For several days after the ordeal, he had trouble eating and sleeping, but when things again fell into place, he took some of the other pilots out to show them the airplane and how it worked. One of them pointed out a small handle under the glare shield that he hadn't noticed before. When he pulled it, the landing gear unlocked and fell out. The handle was a separate, mechanical uplock. At least, he had figured out the important things.
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P-47 and Pal
Drawing Ctsy. Philip Alexander
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Carr finished the war with 14 aerial victories after flying 172 missions, which included three bailouts because of ground fire. He stayed in the service, eventually flying 51 missions in Korea in F-86s and 286 in Vietnam, flying F-100s. That's an amazing 509 combat missions and doesn't include many others during Viet Nam in other aircraft types.
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| What makes a fitting ending to this story is that Bruce Carr was still actively flying and routinely showing up at air shows in a P-51D painted up exactly like ‘Angel's Playmate’ into his later years of life.
The last original ‘Angel's Playmate’ was put on display in a museum in Paris, France, right after the war.
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Mustang Group 1
Drawing Ctsy. Philip Alexander
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There is no such thing as an ex-fighter pilot. They never cease being what they once were, whether they are in the cockpit or not. There is a profile into which almost every one of the breed fits, and it is the charter within that profile that makes the pilot a fighter pilot – not the other way around. And make no mistake about it, Col. Bruce Carr was definitely a fighter pilot.
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A Stallion 51 Note:
“We are sad to say that Bruce Carr, long time friend and guest of Stallion 51, passed away in April of 1998 at the age of 74. We are proud to have known this true American hero and fighter pilot.”
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Mustang Landing
Drawing Ctsy. Philip Alexander
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End of Chapter 6 — End of this Story
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