Thai Fighters vs USA

It's November 8, 2019 and deep in the jungles of Thailand, a determined team treks up the steep slopes of Doi American. It means American Mountain. Part of the team is Major Daniel Jackson of the US Air Force and Air Chief Marshall Sakpinit Promthep of the Royal Thai Air Force. The mountain's name refers to a long-forgotten war relic and a lost soul, both part of a remarkable story that has inspired Daniel and Sakpinit to undertake the expedition to this site. I don't know why, but I have a strong feeling we should check it out there. Silence falls over the group as they concentrate on their search, but the silence is suddenly broken by the screeching of Daniel's detector.

Oh my god... I found something! He signals to the team and drops to the ground, digging carefully. I can't believe it... We found it! From the depths of the thick earth, he pulls out something man-made. A nine-inch piece of metal clad with bolts, attached; a data plate with the inscription “Drain Boss 5A 24V out motor”. This piece of metal isn't just any scrap metal: it's a part from a P-51C Mustang. But what is an American fighter plane from World War II doing in the middle of the Thai jungle? And why is this shipwreck so important?

It is November 11, 1944. Five Thai

fighters

are in the air. The pilots of the Royal Thai Air Force scour the skies, urgently searching for the enemy... American planes. These pilots, also very close friends, have divided into two groups to cover more area. It's not long before Flight Lieutenant Chalermgiat Watanangoon spots eight American planes ahead. But there are many of them. The American formation is 16 aircraft in three layers. 4 P-51C Mustangs below for strafing, 4 P-51C Mustangs in the middle to cover the machine gunners, and 1 P-51C Mustang and 7 P-38J Lightnings as top cover. Chalermgiat grits his teeth.

He signals to Flight Sergeant Wad Soontaungomone who is next to him. There is no time to wait for others. He is going to attack. He pushes his joystick forward and launches straight into a group of enemy planes. The American side is the P-51 Mustang and P-38J Lightning - powerful modern aircraft with cutting-edge capabilities, but the Thais use the Nakajima Ki-27b, which they affectionately nickname "Sparrow". The Sparrows are completely outmatched in this conflict. Originally built by the Japanese in 1938, they are slow, with fixed-wheel landing gear and armed with only two rifle-caliber machine guns. Chalermgiat shoots first.

In slow motion, bullets are fired towards the P-38s. His aim is accurate and the fire destroys one of the P-38s. He passes through the fuel tank on the right wing and the P-38 catches fire and is forced to turn. But when he tries to approach another plane, the Americans return fire with a wall of lead. He is completely one-sided and feels his plane rock as the bullets hit the landing gear. Then the engine hood is completely destroyed. The burning smell hits you when this engine catches fire. The plane lurches beneath him and he plummets away.

The fight is over and there is nothing he can do about it. Check his 6. The Americans continue with the mission, fortunately for him. He can come down! He looks for the nearest airfield and sees the Lampang airfield below, he has no choice but to land there. Faced with few options, Chalermgiat decides to use the falling blade maneuver; Carefully using his rudder to make the plane move from side to side, slowly falling towards the ground with each traverse. The earth rushes to meet him as he gets closer and closer to the earth. A violent crash occurs when the Chalermgiat Sparrow makes contact and its damaged landing gear causes its wheel to dig into the ground, throwing up dust and dirt.

He barely has time to record the successful landing, before realizing that the airfield is under attack by P-51s. The moment he stops, Chalermgiat jumps up and starts running, pushing the Sparrow away from him, when he suddenly remembers: he has left his valuable parachute still inside the plane. He turns and reaches out to grab it from the cockpit, jumping just as the deafening burst of a machine gun fills the air. Chalermgiat is hit and his sparrow is on fire. But out of nowhere, a heavily built airman grabs Chalermgiat, picks him up, and runs for cover just as the Sparrow explodes in an explosion, finally defeated.

