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He piloted the P-47N Thunderbolt in the Pacific. He loved the N model. He used all of his talent at its controls to take the war to Japan, to the place U. S. airmen called “the Empire.”

P-47Npacific

Still, Urban L. “Ben” Drew isremembered mostly today for whatheachievedinadifferentaircraftinadifferentpartoftheworld.BenDrewwas inEurope in theP-51Mustangwhenhebecameanairace,thefirstAllied pilot credited with shootingdown two Messerschmitt Me 262Schwalbe (Swallow) jet fighters anda recipient of the second highestU.S.awardforvalor.Drewachievedevery goal attainable by a fighterpilotwhileinEuropeyetheinsistedlater that no experience was moresatisfying than his with the P-47Nafter Germany was defeated butbeforehisownwarhadended. Youth and eagerness shine forthinwartimephotosofBenDrew.Buthe was also “gruff,” “pigheaded”and“hardnosed”hesaidofhimselfin 2009. “When I arrived on IwoJima in mid-1945 to fly the P-47Nin combat, I was the only ace onthe islandbut Iwasalso justafirstlieutenant,eventhoughIhadmoreexperiencethanhigher-rankingguysaround me.” Being only 21 yearsold probably didn’t make thingseasier. The situation involved somepersonal stresses, Drew said, butonepositivefactorcompensatedforall other issues. Drew “absolutelyloved” the P-47N, which enteredcombat on July 1, 1945, and was“vastlysuperior,”hesaid,topreviousversionsofRepublic’sfamousfighter. Theroominessofthecockpit,thelonglegsaffordedbyextrafueltanksintheNmodelsclipped“wetwing”andthesmoothhandlingcapabilitiesall did their part, Drew said, totransform a Mustang pilot into anadvocatefortheThunderbolt. The N model was “a beautifulspecimen ... almost factory-fresh inthe Pacific sunshine, resplendent

with an all-yellow tail assemblyincluding fin and elevators, anda yellow ring around its enginecowling.”

Iwo Jima airmanDrew, just 17 years old, was at themovieswithhisbrotherEarlandhismotherOliveataSundaymatineeinDetroit on December 7, 1941, andlearned afterward of the JapaneseattackonPearlHarbor.He’dalreadywanted to fly. Now, he wanted tofight. Years later, Drew was unableto rememberwhichmotionpicturethey saw that day. I Wanted Wings was showing at the time and herememberslikingfilmswithalotofairplanesandflying.Atthetime,hecouldnothaveknownthathewouldbe flying combat missions to pavethewayfortheamphibiousinvasionoftheEmpire. After training, after finishing anunwantedtourasaninstructor,afterfightinginEurope,Drewarrivedonthe rock-solid, ash-strewn island ofIwo Jima and began flying from ashort,crowdedstripcalledFieldNo.2, Drew was respected by most butsome “saw me as just another newguy.” “IwasnewtotheP-47N,newtoprolonged over-water flying, newto the idea that my wingmen andI might soon be flying cover foran invasion of the Japanese homeislands. Before arriving on Iwo, I’dbeentoldthatwhentheamphibiouslandings in Japan began, mysquadron’s Thunderbolts would goashore to the first Japanese airfieldliberated by Allied troops and flyclose air support missions within afewmilesoftheenemy.” Drew joined the 413th FighterSquadron, 414th Fighter Group,

in the

The final battle of air ace Ben Drew By robert F. Dorr

Urban L. "ben" Drew (left, with William Kemp and Leonard Wood) was enthusiastic about flying the P-47N Thunderbolt in the Pacific, while better known for his achievements in the P-51 Mustang (shown) in europe. Drew holds the Air Force Cross, the second highest U.S. award for valor. (Photo courtesy of the robert F. Dorr collection)

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commanded by Col. Henry G. Thorne, Jr., withwhom “I had a pretty good relationship.” Drewwas “ready to kill Japs,” he said, and “eager toflyintocombatinanew,long-rangefighterwiththat ‘new car smell.’” His aircraft was a P-47NThunderbolt (44-88492), coded 892, namedDETROIT MISS II “Thiswasabeefed-upfighterbuiltexplicitlyforthePacificandItooktoitimmediately.TheP-47Nwasaheavyweightat19,880poundsontakeoff.Even though I was accustomed to a tailwheel, Idecided that the P-47N was more demanding,and with less favorable visibility, when taxiingorworkingintheairfieldpattern.TheP-47Nhad93U.S.gallonsoffuel ineach‘wet’wingwithaslightly greater span than earlier models; it wasthe first time a Thunderbolt carried gas in the

