"Leiston Legends" January 14, 1945 was a big
day for the 357th Fighter Group. It was also going a memorable day
for two 357th pilots in particular - Bud Anderson and Chuck Yeager. It
was their last mission, having reached the end of their second tour of
duty. Anderson was the Squadron Operations Officer, so he scheduled
himself and Yeager as spares that day. There was little chance of contact
with the Luftwaffe by that time, so the two decided they would leave the
formation after takeoff, if they weren't needed, and go off on a little
aerial sight-seeing tour. They dropped their wing tanks on Mt. Blanc and
strafed them, buzzed a hotel on Lake Annecy, and did a few other things
that could have brought court martial charges against them.
They were the last two Mustangs to land at Leiston that day, having flown
over a thousand miles. There was a lot of excitement evident at Leiston
as Yeager and Anderson taxied their Mustangs to their hardstands. The two
were thinking the crowd had gathered to celebrate the two pilots
completing their tours of duty. Instead, they learned that the
357th had had it's most successful air combat of it's history on that
day, claiming 56.5 enemy aircraft destroyed. The figure was officially
revised to 55.5, which stands as a record for one day's action in the
Eighth Air Force. Yeager and Anderson had entirely missed the "Big Day"
for the 357th. Leiston Legends depicts Bud Anderson in "Old Crow" and
Chuck Yeager in "Glamorous Glen III" as they lift off from the main
runway at Leiston on the morning of January 14, 1945, a date that legends
were made Leiston Legends
L/E of 750 prints
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