We welcomed a very special visitor to North Weald on Tuesday 4 October – Colonel George Hardy – who flew as part of the 332nd Fighter Group, the Tuskegee Airmen, and whose wartime mount was the P51D Mustang 'Tall-In-The-Saddle'. George is a real gentleman, very friendly and easy to talk to. He described his combat missions over Germany, escorting B-24 Liberators even as far as Berlin from Italy with the 15th Air Force. He also served in the Korean War as a co-pilot on B-29 bombers, and commanded a unit of Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar gunships in the Vietnam War conducting nighttime missions in search of transport on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
He is now 91 years old, although you would never know it, and lives in Florida. He has been here for a week and has been re-acquainted with his Mustang several times. Peter flew him to Lakenheath, where he was guest of honour of modern day fighter pilots with the USAF. Getting into the back of a Mustang is not easy for someone of his advanced years, so he returned by road.
I was very lucky to chat with another Mustang pilot at Oshkosh in 2013, namely Will Foard of the 364th FS, 357th FG, a very modest and quietly spoken gent. He flew P-51D 44-15660 C5-A that he had named 'Swamp Fox' after a War of Independence patriot from South Carolina where Will came from. Apparently, the British named him 'Swamp Fox', as he was very elusive, and I don't think that they ever caught up with him. Will also told me about his first flight in a Mustang in the UK, when he was told 'take that one, and get to know the local area'. He hadn't been up for long when he was bounced by another Mustang, although this was an RAF one. He said he did everything he knew to shake the RAF Mustang off his tail, but without success. Eventually the RAF pilot drew alongside him, saluted and dived away. As I said, a real gent, really enjoyed talking for him.
Pte. Aubrey Gerald Harmer, R. Suss. R. (att. to the Sherwood Foresters) KIA 26/9/1917 Polygon Wood, aged 19, NKG. RIP
It's great to see a Tuskegee Airman reunited with one of these magnificent planes . "Tall in The Saddle" brightens up any airshow, even when its overcast!
. "Tall in The Saddle" brightens up any airshow, even when its overcast!