Herbert Ross Rutland Jr

Military
Lieutenant Herbert R Rutland Jr of the 356th Fighter Group with his P-51 Mustang (PI-R, serial number 44-72139). Written on slide casing: 'England, 1945 Herb himself (Herb Rutland).' media-388125.jpg FRE 6072 Lieutenant Herbert R Rutland Jr of the 356th Fighter Group with his P-51 Mustang (PI-R, serial number 44-72139). Written on slide casing: 'England, 1945 Herb himself (Herb Rutland).' Roger Freeman Collection

IWM, Roger Freeman Collection

Object Number - FRE 6072 - Lieutenant Herbert R Rutland Jr of the 356th Fighter Group with his P-51 Mustang (PI-R, serial number 44-72139). Written on slide casing: 'England,...

Herb Rutland served as a pilot with the 356th Fighter Group, flying missions out of Martlesham Heath, England.



Near the end of the war, Herb was strafing a German machine gun position. He was sure the gun was shooting at him because he could see the muzzle flashes, but when he pulled out of his dive, he flew through some of the debris his bullets had kicked up from the ground and his plane developed mechanical trouble (possibly due to loss of oil pressure) and he made an emergency landing at what had been a German base, but was now in Allied hands. After Landing, Herb found the oil cooler had been damaged, but he didn’t know if it was from a German bullet or a rock. So he didn’t know if he had been shot down by the enemy or himself. That was the only damage to the plane, until a guy in a jeep with an antenna drove under the wing and the antenna damaged the wing.



Herb was in Paris, on his way back to his base, when the war in Europe ended.

Connections

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Units served with

Aircraft

Lieutenant Herbert R Rutland Jr of the 356th Fighter Group with his P-51 Mustang (PI-R, serial number 44-72139). Written on slide casing: 'England, 1945 Herb himself (Herb Rutland).'
  • Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
  • Unit: 356th Fighter Group 360th Fighter Squadron

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Promoted

Tennessee, USA 22 March 1922

Died

Newtown, PA 18940, USA 5 July 1995
Chattanooga, TN, USA

Buried

Forest Hills, Florence, AL 35633, USA Greenview Memorial Gardens Forest Hills Lauderdale County Alabama, USA Plot: Garden of Faith

Revisions

Date
ContributorEmily
Changes
Sources

Story about Herb's final mission provided by Bill Morgan, Nephew of Herbert Rutland

Date
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Sources

Chris Brassfield

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

356th FG Assoc data / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list

Herbert Ross Rutland: Gallery (11 items)