western bridge
A view over Söder Mälarstrand, Riddarfjärden ("Knight Bay") and in the distance Västerbron - the Western Bridge. In 1945, a number of North American P-51 Mustang WWII fighter planes were delivered to Sweden. Some of the American pilots couldn't resist the temptation to fly under the bridge.
Söder Mälarstrand (map) 10 October 2009
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4 comments:
Any historical image of that?
Unfortunately, I haven’t found any historical photos. I found some more information though.
In Bromma airport landing journal for 14 April 1945 there is a laconic report of “rascal flying” this day. 1st/Lt. Arthur W. Bates is supposedly to have flown under the Västerbron when he delivered the first P51 Mustang. On his way from Liverpool England to Stockholm he was involved in an air fight and claimed to have shot down two aircraft. Here is his report of the incident, as well as a photo of him (scroll down the page a bit).
According to sources there was extensive rowdy behaviour in the air – or according to some: advanced air shows – all over Stockholm those days when the Americans delivered the P51 fighter planes. It included low or close flying over Hornsgatan, the Royal Castle and the Skanstull bridge. Sweden bought 171 P51 Mustangs.
(Sources: Beredskapstid and Krigsforum)
The USA had a lot of hot dogs flying planes. Some crashed. Like John McCain...several times!
The USA managed to find lots of good men and women ready to fight for folks on another continent. It dramatically changed our history for the better and is something to be proud of. Hot dogs or not.
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