A Thai fighter has gone down. Four left. Back at the top, Wad Soontaungomone watches the smoke rise from the tarmac, hoping his friend made it. He did what he could to keep the enemy distracted and now searches for a target among the plentiful selection of enemy combatants eager to take him down. He sees 4 planes: 3 P-38s and 1 P51C Mustang, and decides to go in. He uses his height advantage to gain as much speed as possible from his Sparrow and fires. The Americans break down and throw themselves at him. He looks in the mirror and sees another P-51 hugging his tail, preparing to fire.

The taco freezes. Time slows down for a moment, and then instinct kicks in. He twists his joystick and nimbly pulls it out, just as the 4 .50 caliber machine guns fire up and send a strong storm of lead downwards. Narrowly avoiding the hail of fire, Wad turns around only to see the other enemy planes coming from all angles. But refusing to be shaken, he opens fire on the nearest one, but the noise of his machine guns is drowned out by the roar of the American cannons. Another hail of bullets heads his way, and this time they hit their mark.

Wad's fuel tank takes a hit and ignites, engulfing him in flames. Hell instantly takes over as he struggles to unbuckle himself. The flames burn his skin and the Sparrow begins to plummet, but through the pain and increasing G-force he manages to get up and lift the canopy back. He can't afford to hesitate: Wad jumps, barely missing the tail of the plane. The sound of air rushes past Wad's ears. He is deafening as he struggles to catch his breath with the force of it. He pulls on his parachute cord and luckily it opens. He is gritting his teeth in pain.

The silence is broken by the sound of an approaching engine that hums louder and louder. A Mustang appears and heads straight for him. Thousands of feet in the air, there's nothing Wad can do but watch it coming toward him. The Mustang approaches him, the dark, unyielding barrels of his four machine guns staring at him. Wad can't stand it and closes his eyes, while the engine roars in his ears, louder and louder. He prepares. Then, silence. The roar of the engine dies down. A soft breeze blows in Wad's ears as he continues to fall gently towards the jungle.

He cautiously opens one eye and sees the Mustang driving away, out of sight. Three more Mustangs fly by shortly after, but they do not attempt to attack Wad. Instead, American pilots are curious to get a closer look at their enemy's face, peering at it through their canopies before saluting and flying. Wad waves back as they fade into the distance. Another Thai pilot has fallen. Three Thai

fighters

remain. Sergeant Tada Beokaimuk is furious. They were supposed to have taken off together, but due to an engine problem with his Sparrow, he was left behind. But now he's in the fray mixing it up with the 3 P-38s and a Mustang.

Tada is unfazed and instead charges head-on into the P-51. Both planes fire at each other and bullets from both sides cross the air, through the intense fire, Tada notices the bullets passing by his head, but none of them hit him or the plane. He is motivated by the success of his position. He searches for more targets, passing by multiple enemy aircraft only for them to evade him by moving to the side and up. Too distracted chasing enemy planes, Tada suddenly realizes that he has been on a straight course for too long, giving the enemy the opportunity to turn around behind him.

He quickly pulls the joystick to turn around, just as three P 38s launch themselves at him from above. Tada thinks quickly and goes full throttle, racing towards another group of enemy fighters, diving beneath them at the last minute. Using his slower but more agile Sparrow, he can outmaneuver the Americans, slipping under enemy planes and using them as cover. Unbeknownst to Tada, Thai airmen on the ground observe him as he opens fire on the American squadron's enemy planes. They are amazed by Tada's bravery and agile maneuvers. They cheer him on as the lone Sparrow breaks the American formation and the enemy pilots attempt to respond.

Tada attacks an American flying ahead, but this time it's a trick. Another maneuvers behind him and opens fire. Please support the channel, comment, like and subscribe to this video. Bullets rain down on Tada, one piercing the canopy, streaking past his head, hitting his crosshairs, and spiraling through his oil tank. Oil spreads around the cabin when another bullet hits one of his machine guns and jams it. Covered in oil, wounded and with only a machine gun, Tada knows it's over. Happy to have done the best he could, he kills the engine and darts out of the action toward a nearby rice paddy.

