Rankin did not shoot down Gunther Rall [Annotator's Note: Luftwaffe/West German Air Force Ace Lt. Gen. Gunther Rall] but someone from his squadron did.Rankin was educated as a musician. He was deferred from the draft and intended to volunteer for service in the US Marine Corps Band. Rankin studied under William F. Santelmann, the bandmaster of the US Marine Corps Band.Rankin played first cello in the Washington Civic Symphony Orchestra. Rankin took the test for the US Marine Corps band. He passed, but had to wait for someone to retire. While waiting for his place in the USMC Band, he received his draft notice.Rankin took 3 weeks of basic training in El Paso, Texas. He was assigned to H Battery as a truck driver. One day he saw P-38s [Annotator's Note: Lockheed P-38 "Lightning" fighter aircraft] and P-40s [Annotator's Note: Curtiss P-40 "Warhawk" fighter aircraft] being ferried into Biggs Field [Annotator's Note: Air field outside El Paso, Texas]. After watching them for three days Rankin volunteered for Aviation Cadet training.Rankin had not done well academically in high school so he enrolled at the El Paso Technical Institute to brush up on his education before leaving for aviation cadet training. All of the studying, working, and playing music turned out to be too much and Rankin came down with Scarlet fever and pneumonia.Rankin was in the El Paso hospital when the war started and his regiment moved to Bremerton Navy Yard in Washington state. Rankin's commanding officer spoke to the doctors at the El Paso Hospital and had Rankin released.Ranking was in Bremerton for about two months when he was informed that he could take the test for the aviation cadet program. He passed and was sent first to McChord Field, Washington then to preflight training in Santa Ana, California.

Rankin left McChord Field on 14 July 1942 and arrived in Santa Ana, California in 15 July 1942 for preflight training. Preflight was followed by primary flight training at the Rankin Academy [Annotator's Note: John Gilbert "Tex" Rankin], which was no relation. Basic flight training was also at a civilian facility. Rankin didn't train at a military facility until he was sent to Luke Field in Phoenix, Arizona where he graduated from.Rankin was given ten days delay en route [Annotator's Note: a delay en route gives a serviceman/woman a given number of days off/extra when reporting to a new duty station] then sent to Tallahassee, Florida to train in P-47s [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 "Thunderbolt" fighter aircraft]. Rankin was selected for fighters because he had beaten one of his instructors during single engine aircraft training. He had also been allowed to get 14 hours in a P-40 during training.There was a big difference in power and torque between the P-40 and the AT-6 [Annotator's Note: North American Aviation AT-6 advanced trainer aircraft].Rankin had requested P-47s. When he saw the P-47 for the first time he thought it was a big airplane and wondered why he had requested it. Rankin loved the P-47. The P-47 had way more power than that P-40.Nothing could touch the P-47 in a dive. One of the victories Rankin scored was by forcing a German pilot to follow him in a dive. Rankin was able to recover from the dive but the enemy pilot was not.After completing 120 to 130 hours of flying time in the P-47, Rankin and 74 other pilots went by train from Tallahassee to Maine where they boarded Constellations [Annotator's Note: Lockheed C-69 "Constellation" transport aircraft] and flew to Prestwick, Scotland. In Prestwick the men were put aboard a train to London and from London they were split up and sent to various fighter groups stationed around England. Rankin and ten others went to the 56th [Annotator's Note: the 56th Fighter Group]. Rankin and three others were assigned to the 61st Fighter Squadron. He believes that the leadership in his unit was so good that if a pilot did what he was instructed to do he stood a good chance of finishing the war. Rankin and nine of the other ten men who went into the 56th survived the war and Rankin and one other made Ace [Annotator's Note: "Ace" is a title bestowed upon fighter pilots who have 5 or more confirmed aerial victories].The only man of the eleven who was killed was lost in a training accident.

