Page 48
P-51B-10-NA, s/n 43-6688, 1Lt. Arval J. Roberson, 362nd FS, 357th FG,
8th AF, Leiston, Great Britain, June 1944
P-51C-1-NT, s/n 42-103309, Lt. William B. Overstreet, 363rd FS, 357th FG,
8th AF, Leiston, Great Britain, June 1944
“Robby” Robertson joined the ranks of the Army
Reserves in June 1942 and was officially an
Army pilot on May 20, 1943. He was assigned to
the 362nd FS, with which he subsequently flew
76 missions. In all, he scored six confirmed
victories over German fighters, with another
remaining unconfirmed. During the Korean War,
he credited himself with another 100 combat
missions as a member of the 12th FBS/18th
FBG. Already at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel,
he added 26 more missions with the C-47.
Robertson retired in 1973 as the last commander
of Otis Air Force Base before its closure.
His P-51B Mustang, serial number 43-6688, was
the first of two aircraft named the Passion Wagon
(the other was P-51D 44-13691), and Robertson
achieved all of his kills with it.
“Bill” Overstreet became particularly famous for
his story of chasing a German Bf 109 through
the arches of the Eiffel Tower. The dogfight was
supposed to have taken place sometime in the
spring of 1944, but it is questionable whether the
passage through the Eiffel Tower actually took
place. Nor is the exact date of the duel known,
and there is no mention in German records
of such a strange event as a fighter plane
crashing into the streets of Paris ... Overstreet
was, however, an aggressive and capable pilot,
and on September 3, 1944, for example, he took
part in a top-secret mission in which a remote-
controlled four-engine bomber attacked a heavily
defended German heavily protected submarine
base hidden in the cliffs. He subsequently flew
other secret missions in support of the French
Resistance, often landing behind enemy lines.
His Berlin Express, with which he was to fly under
and through the Eiffel Tower, bore a partial coat of
olive drab paint on the upper surfaces, while the
sides and undersides were left in a natural metal
and aluminum paint.
KITS 05/2024
INFO Eduard48
May 2024