George Preddy

George Earl Preddy Jr.
Nickname(s)	"Ratsy"
Born	(1919-02-05)February 5, 1919 Greensboro, North Carolina
Died	December 25, 1944(1944-12-25) (aged 25) near Liège, German-occupied Belgium
Buried	Lorraine American Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army Air Forces
Years of service	1941 – 1944
Rank	Major
Unit	49th Fighter Group 352nd Fighter Group
Commands held	328th Fighter Squadron
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross Silver Star (2) Distinguished Flying Cross (7) Purple Heart Air Medal (7)

Major George Earl Preddy Jr. (February 5, 1919 – December 25, 1944) was a United States Army Air Forces officer during World War II and an American ace credited with 26.83 enemy air-to-air kills (a number that includes shared one-half- and one-third-victory credits),^[1] ranking him as the top P-51 Mustang ace of World War II and eighth on the list of all-time highest scoring American aces.^[2] Preddy was born and grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina.^[3]

World War II[]

Major George E "Ratsy" Preddy Jr. of the 352nd Fighter Group in the cockpit of his P-51 Mustang (HO-P, serial number 44-13321) nicknamed Cripes A' Mighty 3rd.

Preddy was assigned to the 9th Pursuit Squadron of the 49th Pursuit Group, which provided air defense against Japanese aircraft attacking Darwin, Australia. Preddy claimed two Japanese aircraft damaged over Darwin. He was hospitalized after a midair collision with another P-40, in which the other pilot, 2nd Lt. John Sauber, was killed. After his recovery, Preddy was reassigned to the 352nd Fighter Group in the European Theater, flying P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs.

Preddy was killed by "friendly fire" on the morning of December 25, 1944. As commanding officer of the 328th Fighter Squadron, 352nd FG, he was leading a formation of 10 P-51s. They had been patrolling for about three hours when they were directed to assist in a dogfight already in progress. Preddy destroyed two Messerschmitt Bf 109s^[5] before being vectored to a lone Focke-Wulf Fw 190 strafing Allied ground forces southeast of Liège, Belgium. As the Fw 190, Preddy's P-51, and two other P-51s passed over the Allied front line at treetop height, a US Army anti-aircraft (AA) battery (believed to be part of the 430th AA Battalion, XIX Corps) fired at the Fw 190 but missed and instead hit Preddy's P-51. Preddy managed to release his canopy but was unable to bail out before his aircraft hit the ground at high speed and a low angle. He had a chance of surviving the crash but his wounds from .50-caliber fire were mortal.^[6]

Preddy's brother William, a P-51 pilot with the 503rd Fighter Squadron, 339th Fighter Group, was later buried alongside him at the Lorraine American Cemetery, Saint Avold, France. William died in today's Czech Republic on April 17, 1945, from wounds he sustained when he was shot down by enemy AA fire, while strafing České Budějovice airfield.

Military decorations[]

Restored P-51 Mustang Cripes A Mighty 3rd

Preddy's military decorations include:

	Distinguished Service Cross
	Silver Star with one bronze oak leaf cluster
	Distinguished Flying Cross with silver and bronze oak leaf clusters
	Purple Heart
	Air Medal with one silver and one bronze oak leaf cluster
	American Defense Service Medal
	American Campaign Medal
	Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one bronze service star
	European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four bronze service stars
	World War II Victory Medal

Croix de Guerre, with Palm (Belgium)

  Army Presidential Unit Citation

Memorials[]

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2087 in Greensboro was named after George Preddy, soon after the end of World War II.

In 1968, Business Interstate 85, through Greensboro, North Carolina was given the street name Preddy Boulevard, in memory of both Preddy brothers.

There is a memorial kiosk with video, photos, and models of planes flown by the Preddy brothers at Piedmont Triad International Airport.^[7]

Footnotes[]

References[]

• National Museum of the United States Air Force: Major George Preddy
• - website article
• - one magazine article
• Noah, Joe & Sox, Samuel L. Jr. (1991). George Preddy Top Mustang Ace. Greensboro, NC: Preddy Memorial Foundation. ISBN 0-9669042-1-4
• Scutts, J. (1994). Mustang Aces of the Eighth Air Force. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-447-4
• - Portrait of the flyer
• - more pictures of him
• - Raleigh Newspaper Article: Discussion On Renaming of Pope AFB to Preddy AFB^{[permanent dead link]}
• - North Carolina Newspaper Article: Preddy Fighter Ace Legends Live On Through Cousin

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to George E. Preddy Jr..

• The Preddy Foundation