Chas B. Wolfson, SASS #11104 Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Better lucky than good. Best Shot with a 1911. Ever. By Philip Bourjaily While compiling the timeline for Pistol of the Century, our tribute to the 1911 in the June issue of Field & Stream, I read through many accounts of the 1911 in combat. The most unusual shot,(and possibly the best ever) made in wartime with a 1911 pistol had to be the one fired by a USAAF B-24 co-pilot named Owen J. Baggett in March, 1943 in the skies over Burma. Of course, I am biased toward this one as it involves a flying target . . . On a mission to destroy a railroad bridge, Baggetts bomber squadron was intercepted by Japanese Zero fighters and his plane was badly damaged. After holding off the enemy with the top turret .50s while the gunner tried to put out onboard fires, Baggett bailed out with the rest of the crew. He and four others escaped the burning bomber before it exploded. The Zero pilots circled back to strafe the parachuting crewmen, killing two and lightly wounding Baggett, who played dead in his harness, hoping the Japanese would leave him alone. Though playing dead, Baggett still drew his .45 and hid it alongside his leg...just in case. A Zero approached within a few feet of Baggett at near stall speeds. The pilot opened the canopy for a better look at his victim. Baggett raised his pistol and fired four shots into the cockpit. The Zero spun out of sight. Although Baggett could never believe he had shot down a fighter plane with his pistol, at least one credible report said the plane was found crashed, the pilot thrown clear of the wreckage with a single bullet in his head. If Baggett really did shoot down a fighter with his 1911, it has to count as one of the greatest feats ever accomplished with a .45. Baggett survived two years in a Japanese prison camp in Singapore and eventually retired from the Air Force as a colonel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Wow! http://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/m1911-gets-a-zero/ GG ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster Ron Wayne Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Got to love the old slab side . She never ceases to ammaze ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dapper Dynamite Dick Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 And that is the reason, on Sundays to attend the Church of John Moses Browning and pray at the alter of the 1911! As Sean Connery stated "there endith the lesson". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Got to love the old slab side . She never ceases to ammaze ! The gun is good - but it takes the person behind the trigger to pull it off GG ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Apparently Gunner has never been told that guns kill, people don't. Maybe he doesn't believe it either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klondike SASS Life #29713 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 When the truth becomes a legend, tell the legend. Hell of a story true or not, I can't refute it and would not try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster Ron Wayne Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I am a 44 man and a 1911 fan . Lucky shot or not . Its just anuther story is the 1911 book of allure ! The 1911 is the Standerd that ALL the Auto Pistoles are judged buy . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Apparently Gunner has never been told that guns kill, people don't. Maybe he doesn't believe it either. Yup...some believe that the gun makes the man....reality is opposite. GG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Gunner, I wish we could convince some folks that this is what makes the most sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfgang, SASS #53480 Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 Much like the "best shot ever with a buffalo gun". . . by Billy Dixon . . . as Dixon said . . . "It was a scratch shot." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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