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transferred to the USAAF, becoming the 4th Fighter Group. Having been Spitfire pilots, Gentile and many other pilots of
the 4th were skeptical of the heavy P-47 Thunderbolt they were now given to fly. After a year of flying the P-47, they were
eager to get the new Merlin powered P-51 Mustangs they’d heard about. Finally, in February 1944 they got their wish, as
brand new P-51B Mustangs began to arrive at their air base in Debden, England.
The 4th Fighter Group’s “Debden Ponies” quickly launched into a new phase of the air war.
General Hap Arnold,
commander of the USAAF, unleashed his new long range fighters with these instructions; “My personal message to you
- and this is a MUST - is to destroy the enemy airforce wherever you find them, in the air, on the ground, and in the
factories.” Defending the bombers wasn’t the only objective any more -- it was now a mission of seek and destroy!
Don Gentile's Amazing 6-Week Record With His New P-51B “Shangri-La”
March 2, 1944
- Logs his first flight in “Shangri-La".
March 8, 1944
- Scores 4 Me-109s (kills #10, #11, #12, #13)
It’s a big day for the new P-51Bs on the outskirts of Berlin! Gentile teams up for the first time with a
new wingman, John Godfrey, who also shoots down two ME-109s this day. They go on to become the
greatest fighter duo in history! Some of their tactics are still being taught to today’s jet fighter pilots.
Gentile’s 4 kills on this day brings his total to 13, and puts him in a tie with veteran Duane Beeson for
the title of “Top Ace” in the USAAF. This starts a very public "Ace Race" between Gentile and Beeson
to see who will be first to break Eddie Rickenbacker's record. The eager press follow every mission.
Both men forego leaves they were due to continue their battle. A series of photos are taken of
Gentile and Beeson and sent to the states to publicize the competition between the two.
March 18, 1944 - Scores 1 Fw-190 (kill #14)
Beeson gets 1 Me-109 - they’re still tied at 14 kills each!
March 23, 1944 - Scores 2 Me-109s (kills #15 and #16)
Beeson also gets 2 Me-109s - tied at 16 kills each!
March 27, 1944 - Scores 2 Me-110s (kills #17 and #18)
Beeson gets 2-1/2 kills and goes slightly ahead for now!
March 29, 1944 - Scores 2 Fw-290s & 1 Me-109 (kills #19, #20, and #21)
A big day for Don Gentile and “Shangri-La”, giving him the lead in the “Ace Race”.
April 1, 1944
- Scores 1 Me-109 (kill #22)
Beeson also scores an Me-109, but gains no ground on Gentile.
April 5, 1944
- Scores 5 kills ground strafing
The USAAF considers ground kills as important as air kills in the war effort. Today pushes Gentile’s
total to 27, breaking the record of 26 set by Captain Eddie Rickenbacker during World War I. On this
same day, Duane Beeson is brought down by German ground fire while strafing. He is captured, thus
ending the “Ace Race”. Beeson would spend the rest of the war as a POW. He scored 22 victories.
April 8, 1944
- Scores 3 Fw-190s (kills #28, #29, and #30)
These three kills fill out the final total of 30 crosses applied to “Shangri-La”. Don Gentile is the top
scoring ace in the 8th AF, and the press cannot get enough of him and the colorful “Shangri-La”.
April 11, 1944
- General Eisenhower comes to Debden Airfield to award Don Gentile the Distinguished Flying Cross.
He remarks to Don; "You are a one man air force!".
April 13, 1944
- Returning from a mission to Schweinfurt, which was to be his last mission before a stateside publicity
tour, Gentile crashes "Shangri-La" while making an extra low level pass for the assembled press
reporters and movie cameras.
The airplane is a total loss.
His commander, Col. Blakeslee,
immediately grounds Gentile as a result. By the end of April he was back in the U.S. selling War Bonds.
One of the ground crew gave this account of the accident; "The press was there - this was to be his last mission before a
short break back to the States, and everybody was out in full force to watch him come back. He gave the dispersal a real
rattling on his first pass, but after spotting the rather large crowd, he decided to make his next one something nobody would
forget. Circling around ... Don lined up, put his nose down and leveled off just feet off the ground. ... Don was so low at the
beginning of his run that he disappeared from view ... he reappeared just before he crossed the southern part of the
runway. He crossed the runway right on the deck, and the plane seemed to settle and Shangri-La's prop struck the grassy
area about 100 yards in front of the dispersal area. They, later, found numerous chop marks where the prop had dug into
the ground. After he felt those first unmistakable jolts, Don immediately pulled the kite up, and sailed right over the heads
of the assembled crowd and the squadron's dispersal shacks, nearly hitting them.... His prop was slowly wind milling, and
horribly bent as he flew/glided west-southwesterly for almost a mile, gently arcing slightly right as he spotted and aimed
for ... a good flat set of open fields.... He manage to squeak his glide just barely over ... a large stand of trees, then hit hard
and slid to a stop. ... Shangri-La broke her back when she "landed", and was a total write-off. ... 'Well', he said, 'I think I
flubbed up!'. This stunt forever ended Don's combat days - Blakeslee almost literally kicked him out of the 4th Fighter Group,
and he never again saw combat - ever."