The P-38 Lightning Ace with Nine Lives
YouTube / American Veterans Center
Perry John “P.J.” Dahl, America’s oldest living P-38 ace, was one of the 39 aces who flew with the legendary 475th fighter group and achieved nine aerial victories during WWII in the Pacific Theater.
Becoming an Ace
Dahl first gets the chance to earn his wings and is assigned as a replacement to fill out Satan Angel’s three squadrons. Satan’s Angels, the 475th Fighter Group was made up of the best Army Air Forces, and mostly flying P-38s.
In a total of 187 combat missions, PJ claimed 9 air-to-air Japanese victories.
Losing Four P-38s
Dahl lost four P-38s and was lucky enough to survive each crash, a testament to how skilled he was. The first time he lost his P-38 he landed head-on into an oncoming B-24. The second time around, he lost his hydraulic fluid and flew through the debris of the Zeke he shot down.
The third time, he was flown out of his plane during a mid-air collision with Japanese warships off the coast of the Philippines. He was captured but managed to escape and return to his base 31 days later.
The final time PJ Dahl lost his P-38, he avoided being shot down by banking hard left to let the attacker’s rounds hit his plane’s engine rather than him. He managed to limp back to base on his good engine and would live to tell the tale.
Pilot “With Nine Lives”
By the war’s end, Dahl would manage to survive 158 combat missions, do a couple of emergency landings, do a bailout midair, and then spend two days adrift in the ocean with just a life raft.
He would eventually be known as the pilot with nine lives. Dahl recalled his experiences during the war, “I remember how close we were as a unit. In war, if you make a mistake, you lose a friend or you die. The stakes were high but our focus on victory never wavered.”
Throughout his distinguished career, he received numerous medals and honors such as the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 15 Oak Leaf clusters, the Silver Star, and the Purple Heart. He also just celebrated his 101st birthday last February 2024.
