Urban "Ben" Drew

P-51D  "Detroit Miss"

Artwork and research are by Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette

Print size 12x18"

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Urban “Ben” Drew

"DETROIT MISS"

By Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette

Urban Drew was seventeen years old while out with his mother and brother one night when they heard the news that Pearl Harbor was bombed.

America was at war. As Mrs. Drew drove here boys home she contemplated this pressing but clear situation that now entered her family’s lives. Ben and his brother did not know where Pearl Harbor was, nor did they realize the impact of this news. Ben’s mother said very soberly to her son, “Urban, you will be drawn into this conflict. That is a fact. So do your best for your country.”

In September 1942 Ben was indeed called to serve his country and was able to enter flight school in Nashville Tennessee. Ben’s next phase of training was at Maxwell Army Air Force Base where he learned to fly the Stearman Bi-plane. The Army Air Core was in great need for pilots and Ben was catching on very well as he soloed after only six hours and twelve minutes of instruction.

His first assignment was the 54^th fighter group where he was assigned as a trainer. This is where he would meet a good friend, Billy Kemp.

Being a trainer in the States while combat operations in Europe was stressful and ate at Ben daily. It is hard to be eighteen year’s old, qualified to fly America’s finest aircraft and to be left back as a trainer. His friend Billy was having the same anxiety and they both begged to be transferred to a fighting unit monthly.

Their boredom materialized itself in acts that got both of them into very serious trouble with Ben buzzing an Army base with its commanding officers in the middle of an awards ceremony and Billy breaking a superior officers jaw. Both faced court martial. In a strange twist however their commanding officer knowing their talents as airmen sent them straight to England.

Both pilots were sent with the 104^th Article of War over their heads. They had to prove themselves. They were sent to the 361^st in England, part of the 8^th Air Force. The group’s name was the “Yellow Jackets.” They were sent to this unit because of the high mortality rate of its pilots, and with their extensive air time in the P-51 Mustang, their commanding officer instructed them both to raise the moral of the unit and make it an effect fighting force.

During one of Ben’s first flights he came upon an enemy airfield where he destroyed a Junkers JU-52 transport parked on the ground. His first aerial victory was on June 18^th against a Bf-109. His second air victory was while escorting bombers he came across a Bf-109 that was off from the battle, casually doing acrobatics by himself. Quickly Ben pointed his fighter the at the Messerschmitt with full throttle. As Ben neared the unsuspecting Luftwaffe pilot Ben could see by the instant defensive maneuvers of the Bf-109 that the German was onto him. The Messerschmitt pilot put up a good chase and proved to be an excellent pilot, but he fell to Ben’s six blazing 50-caliber guns.

Most of Ben’s missions were to defend the American bombers. The Flying Fortresses and Liberators had taken serious causalities before the entry of the long range P-51’s. The unprotected bombers took a beating not only from the FW190’s and the ME 109’s but from twin engine fighters armed with cannon that could knock down the bombers from a safe distance avoiding the hundreds of .50 caliber machine guns carried by the bombers for their protection.

On one such mission Ben was forced to return to base after his Mustang developed problems. He knew that another plane would be at the airfield for him to jump into and fly out to try to catch his flight of fighters and bombers.

Once landed he saw another pilot return with problems and waited for the other pilot to fly with him as his wingman. Both pilots came upon a flight of P-38’s flying in perfect formation. Ben then noticed above the P-38’s an entire squadron of ME109’s and FW 190’s. He watched four of the German planes pull behind the P-38’s. Unable to notify his fellow American pilots on his radio, he watched in horror as the Germans blew all four American’s out of the sky and pull back up to join their formation.

Not trying to catch the attention of the Germans, Ben and his wing man tried to pull in firing position and catch one or two of the German’s off guard and try to get away before they too followed their fellow P-38 pilots to earth in flames.

It was to late, the enemy had seen them and came down on the two quickly. Completely outnumbered Ben told his wingman to pull up with him and fire into the pack of oncoming fighters. Ben ordered his wingman not to fire until the Germans started to fire. Both flights fired and passed each other.

The Germans came in fast. Ben did a wing over and got onto the tail of the leader that following him into a lullaburry circle. Both pilots where trying to turn inside each other and get advantage on their opponent. As they flew they were loosing altitude, quickly.

Ben found himself in combat with one of Germany’s best. Ben’s flight suit was soaked with sweat as he held his plane as tight as he could to stay even with the German in the descending circle. Who ever broke the circle would let the other get onto their tail and shoot them down. Death was facing one of them.

As the two spinning combatants found them selves just above the trees with no more altitude to use, Ben pulled the nose of his Mustang up just a little hoping the German would try to break away. Ben was right. The German leveled off and tried to get away over the treetops away from him.

With full speed Ben pulled up behind the Messerschmitt and with nowhere for the German to go, Ben pulled his trigger. Five of his six guns jammed from the centrifugal force from the spin. With one gun Ben fired into the Messerschmitt. Ben said that it was like trying to hit someone with a garden hose. He directed the fire from his only working gun up the fuselage and wing root of the German fighter Ben watched as it slipped into the ground. He must have hit the pilot because the fighter started to smoke but flew on nosing down at full throttle. A fireball erupted as Ben flew over the explosion. Ben knew that a great aviator had just died. But he remembered the moral support his mother gave him in his letters from home; she always ended her letters to him “good hunting son”.