in.Scaredthehelloutofme,butoffIwent.WhenIgotbackIgotmybuttchewedoutbythecrewchief.” It appeared on the morning of August 14,1945, that a long slog lay ahead. Boeing B-29SuperfortresseshaddroppedatomicbombsonthecitiesofHiroshimaandNagasakibutnooneknewhow that would affect the war. By now, battlesfor Iwo JimaandOkinawawerebehindandtheinvasion of Japan was scheduled to begin withlandings in the southernmost island of Kyushuin November 1945, to be followed with anamphibiousinvasionatTokyoBayinspring1946.ItwasuncleartoAmericanshowmuchtheB-29campaignhaderodedtheabilityoftheJapanesewarmachinetoresist.Drewdidnotexpecttobegoinghomesoon.“Wefiguredwe’dbegoingovertheEmpirealmosteveryday.” Onthatdate,completelyunawarethatitwouldbecomeoneofthelastmissionsofthewar,DrewlaunchedonamarathonmissiontotheindustrialcityofNagoya.FirstLieutenantHaroldE.Reganflewhiswinginanotheryellow-trimmedP-47N.

wing. The new, square-tipped wing introducedlargeraileronsforbettercontrolinaturn.Whenmaximumexternaltankagewascarried[fourdroptanks],thetotalfuelloadranuptoaremarkable1,266gallons,whichgavetheaircraftarangeof2,350miles.TheP-47Nwasreallya‘longranger.’” P-47Ns in the Pacific used a late model ofoneof themost reliable enginesof thewar, the18-cylinder radial Pratt & Whitney R2800-77DoubleWaspenginedrivingalargerCH-5turbosuperchargerand13-foot-diameterCurtissElectricpropeller with narrow style paddle blades. Itdelivered2,800-horsepower, Ben Drew did not go to school to learn theP-47N. “I learned the P-47N by sitting in thecockpitwiththemanualandstudying.Idecidedwhentomakemyfirstflight.Afterafewhoursinthecockpit,Ifireditup.Thecrewchieftoldmenottousewaterejectiononthefirstflight.Havingforgotten the lag in the turbo charger, I shovedthe throttle up to 45 inches manifold pressureand started down the runway. Then the turbocaughtupandIhad55inchesandthewatercut

P-47Ns in the Pacific used a late model of one of the most reliable engines of the war ... It delivered 2,800-horsepower

Carrying two 500-pound bombs and 10 50-inch high-velocity aircraft rockets, a P-47N Thunderbolt (44-88335) taxies for the press at the republic plant at Farmingdale, Long Island, New York in 1945. (Photo courtesy of USAF)

318th FG armorers load the M2 brownings of a P-47N on Ie Shima during July 1945.

Ground crewmen of the 19th FS hang the squadron's scoreboard from one of the make-do hangars on Ie Shima during July 1945.

P-47Ns from the 318th FG are serviced on Ie Shima prior to a mission during July 1945. (Pho-tos courtesy of Jack Cook)

First Lt. Urban "ben" Drew of the 375th FS leans against the prop blade of a P-51 Mustang in england during 1944. (Photo courtesy of Jack Cook)

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“I told him, ‘When we do strafing, spread out.Don’ttuckinbehindyourflightleader.WewantourtwoP-47Nstobetwotargets,notonebigone.’

Trouble in a Thunderbolt“Forwhathappenedthatday,remembertwothingsabouttheP-47N:ithadtheglidecharacteristicsofan anvil and it was hard to escape from, unlessyouwereincompletecontrol.

The fighters cruised toward Japan at 21,000feetandatabout350milesperhour,carryingnobombsorrocketsbutloadedwith3,000roundsof.50-caliberammunition,consistingof350roundseach inthesixoutboardBrowningM2machinegunsand450roundsinthetwoinboardguns. Nagoya was an industrial center — home,amongotherthings,toMitsubishi.OverNagoya’sAkenagoharaairfield,withfuelfor25minutesoverthe target, Drew peeled off to strafe MitsubishiG4M1 “Betty” bombers. His two-plane elementwastheonlyonetodepart formation.“Ialwaysbelievedifyou’regoingtofightthewar,fightthegoddamnedwar.” Itwasa favoriteexpressionofhis.

Drew never agreed with others who said theJapanese bombers were already abandoned andderelict.Withtime-over-targetseverelyconstrictedandfuelsupplyaconstantconcern;it isunclearwhether Drew talked to his flight leader beforeleadingRegandownonatwo-planeattack. Drew saw tracer fire. Contrary to the advice,Regan stayed close to his element leader. TheJapanesegunfiremissedDrewbut slammed intoRegan’s P-47N. “The ‘Jug’ could handle a lot ofdamage,butthiswastoomuch.” Regan:“I’mhit,I’mhit!” Drew:“Canyouclimb,Two?” Regan:“Yeah,doingokay.Shakingprettybad,though.” Drew:“C’mon,buddy,let’snursethatairplanetothebeach.Getoffshore.” With Drew eyeballing him, Regan climbedto 11,000 feet before his R-2800 coughed,sputtered,andbegantolosepower.Barelyacrossthe shoreline, Regan fought to trade altitude.Another414thgrouppilot,Capt.FrankJohnson,remembered:“Reganwasscared.Hewasinserioustrouble. He was flying a ten-ton airplane thatsuddenlypossessedtheflyingqualitiesofarock.He continued talking toDrewon the radio andseemed businesslike, but he was in a very bad

