Herbert Ross Rutland Jr
MilitaryIWM, Roger Freeman Collection
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
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Unit: 356th Fighter Group 360th Fighter Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
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
Story about Herb's final mission provided by Bill Morgan, Nephew of Herbert Rutland
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