On September 26^th while flying, Ben looked down and saw a twin-engine enemy plane and requested to go down and bounce it. Diving down onto the enemy plane at 500 M.P.H. he found himself going round and round with a German ME 262. No matter what Ben tried to do to get at the jet his attempts were useless. The pilot of the jet kept his fighter at full speed and did not slow to maneuver. Ben watched the new jet pull away.

After returning to base he told his commanding officers and fellow pilots that the air war over Germany was going to change. Two other pilots in the unit had seen and chased German jets. At this time the ME-262’s was going through its final flight tests. It had not yet been used in combat conditions. The mE-262 Ben had chased was on its final preflight testing and was not to engage in combat, other wise Ben knew that he may not have been so lucky.

On October 6^th Ben had done low level rolls over the base showing off to the ground crews. For this dangerous act Ben was to have his wings clipped for good. Later that night while drinking Jack Daniels trying to forget his dilemma the door of his barracks swung open and the order to “Attention” was shouted. In walked his commanding officer instructing him that because of his superior navigating abilities, he was to lead an important mission in the morning escorting the bombers to their targets and bring back the fighters while the bombers continued to Russia.

This was to be a one-way flight for the bombers all the way to Russia. Ben and his fighters would fly and protect them half of their flight to be relieved by other American fighters flying out of Italy.

The next day the flight to Germany was a typical escort mission. The bombers hit their targets and Ben started to lead the fighters back to base. As Ben was turning and banking he looked down and saw an enemy airfield. What caught his attention the most was right along the runway were the new Germans jets preparing for take off. Ben called in for permission to dive on a target. Once getting permission to dive and attack the airfield he and his wingman started in to an 80-degree dive that was very dangerous to pull out of. The German radar was not able to warn the airplanes getting ready for take off on the field because their radar detected only horizontal flight and not vertical.

After carefully using his trim tabs to level off Ben found himself coming up quickly onto the Luftwaffe airfield. Flying full throttle pulling out of a dive the “G” force pinned him to his seat. Just above treetops at this speed was a blast Ben told me as I interviewed him. Coming onto the field he saw two German jets taking off. Ben found himself perfectly behind the pair of brand new fighter jets as they rolled down the runway.

Pulling in behind the German wingman Ben fired a burst into the wing root of the jet, which literally exploded, in his face. Doing a wing up and flying through the fireball Ben leveled off to gain a firing position on the commander’s jet. The German pilot saw Ben coming up and instead of using the jets full capability to escape, the German pulled up into a tight climbing turn, which reduced his speed. Ben pulled inside his turn and fired into the escaping jet. Fire quickly erupted with the pilot bailing out as the Detroit Miss flew over him.

Catching the attention of the anti aircraft guns, the sky was now on fire. His wingman called to Ben and told him that he was going to try to knock out some of their gun positions. His wingman used his six fifty’s to rake four of the anti-aircraft emplacements before he was hit. Ben saw his wingman’s plane on fire from the nose to the tail and from wingtip to wing tip like a meteor flying low over the German airfield. Ben felt sick.

Ben shouted for him to roll over and bail out as he desperately tried to avoid becoming an inferno himself. Flying at tree top level and below, Ben desperately tried to dodge the upcoming fire. Many of the bullets that hit his plane rolled around in the fuselage like marbles.

Ben radioed to his companions above that he wasn’t going to make it out. He told them that he shot down two of the jets taking off and reported his wingman was dead. He wanted to report this to his base should he not make it. His fellow pilots shouted for him to “come on, you can do it.” Ben in order not to be shot out of the air had to stay low and head for the coast.  Ben found himself shot at by every AA positions at every cross road and over every town. Once reaching the coast the German 88mm cannon were used against him. Ben’s Mustang broke over the beach at treetop level heading toward England. The German batteries would shoot in front of him with their big shells causing water geysers to spring up in front of him. Ben found himself dodging these geysers till he was out of range of the German coastal guns.

After landing, he was met by his squadron with champagne only to find out that his gun cameras had jammed and had not recorded the two victories. His commanding officer gave him the credit for the jets, yet they were not really confirmed until forty years later.

Urban Drew finished his European tour flying 76 missions with six aerial victories, and one aircraft destroyed on the ground. Ben also helped destroy Germany’s largest seaplane.

After collecting his memories Ben has lectured before many groups and his final conclusions are the fact that the men he flew and fought against were just like him. Fighting for their countries to their fullest, giving their all, even giving their lives. The real heroes are the ones that died for their countries; no matter what uniform they wore, Ben told me.

After the war Ben continued flying where ever the job took him. He helped fly Jewish settlers into Israel. Here Ben took great risk because the English was trying desperately to keep new immigrants into a troubling area.

Ben also flew for private companies in Viet Nam. Twin-engine cargo planes of many types Ben flew until he finally retired.

It is a pleasure to have met Ben Drew and to have worked on this historical document with him. It is men like Ben that I have admired all my life, and I know that I would have followed him into combat.

This is the painting for the print.

Photo of Ben Drew

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Posted 2-9-07