Rankin was initially stationed at Halesworth near Norwich then moved down to Boxted [Annotator’s Note: England]. By the time Rankin arrived in England the 56th Fighter Group had been in combat for about five months.Zemke [Annotator's Note: USAAF/USAF Col. Hubert "Hub" Zemke, who commanded the 56th Fighter Group. The 56th Fighter Group became known as "Zemke's Wolfpack"] had a picture of all of his pilots hanging up in his office and he knew all of them by name. He was young for a full colonel but Rankin had a lot of respect for him. Rankin believes that Zemke was the best fighter pilot and commander.Zemke had flown in Russia and England before the US entered the war [Annotator's Note: He was sent to England as an observer and to Russia to train Soviet pilots on lend-lease P-40s].Zemke invented the "4 finger" formation. Flying in a four finger formation, the element leader did the shooting, and the wingman protected him. Rankin did almost no shooting as a wingman.Zemke was a stickler for the rules and went by the book.Rankin had reported to the 56th in August [Annotator's Note: August of 1943]. He had arrived in England in July and reported to a replacement depot at Atcham in Shrewsbury where he was only allowed four hours of flying time per month so he could get his flight pay. Some of the replacements at Atcham had been in the RAF flying Spit's [Annotator's Note: British Royal Air Force Supermarine "Spitfire" fighter aircraft] and Hurricanes [Annotator's Note: British Hawker "Hurricane" fighter aircraft] and were transitioning to the P-47 [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 "Thunderbolt" fighter aircraft]. While at the replacement depot Rankin did some ground work and took some aircraft recognition and geography training.Rankin was sent to the 56th in August but didn't fly his first mission until his birthday, October 23rd. Rankin's squadron commander was Gabreski [Annotator's Note: USAAF/USAF Col. Francis "Gabby" Gabreski].Rankin didn't like flying over water. He is glad that he did not go to the Pacific. His first combat mission was flying just above the waves of the North Sea to look out for downed airmen.There were a number of big name pilots in the "Wolfpack" like Gabreski, Robert S. Johnson [Annotator's Note: USAAF Lt. Col. Robert S. Johnson], and Bud Mahurin [Annotator's Note: USAAF/USAF Col. Walker M. "Bud" Mahurin].Rankin witnessed a mid-air [Annotator's Note: a mid air collision] between a B-24 [Annotator's Note: Consolidated B-24 "Liberator" heavy bomber aircraft] and a B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" heavy bomber aircraft]. After witnessing the crash, many of the men from Rankin's base jumped on bicycles and headed to the crash site. When the bombs from the crashed planes detonated a number of the men on the ground were killed. After that the men were forbidden from leaving their base. One of the men killed was Fats Morrill [Annotator's Note: USAAF 1st Lieutenant Stanley B. "Fats" Morrill] who was an ace pilot [Annotator's Note: an ace is a fighter pilot with five or more confirmed aerial victories].

Rankin's squadron [Annotator's Note: 61st Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group] had an apartment in London that the men could visit at least once and maybe twice during their tour. Food was never a problem for the men.Most of Rankin's missions were high altitude bomber escort missions. The fighters would leap-frog. One group escorted the bombers for a certain distance then another group that took off later would take over.To increase the range of the fighters they would carry a fuel tank under each wing and one under the belly. Rankin's longest mission was to within about 35 miles of Berlin. He could see it from the altitude he was at. The mission lasted 5 hours and 45 minutes.During a mission in the Paris, France area Rankin had radio trouble and couldn't receive any messages. He realized suddenly that the group he was with had pulled off to the right into a cloud and he was now all alone. He looked up and saw a German Me-109 fighter plane heading down toward him about 300 or 400 yards off to his left. Rankin winged over and shot the enemy plane down. It was 6 February 1944 and Rankin's first victory.When Rankin got back to his base he filled out his combat report and gave it to the intelligence officer then got together with the rest of the pilots to critique what they had done. Rankin is sure that he celebrated that night because in addition to it being the date of his first kill it was also his sister Josephine's birthday. Rankin had gun camera footage of his kill.By 12 May 1944 Rankin had four victories. That day the group flew a "Zemke Fan" [Annotator's Note: named for its creator USAAF/USAF Col. Hubert "Hub" Zemke]. They flew with two squadrons in a tight formation to Frankfurt then fanned out. During the second leg of Rankin's flight he ran into a flight of 25 or 30 German planes. The enemy pilots dropped their wing tanks and went into a dive so Rankin picked out two and chased them. One of the German pilots flew his plane right into the ground. When Rankin pulled up to about 8000 feet he ran into a lone 109 [Annotator’s Note: German Me-109 fighter plane] and shot it down.Rankin heard a call from Zemke informing everyone that he was south of Coblenz and above the "whole Luftwaffe." Rankin headed toward Coblenz.One of the German pilots up that day was Gunther Rall [Annotator's Note: Luftwaffe/West German Air Force Ace Lt. Gen. Gunther Rall] who was flying top cover for the 109s that were attacking the bombers. Rall shot down two of Zemke's wingmen.Rankin climbed up to 10000 feet and joined up with a lone P-47. It was Zemke. Rankin watched Zemke shoot down a 109. Rankin went after a 109 and shot it up then got up behind a second and shot it up too. When the 109s were hit their landing gear dropped down.Rankin called out to Zemke that a 109 was after him. Rankin went after it and shot it down. It was his fifth victory of the day.When he returned to base he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and was soon promoted to captain.

