In General Yeager’s own words: After returning from being shot down, to return to combat, I had to go all the way up the chain of command until I found myself before General Eisenhower,
The problem was if I was shot down again, the Germans might find me, torture me, and get information re the Maquis and French Underground.
General Eisenhower told me to go back to my base and await orders before I could get back on combat duty.
So I spent some time training some new guys in the P-51. I now had a D model – Glamorous Glen III since Glamorus Glen II had been shot down.
P-51 Ds in Formation
One time, we got a call from the CO: Are your guns hot?
Me: Yes.
CO: Go to the North Sea – there’s a bomber crew that’s been shot down, floating in a dinghy. Give ’em top cover, keep ’em safe until we can pick ’em up.
So off we went – glad to have a real mission.
As we were patroling, the bomber crew very happy to see us, I saw a JU-88 sneaking up from the Coast of Heligoland heading straight for the crew.
Ju-88A
I headed straight for him. He saw me and turned around. I followed, caught up to him just in time, and shot him down just as he was entering Heligoland (a small archipelago owned by Germany since 1890.)
When we got back, I told my CO and his response was:
“Yeager! Can’t you do anything right? You’re not supposed to be on combat!!!!!”
He gave the gun camera footage and credit to Eddie Simpson who then became an Ace while I, having shot down three, was still only credited with one. I was going backwards in trying to become an Ace.
Historical note: Brief history of Heligoland: Historically the possession of Denmark, the small archipelago (small group of islands) then became the possession of the United Kingdom from 1807 to 1890, and briefly managed as a war prize from 1945 to 1952.
Heligoland location
c. GCYI