George Preddy


Major George Earl Preddy Jr. 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, 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.

World War II

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 before being vectored to a lone Focke-Wulf Fw 190 strafing Allied ground forces southeast of Liege, Belgium. As the, Preddy's P-51, and two other P-51s passed over the Allied front line at treetop height, a US Army anti-aircraft battery fired at the but missed and instead hit all three P-51s. 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.
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 Ceske Budejovice airfield.

Military decorations

Preddy's military decorations include:
Army Presidential Unit Citation

Memorials

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.

Footnotes