The three planes in the first group are down. The last two Thai fighters in the air are Pilot Officer Kamrobe Bleangkam and Flight Sergeant Third Class Juladit Dadegoonchaun. The two pilots were directed northeast by the ground team using an arrow-shaped cloth near the airfield. Soon enough, the group of three P-38 Lightnings and a Mustang appear. Juladit looks at his flight leader and Kamrobe nods. Men know the odds. Pushing the fear out of their minds, they open the accelerator and Juladit heads straight to intercept them. In his excitement, he does indeed take charge of the flight, but Kamrobe doesn't bother: the pecking order becomes a meaningless idea when he is faced with action.

The two pilots climb higher and higher until, at 15,000 feet, Juladit closes his eyes and takes a split second to utter a prayer as he readies his weapons. Juladit opens her eyes. He pulls the trigger and opens fire on the enemy leader, while Kamrobe attacks the rest of the enemy planes. Once again Americans are in chaos. The formation breaks down and a dogfight begins. Kamrobe instinctively covers his friend and fires at a P-38 that tries to pursue Juladit. In the chaos, bullets fly around Juladit but somehow miss him or his plane. He takes a moment to thank Lord Buddha for blessing him.

The planes on both sides are hit, but Juladit suddenly feels his plane pitch violently, as if shaken by invisible forces. Juladit fights for control as his plane rolls uncontrollably due to propeller wash from enemy planes. He is in a deadly turn. The Mustang tries its luck as Juladit continues to spin, but the shots miss due to the plane's erratic spinning. Finally, his plane begins to regain level flight and Juladit begins to recover, although he has little time to do so. The fight descends to 2,500 meters as Juladit attempts to take down the enemy at an easier altitude.

He finds himself fighting with a Mustang the entire way. It seems that all the planes are exchanging fire with him while the sky is flooded with deafening gunfire and Juladit's cabin is enveloped in the putrid smell of sulfur. But he never stops, he never stands still; Weaving and dodging so much that the enemy conserves fire on him. Confident and triumphant, Juladit fearlessly turns and flies to meet a swooping Mustang. The two open fire and the tracers cross in the air while Juladit prays once again. As he closes his eyes, there is a noise in the front of his engine and his Sparrow shakes twice as the engine dies.

He opens his eyes as he begins the downward slide. The enemy Mustang notices and attempts to pursue the drifting plane, but Juladit's prayers are answered once again when anti-aircraft fire on the ground forces the Mustang away. Juladit falls hard and fast, crashing loudly into a rice field at the end of the runway before sliding into a termite mound. The plane spins over the mound and throws him from his seat, leaving him unconscious. He can't even tell how much time has passed when he wakes up, struggling to open his eyes and finding himself lying in a muddy drainage ditch.

He looks at the sky and wonders what happened to his fellow pilots and his partner Kamrobe. Four down, one to the left. Kamrobe is the last man standing. He fights the battle alone. Separated from his partner during the start of the dogfight, Kamrobe struggles to gain an advantageous position. He uses tricks, combined with the Sparrow's agility, to stay in the air: falling under one fighter and rolling to avoid fire from another. However, he is alone and knows that the best thing he can do is head into the mountains and utilize his superior maneuverability. He has flown there a lot before and knows the topography.

If he can crouch, he might be able to outwit his opponent. Kamrobe takes a deep breath, pushes the yoke forward, and launches himself, now pursued by a lone P-51. Reach a ridgecovered in jungle and accelerates along it while trying to avoid the fire of the P-51 in its path. He sees the bullets pass by him and in the distance he sees a trench that leads to the mountain. He slides towards the trench through the jungle and rocks, while his pursuer follows him. Inside P-51, Second Lieutenant Henry F. Minco curses as he attempts to land a blow on the enemy, but Kamrobe continues to weave and dodge masterfully. "I've got you now!" The P-51 pilot breathes, waits, and times his shot.

