Live Stream Premier! "Shorty! Where's My Thumb!" Thursday, March 10 at 6pm CST / 7pm EST скачать в хорошем качестве

Live Stream Premier! "Shorty! Where's My Thumb!" Thursday, March 10 at 6pm CST / 7pm EST

One Me-109 he encountered was flown by Luftwaffe ace Günther Rall.  In a dogfight over Germany with American fighter pilots, Rall had already shot down two P-47 Thunderbolts. Rall suddenly discovered he was targeted by four P-47s from Hub Zemke's elite 56th Fighter Group of the U.S. Army Air Forces. One of the P-47 pilots was Lt. Robert "Shorty" Rankin. The P-47s chased Rall in his Messerschmitt 109, bullets from Shorty’s .50 caliber machine gun hit the cockpit, his engine and his left hand at the control stick, shooting his thumb and subsequently downing his plane. Günther bailed out and landed in a field. He was taken to a hospital and his left thumb amputated. In the years following WWII Shorty and Günther were reunited and honored at many events.  They became close friends and remained so until Günther’s death in 2009. Günther, in many interviews would sometimes turn to Shorty, with a smile on his face, holding up his left hand and say, “Shorty!…Where’s My Thumb?”.