What are some of the most fascinating, lesser known stories from WW2?

This is Owen Baggett.

He was the co-pilot of an American B-24 Bomber during World War 2.

One day, his squadron was dispatched to blow up a bridge near a Japanese base.

Before arriving at their target, they encountered heavy resistance from Japanese fighter planes. His bomber was badly damaged, and him, and the entire crew had to put on parachutes and bail.

As he and his crew were floating to the ground, the Japanese planes came back for another pass, and began strafing the helpless men.


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This enraged Baggett, who quickly formed a plan.


He hung completely limp in his parachute harness, acting like he was dead.

One of the Japanese pilots slowed down, and did a flyby, to get a look at the “dead” American co-pilot.

As the plane approached its closest point, Bagget sprung to life. He reached into his leg holster, producing his M1911 Pistol.

He proceeded to fire 4 shots, directly into the plane's canopy, where the pilot was seated.

To his, and everyone else’s surprise, the plane went out of control, and crashed into the ground.

He had shot the pilot directly in the head.


It is believed that Owen Baggett is the only person in history to shoot down an airplane using only a pistol.

And the fact that it was done while falling towards the ground in mid-parachute, is nothing short of incredible.


This information was taken from Quora. Click here to view the original post.

Have you ever heard about Owen Baggett?

#History #Society #inspiration #Quora

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What are your thoughts on this subject?
27 Comments
Gary Chadwick
WOW There must be thousdands of these stories out there, we tend to mainly hear about the big ons. I much prefer the small intimate stories like this.
1
Jan 17, 2024 9:02PM
marilynmitri
I think we haven't heard 1/10 of 1 percent of the heroic stories that came out of WWII...
4
Jun 23, 2023 7:44PM
Julie Domaille
It is an achievement and all fair in love and war they say but still hate the celebration of death
1
Apr 3, 2022 4:16PM
Diane Thompson
What an amazing man and an amazing move. Thank you for sharing.
1
Nov 9, 2019 6:33AM
Johnny Gio
HERO" - A MYTHOLOGICAL OR LEGENDARY FIGURE OF DIVINE DECENT ENDOWED WITH GREAT STRENGTH AND ABILITY, A WARRIOR, A MAN OR WOMEN ADMIRED FOR HIS OR HER ACHIEVEMENTS AND NOBLE QUALITIES, ONE WHO SHOW GREAT COURAGE. THEY ARE KNOWN TO COME IN ALL SIZES, SHAPES AND COLORS.THANK GOD FOR THE BLOOD OF HERO'S ....!
1
Oct 22, 2019 5:12PM
dasharriver
WOW! Fantastic! The WWII Japs were merciless bastards and killed many POW's in cruel and inhumane ways!
3
Aug 30, 2019 5:45PM
Donald Congleton
Ma Bales, Owen Bradley was only a musician. Granted a fairly decent one but, he was no war hero like Baggett.
0
Jun 10, 2019 12:13AM
ninakamwene
Brilliant man RIP
1
May 15, 2019 8:18PM
Ma Bales
No, we heard about Owen Bradley , but not of this guy !
1
Apr 12, 2019 5:58PM
vasily tchaikovsky
Amazing story if it is truth,interesting ,-was this person awarded by US Government.Probably nobody care ,interesting, how this hero ended his life
1
Nov 23, 2018 11:21PM
Linda Spreng
Wonderful story. joneal, I know it's hard to believe he did it. Try to remember that he WAS a member of the Greatest Generation. This is probably just the tip of the iceberg concerning 'unbelievable' occurrences during ANY war.
3
Nov 16, 2018 3:19PM
joneal
Great story, if true. This and the previous generation of men & women were, and, in my opinion, the greatest Americans of the past 100 years. They went through the "Great Depression", not like the fabricated hardship from the Obama administration, the hardships of WWII, and rationing of commodities. The sacrifice these heros made will never be made again because our current society has become so dependent of "things" as well as instant gratification. So sad.
1
Nov 4, 2018 12:54PM
Maureen Whitehall
Moral of this story never argue with M1911 Pistol which is handled by a possum. Awesome story I likedit
1
Nov 4, 2018 3:59AM
George Oliver Prince
Pretty sharp guy to play possum
0
Nov 4, 2018 1:50AM
Conrado De Leon
You should read "War in a Stringbag", by WW2 veteran Charles Lamb. He was a pilot of the WW I planes the British so effectively employed in the Channel, in Africa and in the Balkans. The vintage planes could not be detected by radar, and were lethal torpeoding ships and deploying mines in the way of German and Italian ships. Actually, they practically anihilated the Italian fleet moored at Taranto. Great reading.
2
Nov 3, 2018 11:24PM

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