It is a success! The bullets hit the Sparrow, hitting the parachute and footrest and sending shrapnel into Kamrobe's right leg. Kamrobe instantly loses feeling in his leg and the ability to properly control his plane. Unable to maneuver properly, he is now easy prey and the enemy is closing in to kill him. He tries to fight the pain, determined not to die like this. The pain in his leg is searing and the P-51 roars wildly behind him, but he remains focused. Kamrobe cannot defend himself or escape. There is nowhere to hide. Even if he broke down to try to escape, the Mustang, with twice the speed, would surely catch him.

Upon reaching the end of the trench, he carries his sparrow straight into the mountain. Henry Minco knows that the Thai has run out of options and prepares to deliver the final blow. As he approaches, his sights move over the silhouette of Kamrobe and his sparrow. Henry pulls the trigger, unleashing the wrath of his 4 .50 caliber machine guns. A torrent of tracers flies over Kamrobe's head and into the mountain in front of him. Kamrobe takes small evasive actions but stays the course, but Henry has not given up. He keeps the trigger pulled as he gets closer and closer to his slowly flying target.

At the last moment, just above the treetops, Kamrobe pulls the stick back. The P-51 has nowhere to go. He passes under the Thai fighter, but right in front of him is the mountainside. In the heat of battle, he does not realize that he has walked into a trap. Too low to turn left or right, Henry instinctively stops to avoid the mountain. But now he is closing in with the Thai fighter behind him. Inside the Sparrow Kamrobe sees the P-51 stop and fill his sights. Without hesitation, he pulls the trigger and the two machine guns fire. The bullets hit the P-51 and through the telescopic sight Kamrobe can clearly see the surprised expression on the pilot's face.

Henry and his Mustang swerve and spin in a large circle, before falling to the forest floor. When the aviation fuel in Henry's plane ignites, a bright fireball explodes in the sky. Kamrobe raises his hand to cover his eyes, then opens them only to see a plume of black smoke rising into the sky from the mountain, unable to comprehend the sadness and loss of a fellow pilot's life, whatever the cause. side to which he belongs. Kamrobe closes his eyes and prays, "Please go to a better place and don't think about taking revenge if we meet in the next life." He takes a deep breath and evaluates himself.

The sparrow loses oil. It is now flowing faster and he is losing blood from his leg wound. He immediately turns towards the airfield. However, to his dismay, he sees Chalermgiat's plane engulfed in flames in the middle of the runway, with a P-38 circling. Sadness hits Kamrobe, but with ten minutes of fuel left, he needs a plan. Racking his brain, he remembers a small landing strip in a sugar plant. He is soon in sight and, taking care of the injured sparrow for him, he manages to land on the runway and stop. The sugar plant workers help him with the battered Sparrow and take him to the hospital.

At the hospital, the five pilots and friends meet again. After fighting his injuries for 2 days, Wad lost the battle for life. It is said to men. A heavy silence falls over the four remaining friends. They are incredulous. Juladit looks through an open window at the black mountains in the distance. A cold wind blows into the hospital room and chills the air. He and the remaining pilots sit in silence, no words needing to be said as they are sure to see a shadow move from one bed to another and know that his friend has come to say goodbye.

The search party descends down the mountain. The discovery of the fuel pump means that, for the first time since that fateful day, Henry Minco's final resting place has been located. After years of research, Major Daniel, Air Chief Marshal Sakpinit and Hak Hakanson have found the needle in the haystack. Thanks to the efforts of those men and many others, the DPAA announced in January 2024 that they will excavate the site in hopes of finding and repatriating Minco's remains. We would like to thank Major Daniel Jackson for approaching us with this story and providing us with all the material necessary to tell it.

Any errors are entirely ours.