Enroute to Pardubice, Czechoslovakia by Jason Breidenbach

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This piece, by artist Jason Breidenbach, depicts a moment of Tuskegee Airmen history. August 24, 1944, 52 P-51 Mustangs of the 302nd Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, escorted B-25 Liberators of the 5th Bomber Wing on a mission to bomb an airfield in Pardubice, Czechoslovakia. During the mission, at 25,000 feet, a Focke-Wulf 190 of Jagdgeschwader 300 passed through the bomber formation. Tuskegee Airman Lt Charles McGee gave chase. Lt McGee took aim and sent a burst of .50 caliber rounds on the FW-190 right over the airfield. The enemy plane lost control and careened into the ground. The pilot shot down that day in unknown, but ne was one of three German fighters from JG300 shot down by the Tuskegee Airmen that day. Taking advantage of his low altitude, Lt. McGee proceeded to strafe the railroad station yard on his way out. McGee went on to fight in three wars and retired as a Colonel in the United States Air Force in 1973.