{"id":8416793,"date":"2026-08-01T09:57:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T07:57:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/eddie-rickenbacker-pacific-raft-1942\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T10:16:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T08:16:28","slug":"eddie-rickenbacker-pacific-raft-1942","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/eddie-rickenbacker-pacific-raft-1942\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ace of Aces Who Survived 24 Days Adrift"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style><p>By 1942 Eddie Rickenbacker had already cheated death more times than most men attempt it. He was America&rsquo;s &ldquo;Ace of Aces&rdquo; from the First World War, a former Indianapolis 500 racer, and the hard-driving boss of Eastern Air Lines. He was in his early fifties, a civilian, and travelling on a hush-hush errand for the War Department when the Pacific nearly finished what German fighters never could.<\/p><p>His <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/aeronef\/b-17-flying-fortress\/\">Forteresse volante B-17<\/a>, its navigation failing, drifted hundreds of miles off course, overshot a tiny refuelling island, and ran its four engines dry. The bomber ditched into open ocean. Eight men scrambled into three small rafts with a handful of oranges and no water.<\/p><p>What followed was 24 days of sun, salt, thirst, prayer &mdash; and one very famous seagull. One man would not survive. The rest would owe their lives, in no small part, to the stubborn will of the old fighter pilot in the battered hat.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;padding:20px 24px;margin:24px 0;border-radius:8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;font-size:18px;color:#222\">Informations cl\u00e9s<\/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\">OMS<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">Eddie Rickenbacker, America&rsquo;s WWI &ldquo;Ace of Aces&rdquo;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">WWI record<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">26 aerial victories; the Medal of Honor<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">WWI aircraft<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">SPAD XIII, 94th &ldquo;Hat in the Ring&rdquo; Squadron<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">1942 mission<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">A War Department tour of the Pacific, carrying a message for Gen. MacArthur<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">The ditching<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">His B-17 strayed off course, ran out of fuel, and came down in the open ocean<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Adrift<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">About 24 days on three small rafts; one of the eight men died<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Survival<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">A seagull that landed on his head; rainwater; sheer stubbornness<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 12px 6px 0;font-weight:600;color:#333;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\">Rescue<\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#444\">US Navy floatplanes, 13 November 1942<\/td><\/tr><\/table><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">America&rsquo;s Ace of Aces<\/h2><p>Edward Rickenbacker learned nerve and machinery on dirt racetracks before he ever flew. He talked his way into pilot training in the First World War, joined the 94th Aero Squadron, and flew the rugged SPAD XIII. Credited with 26 victories, he became the top-scoring American ace of the war, and in 1930 received the Medal of Honor for a lone patrol against seven enemy aircraft.<\/p><p>Between the wars he ran motor companies, owned the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and rose to lead Eastern Air Lines.<\/p>\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=1730902928  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:rZeH.c90a\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/spad-xiii-rickenbacker.jpg\" alt=\"SPAD XIII fighter\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A SPAD XIII, the fighter Rickenbacker flew to 26 victories in the First World War. US Air Force.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A Secret Mission to the Pacific<\/h2><p>In October 1942 Rickenbacker set out, as a one-dollar-a-day civilian observer, to inspect air bases across the Pacific and hand-deliver a confidential message to General Douglas MacArthur. From Hawaii he boarded a B-17 as a passenger, bound for a refuelling stop on a speck of an island roughly 1,800 miles away.<\/p>\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\/UwavMbo6Tew\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#777;font-style:italic;text-align:center;margin-top:-12px\">The History Guy on Rickenbacker&rsquo;s raft ordeal.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:rZeH.c90a\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/eddie-rickenbacker-portrait.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"flex-shrink:0\"><img data-opt-id=2020259963  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:rZeH.c90a\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/eddie-rickenbacker-portrait.jpg\" alt=\"Eddie Rickenbacker\" style=\"width:96px;height:96px;border-radius:50%;object-fit:cover;display:block;border:2px solid #ddd\"><\/a><div><em>&ldquo;I knew that it was a seagull. I don&rsquo;t know how I knew; I just knew.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Eddie Rickenbacker<\/strong> &mdash; From his autobiography (National Medal of Honor Museum)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Ditching<\/h2><p>The navigation equipment failed, and the bomber strayed far off course, missing the island entirely. When the fuel ran out, the pilot set the big four-engine aircraft down on the swells. The eight men escaped into three lashed-together rafts &mdash; but in the scramble no one grabbed water or rations. All they had were a few oranges.<\/p>\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\/MSCOnMGYoP0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#777;font-style:italic;text-align:center;margin-top:-12px\">Period footage of Rickenbacker telling of the rescue.<\/p><h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Twenty-Four Days on the Rafts<\/h2><p>The sun blistered them; salt water opened sores. On the eighth day, as Rickenbacker dozed after leading the men in prayer, a seagull settled on his head. He caught it slowly; the bird became a shared meal and bait for a fish. Rain squalls gave them water.<\/p><p>Rickenbacker drove the men mercilessly to keep them fighting &mdash; some came to hate him for it, which was exactly the point. One crewman, who had drunk seawater, died and was buried at sea.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;Rickenbacker, you&rsquo;re the meanest, most cantankerous so-and-so that ever lived!&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>A crewman on the raft<\/strong> &mdash; Recalled by the survivors (National Medal of Honor Museum)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Rescue and Legacy<\/h2><p>Aircraft were sighted from about the nineteenth day, but none spotted the rafts. On 13 November 1942 &mdash; the twenty-fourth day &mdash; US Navy floatplanes finally found the survivors. Rickenbacker had lost dozens of pounds, but within weeks he pressed on and delivered his message to MacArthur.<\/p><p>The ordeal became one of the most celebrated survival stories of the war. Rickenbacker, who liked to say he had survived well over a hundred brushes with death, lived to 82 &mdash; the ace the ocean could not keep.<\/p>\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\/CNHaEajsajE\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#777;font-style:italic;text-align:center;margin-top:-12px\">The survival story, retold.<\/p><p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#666;font-style:italic;margin-top:20px\">Sources: Wikipedia (Eddie Rickenbacker); National Medal of Honor Museum; Thomas Fleming, American Heritage (2008).<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Articles similaires<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/frank-luke-arizona-balloon-buster-1918\/\">The Boy Ace Who Burned Fourteen Balloons<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/the-curtiss-p-40-warhawk-and-the-flying-tigers\/\">Le Curtiss P-40 Warhawk et les Tigres Volants<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/ghost-blimp-l-8-1942-vanished-crew-mystery\/\">Le dirigeable de la Marine revenu sans \u00e9quipage<\/a><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eddie Rickenbacker, America&rsquo;s WWI Ace of Aces, survived 24 days adrift on a Pacific life raft in 1942 after his B-17 ditched.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":8416587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8416793","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 v28.1 - 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