Flying out of Britain during WWII in a Merlin powered P51, Bud Anderson became a triple ace. In this long video he brilliantly recalls his distinguished career which includes vivid descriptions of some of his dog fights.
"Clarence Emil "Bud" Anderson (born January 13, 1922) is a retired officer in the United States Air Force and a triple ace of World War II. During the war he was the highest scoring flying ace in his P-51 Mustang squadron. This was the same squadron as well known test pilot (and first pilot to break the sound barrier) and ace Chuck Yeager, and they had remained close friends for many years until Yeager met his current wife who cut him off from all his friends.[1] Towards the end of Anderson's two combat tours in Europe in 1944 he was promoted to major at 22, a young age even for a highly effective officer in wartime. After the war Anderson became a well regarded fighter test pilot, and a fighter squadron and wing commander. He served his wing commander tour in combat in the Vietnam War. He retired as a full colonel in 1972, after which he worked in flight test management for McDonnell Douglas. A member of the National Aviation Hall of Fame, Anderson has remained a sought after speaker at aviation and military events well into his 90s."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud_Anderson
added:
Chuck Yeager describes Bud Anderson as the best combat pilot he ever flew with.
10 minutes 54 seconds in to this recording.
In this talk by Bud Anderson -who is still in good health - he describes his childhood ambition to fly and his training in the USA and with the RAF in Britain.
(On a personal note, and hence my fascination with Bud Anderson, is that like my dad, Bud Anderson wanted to fly as a young boy, and like my dad learned to fly pre war and like my dad initially trained as a "mechanic", in dad's case as a fitter, before both trained and qualified as pilots and were commissioned in the USA at the same time albeit in different locations.Both were at the sharp end of the war in Europe in 1944/45. Both flying Merlin powered fighters. Bud Anderson flying the P51 my dad, the mark IX Spitfire)..