{"id":18860181,"date":"2026-09-01T13:13:02","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T11:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/?p=18860181"},"modified":"2026-09-01T16:07:46","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T14:07:46","slug":"bud-anderson-last-wwii-triple-ace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/bud-anderson-last-wwii-triple-ace\/","title":{"rendered":"The Last of the Triple Aces"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n\r\n<p>When Bud Anderson died in May 2024 at the age of 102, America lost the last of a vanishing breed: a World War II triple ace, a man who shot down enemy aircraft in the skies over Europe and lived to tell the story for eighty years. He flew a <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/p-51-mustang\/\">P-51 Mustang<\/a> he named &lsquo;Old Crow,&rsquo; and he never lost it &mdash; not once was his aircraft hit by enemy fire.<\/p>\r\n<p>His was the rarest kind of combat career: brilliant, sustained, and survived.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;padding:20px 24px;margin:24px 0;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;font-size:17px;color:#1a1a1a\">Quick Facts<\/p><table style=\"width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:15px\"><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Name<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">Brig. Gen. Clarence \"Bud\" Anderson (1921-2024)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Unit<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">357th Fighter Group, Eighth Air Force<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Aircraft<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">P-51 Mustangs, all named \"Old Crow\"<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Victories<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">16.25 aerial victories \u2014 a \"triple ace\"<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Missions<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">116 combat missions, two tours, never hit by enemy fire<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">After the war<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">Fighter test pilot and commander<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Later honour<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">Honorary promotion to brigadier general, 2022<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Legacy<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">America\u2019s last surviving World War II triple ace<\/td><\/tr><\/table><\/div>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Old Crow<\/h2>\r\n<p>Clarence Emil Anderson joined the 357th Fighter Group and began flying long bomber-escort missions deep into Germany. He named every one of his Mustangs &lsquo;Old Crow&rsquo; &mdash; not for the bird, he liked to say, but for the bourbon. In the first five months of 1944 he downed five German aircraft to become an ace, and by year&rsquo;s end he had reached triple-ace status, with a final tally of 16.25 aerial victories across 116 missions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=1248391662  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/bud-anderson-1944.jpg\" alt=\"Bud Anderson during the Second World War\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Anderson flew two combat tours and 116 missions, and was never once hit by enemy fire. Photo: U.S. Air Force.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n<p>He flew alongside another young pilot in the same group who would become rather famous himself: Chuck Yeager. Anderson never rated his own skill as exceptional so much as his aircraft.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;It was a wonderful airplane. It probably saved the air war in Europe and affected the European war in a major respect.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Bud Anderson<\/strong> &mdash; on the P-51 Mustang<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/83Mjw_Hdg84\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A pilot\u2019s pilot<\/h2>\r\n<p>After the war Anderson stayed in uniform and became a test pilot and fighter commander, flying well into the jet age and, informally, right up into his old age. But it was as a storyteller that he found his last and perhaps greatest role &mdash; through his memoir, To Fly and Fight, and through decades of airshow and museum appearances where he patiently explained to new generations what it had been like.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=1890932778  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/bud-anderson-with-his-p-51.jpg\" alt=\"Bud Anderson with his P-51 Mustang\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Capt. Bud Anderson with a P-51 Mustang. He named every one of his fighters \"Old Crow.\" Photo: U.S. Air Force.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;To all the young people that have the ambition to join the Air Force, have at it!&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Bud Anderson<\/strong> &mdash; his message to the next generation<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kuhMkl_dUcg\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The last of his kind<\/h2>\r\n<p>In 2022 the Air Force gave him an honorary promotion to brigadier general, a belated salute to one of its greatest fighter pilots. When he died two years later, obituaries noted the same fact again and again: he was the last living American triple ace of the Second World War.<\/p>\r\n<p>The men who won that air war are almost all gone now. Bud Anderson outlived nearly all of them, and spent his final decades making sure the rest of us understood what they did. Old Crow has flown west &mdash; but the stories he told will keep flying for a long time yet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/07hwvgz_Dqc\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Sources: U.S. Air Force; Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine; Task &amp; Purpose; Bud Anderson, To Fly and Fight.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/chuck-yeager-ace-in-a-day-breaker-of-the-sound-barrier-and-aviator-of-the-century\/\">Chuck Yeager: Ace in a Day, Breaker of the Sound Barrier<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/erich-hartmann-352-kills-the-record-that-will-never-be-broken\/\">Erich Hartmann: 352 Kills<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n\n\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\n\n\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>Who was Bud Anderson?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Brigadier General Clarence \"Bud\" Anderson (1921-2024) was a US Army Air Forces fighter pilot with the 357th Fighter Group. He scored 16.25 aerial victories over Europe, making him a triple ace, and was America\u2019s last surviving World War II triple ace when he died.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why was his P-51 called Old Crow?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Anderson named every one of his P-51 Mustangs \"Old Crow\". He liked to say the name came not from the bird but from the bourbon, a piece of humour that became one of the best-known nose-art names of the Second World War.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How many missions did Bud Anderson fly?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">He flew 116 combat missions across two tours with the Eighth Air Force, mostly long bomber-escort flights deep into Germany. Remarkably, his aircraft was never once hit by enemy fire in all that combat flying.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What is a triple ace?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">An ace is a pilot credited with five aerial victories. A triple ace has fifteen or more. Anderson reached ace status in the first five months of 1944 and finished the war with 16.25 victories, placing him in that rare category.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Did Bud Anderson know Chuck Yeager?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Yes. The two flew together in the 357th Fighter Group, where Yeager was another young pilot before he became famous for breaking the sound barrier. They remained lifelong friends after the war.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What did Bud Anderson do after the war?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">He stayed in uniform as a test pilot and fighter commander, flying into the jet age. He later became the story\u2019s teller through his memoir To Fly and Fight and decades of airshow appearances, and received an honorary promotion to brigadier general in 2022.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who was Bud Anderson?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Brigadier General Clarence \\\"Bud\\\" Anderson (1921-2024) was a US Army Air Forces fighter pilot with the 357th Fighter Group. He scored 16.25 aerial victories over Europe, making him a triple ace, and was America\u2019s last surviving World War II triple ace when he died.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why was his P-51 called Old Crow?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Anderson named every one of his P-51 Mustangs \\\"Old Crow\\\". 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He died in 2024 as America\u2019s last WWII triple ace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":18859820,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18860181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Bud Anderson: The Last WWII Triple Ace and \u201cOld Crow\u201d<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bud Anderson flew a P-51 named Old Crow to 16 victories over Europe, never hit by enemy fire. 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