camera buttons. They had plenty to worry about without taking pictures too.

[Bigslug]

I first read this story in one of the gun magazines maybe 20 years ago, in an article written by J.D. Jones who put a rather amusing spin on it. As a handgun hunter, Jones titled it something to the effect of "Most dangerous game taken with .45 Auto", and he compared the weight, speed, and armaments of the Zero like you would the attributes of one of Africa's Big Five.

And as has been said, the Zero was more of an Imperial Navy plane. In the Burma theater - quite possibly something else, but who other than the die-hard aviation enthusiasts can name, much less correctly identify, a single other Japanese fighter from the war? They're pretty much all Zeros. Not that it matters much when you tag the pilot in the melon. . .

[Ballistics in Scotland]

I first read this story in one of the gun magazines maybe 20 years ago, in an article written by J.D. Jones who put a rather amusing spin on it. As a handgun hunter, Jones titled it something to the effect of "Most dangerous game taken with .45 Auto", and he compared the weight, speed, and armaments of the Zero like you would the attributes of one of Africa's Big Five.

And as has been said, the Zero was more of an Imperial Navy plane. In the Burma theater - quite possibly something else, but who other than the die-hard aviation enthusiasts can name, much less correctly identify, a single other Japanese fighter from the war? They're pretty much all Zeros. Not that it matters much when you tag the pilot in the melon. . .

Or indeed when you don't. We know there was a fake picture, and it is hard to understand the motivation for cropping out a descending parachutist (whether or not the gun has been noticed) and inserting a number where most Zeros carried a number. What this thread demonstrates is people's willingness to use what they know is fake evidence, to convince others of what they want the to believe. It might as well be about politics, race or gun rights.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

I agree, same plane in both photos. The chances of there being someone nearby to actually take a photo of a man under canopy taking pot shots at a Zero with his pistol are ridiculously astronomical. In the chaos, terror and confusion of aerial combat? Please. And gun cameras only operate when the guns are fired, they don't just run all the time and the pilots didn't have camera buttons. They had plenty to worry about without taking pictures too.

I couldn't agree more. If they were fixed guns, pointing in the direction the other aircraft is headed, somebody else better be ready to take another. If they are flexible mounted, the other pilot has just succeeded in passing this supposed 60 knot Zero on what was obviously a near-collision course and the Zero pilot has let him do it. The picture certainly doesn't show that the pilot has been shot, let alone through the windscreen that would stop a frontal .45ACP shot.

This picture would have to be scanned from paper or a negative, and 96 pixels per inch is an unusual definition to use. It is, however, a standard device to hide inserted imagery, by changing a few times between definitions which don't have a low common multiple or high common denominator.

[Artful]

The picture certainly doesn't show that the pilot has been shot, let alone through the windscreen that would stop a frontal .45ACP shot.


Where do you get the idea that the perspex on the A6M would stop a 45 ACP? The ZERO's up until 1944 had no armor installed to my knowledge as a weight saving measure.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Where do you get the idea that the perspex on the A6M would stop a 45 ACP? The ZERO's up until 1944 had no armor installed to my knowledge as a weight saving measure.

it is hard to put a date of when something happened, that didn't happen. I think the introduction of 45mm, armoured glass windscreens came after the claimed date. But that doesn't mean the windscreen was the same thin Perspex as the rest of the canopy. It was flat, and swept by a wiper.

As for the absence of artifacts indicating a faked picture, do part of that number and the tail of the accompanying Zero, which has been edited out, count as artifacts? The possibility of faking a picture to illustrate a truthful story seems a remote one.

I could get extensive use, on this board, of a macro to automatically insert "How come responsible historians with a reputation to lose can't be made to touch this one?"

[Jtarm]

Wow! That had to be the unluckiest Japanese pilot in the air! Then to have a photo taken of the fantastic shooting of the American pilot is a miracle alone.

The bastard got exactly what he deserved.

[Mike in TX]

Stall speed is the speed of the air flowing around the wing. I have been able to hold fix wing steady over one spot while the wind was blowing a bit above the stall speed.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Indeed, and the Antonov AN-2 biplane, although an inability to keep flying must be counted as a stall, has an absence of what is usually considered stalling behavior. With no power and the stick fully back, it simply descends until it hits the ground. Minor damage to the airframe or occupants is quite likely, but unlikely to be severe.

Although some may feel they know the Japanese pilot well enough to judge his moral character or the length of time his parents were acquainted, it still seems most unlikely that he slowed anywhere near stalling speed in combat.