“I always believed if you’re going to fight the war, fight the goddamned war.”

republic P-47N-1-re Thun-derbolt (44-88104), SHERMAN WAS RIGHT, of the 33rd Fighter Squadron, 318th Fighter Group, in 1945, apparently on the island of Ie Shima. (Photo courtesy of the robert F. Dorr collection)

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situationandheknewit.” Drew was thinking that Regan might makeittooneoftheradarpicketshipsthatformedaring around Okinawa. There were also friendlysubmarines offshore and a possibility of helpfrommodifiedB-17GFlyingFortressbombersthatcarriedliferaftstheycoulddroptoasurvivorinthewater.Allofthisrequiredgettingawayfromlandandatleast150milesoffshore. ThetwoThunderboltslefttheJapanesecoastlineandflew towardaU. S. submarine, guidedbyaB-29witharadiobearingonthefighters.Regansaidovertheradio,“Ican’tholdheranylonger.I’vegottogetout.” “Regan waited too long,” said Drew. “Heheld the Thunderbolt’s nose up too long,” saidDrew.WhenReganwentoutof theaircraft, theleftelevatorofhisP-47Nslammedintohim.Heappeared to bounce before he fell free and hisparachuteopened.” DrewfeltblessedbytheP-47N’sgenerousfuelload but was running low on gas. Nonetheless,

Regan splashed, wriggled out of his chute, andstruggled to climb into adingy.Hismovementsweresluggish,suggestingtoDrewthathisinjurieswereserious.Drewremainedoverheadaslongashefeltable.

Heading homeAlone,farfromhome,obligedtonavigatetowarda tiny island he could easily miss, Drew spenthoursstragglingbacktoIwo,initiallymissingtheisland,andfinallylandingonFieldNo.2withsolittle fuelhecouldnottaxi intopark.Thenextday, 413th squadron commander Major Paul R.Wignall,awell-likedTexasAggiewho’dsurvivedasimilarshootdownandbailout,toldDrewthatasubmarinehadbroughtRegantoIwoandthatReganwas“sittingupinbedandtalking”inthehospital. Other sources say a destroyer rescuedRegan.Eitherway,thenewsseemedgood. The Japanese surrender was announced thenext day. There would be no invasion of theEmpire.

Less than 24 hours after the final P-47NThunderboltmissionof thewar,hours after theJapanese surrender, Paul Regan suffered a fatalbrain hemorrhage. The doctors who’d fixed hislegshadnevernoticedaheadinjurycausedbyhiscollisionwiththestabilizer. Said Drew: “I got a lot of flak from Regan’sfamily,”whoblamedDrewattackingtheJapaneseairfield. “But I always believed if you’re going tofight the war, fight the goddamned war.” Drewand others say they had 100 percent confidencein the P-47N, that no other fighter would havebeen a better performer or more survivable, andthatthetragiclossofafellowflyerwasinnowayattributabletoanydesignfeatureoftheairplane.J

Drew was born in Detroit March 21, 1924. The quotes used here are from interviews with him in 2009. During many of his postwar years, Urban L. “Ben” Drew lived in the Republic of South Africa but he returned eventually to the United States, He died in Vista, California, April 3, 2013.

First Lt. barnhill of the 73rd FS launches in his P-47D s/n 42-23038 #28 Sonny Boy off the USS Manila Bay CVe-61 during the invasion of Saipan on June 24, 1944. (Photo courtesy of Jack Cook)

Capt. o'Hare of the 73rd FS ready to launch from the USS Manila Bay CVe-61 in his P-47D #29 Dee-Icer during the invasion of Saipan. (Photo courtesy of Jack Cook)

The latest and greatest Jug, the P-47N, had everything needed to take the fight to the enemy over the long distances of the Pacific Theater. (Photo courtesy of USAF)

Where the P-47’s limited internal fuel capacity and its limited range was a serious disadvantage in the eto, the P-47N was specifically designed for increased range with a larger wing that held fuel, the first in a Jug. When equipped with drop tanks, the airplane had so much range the pilot became the weak point. (Photo courtesy of Jeff ethell Archives)

Very few P-47Ns survived the war to be restored. In fact, the aircraft pictured was damaged after being restored and is reported to be in the restoration stages once again. The most obvious identification charac-teristics of the “N” model are noticeable here: the squared-off wingtips and high, blunt dorsal fin. (Photo by bill Crump)