Rankin had made "Ace in a Day." [Annotator's Note: a term used to describe a fighter pilot scoring five or more confirmed aerial victories in one day.] He was the first P-47 [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 "Thunderbolt" fighter aircraft] pilot to do so.Rankin didn't see Gunther Rall [Annotator's Note: Luftwaffe/West German Air Force Ace Lt. Gen. Gunther Rall] get shot down.Rankin's wingman on that mission [Annotator's Note: 12 May 1944] was Cleon Thompson who was flying his first mission.After shooting the 109 [Annotator's Note: German Messerschmitt Me-109 fighter aircraft] off of Zemke's [Annotator's Note: USAAF/USAF Col. Hubert "Hub" Zemke, commander of the 56th Fighter Group] tail, Rankin and Thompson were attacked. Each time Rankin would tell Thompson to break he would, but he would return to his position on Rankin's wing. After the third time Thompson broke, he was able to shoot down the 109.On the return flight Rankin was concerned about Thompson's fuel. While over France, Rankin and Thompson came across a flight of P-47s.When Rankin and Thompson landed, Thompson's plane ran out of fuel on the runway. The planes were refueled and they flew back to their home base.When a pilot in Rankin's fighter group reached 180 hours, Zemke called them into his office and gave them their choice of options. They could return to the States, go to the 8th Fighter Command, become an instructor at Atchum, England, or take an extension and volunteer for another tour. Rankin chose to take a 50 hour extension and volunteered for a second tour. Zemke was pleased that Rankin made that choice.Rankin flew three missions on D-Day [Annotator's Note: 6 June 1944]. The mission of the airmen was to provide cover behind the beachhead.Rankin got his last victory [Annotator's Note: Rankin ended the war with ten confirmed victories] on 7 June 1944. 

Rankin got two confirmed, one probable, and one "damaged" during a fight on 15 March [Annotator’s Note: 1944]. All of Rankin's victories were against 109s [Annotator's Note: German Messerschmitt Me-109 fighter aircraft].Rankin had 20-10 vision and could identify aircraft from very far off.Rankin feels that the P-38s [Annotator's Note: Lockheed P-38 "Lightening" fighter aircraft] had a bad time overseas. In addition to problems with their superchargers the P-38s did not have good visibility. Rankin had flown P-38s and wouldn't have wanted to fly it in combat.He thinks that the P-51 Mustang [Annotator's Note: North American P-51 "Mustang" fighter aircraft] was a good airplane but on a good day, there was no more than a five mile per hour difference between the 51, 38, and the P-47 [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 "Thunderbolt" fighter aircraft]. Nothing could dive with the P-47 and nothing could take a beating like it. The P-47 pilots of the 56th Fighter Group had a kill ratio of 8 to 1 and the closest other group’s ratio to them was 4 to 1. In addition to the P-47 being a great airplane, the leadership of Zemke [Annotator's Note: USAAF/USAF Col. Hubert "Hub" Zemke, commander of the 56th Fighter Group] was the best.During the war Rankin never got a scratch on his airplane. After the war he commanded fighter squadrons in the Korean War and never lost a pilot. He is prouder of that than of being an ace [Annotator's Note: a fighter pilot with five or more confirmed aerial victories. Rankin had ten]. He retired with 32 years and 25 days in the service.Rankin believes that the Germans were very good pilots. It wasn't until the Americans got the four blade paddle prop [Annotator’s Note: propeller] and water injection that they were able to tangle with the Germans at any altitude.Many of the best German pilots were lost on the Eastern Front. Gunther [Annotator's Note: German Luftwaffe/West German Air Force Ace Lt. Gen. Gunther Rall] told Rankin that later in the war the Germans were sending up pilots who only had a total of 100 hours of flying time. Two of Rankin's victories were only 50 feet apart.The inexperienced German pilots bailed out a lot whether their plane was damaged or not. One of Gunther's buddies bailed out 16 times. The Germans had the advantage of bailing out over their home towns.

Even though many of the German pilots were under-qualified the 109 [Annotator's Note: German Messerschmitt Me-109 fighter aircraft] was a very good airplane. The number of hours the pilot had made a difference. The P-51 [Annotator's Note: North American P-51 "Mustang" fighter aircraft] and P-38s [Annotator's Note: Lockheed P-38 "Lightening" fighter aircraft] could turn well. Rankin tangled with a P-51 during training and the P-51 couldn't get behind him. A lot of it depended on the experience of the pilot, but he had to have a good airplane. Rankin did come across a 190 [Annotator's Note: German Focke Wulf Fw-190 fighter aircraft] during a fight. He was able to get some shots into it and damaged it, but it got away and he went after a 109 instead. Gunther [Annotator's Note: German Luftwaffe Ace Lt. Gen. Gunther Rall] told Rankin that the 190 had much more firepower that the 109 and that the 109s usually flew top cover for the 190s so they could shoot down the bombers [Annotator's Note: Allied bombers]. On 12 May 1944 Gunther Rall was in a 109 flying top cover for the 190s attacking a bomber formation when he was shot down [Annotator's Note: Rall was shot down by someone from the 56th Fighter Group].Rankin's last mission was 18 June 1944.On many missions Rankin would not see any German planes.Rankin returned to the States and he and his wife spent three weeks in Atlantic City while he was waiting for his orders to return to Europe.He finally learned that any pilots who had completed a tour and/or an extension were told not to return to combat due to the large number of replacement pilots. Many pilots ended up flying during the Battle of the Bulge. The pilots assigned to attack ground targets suffered a lot.Rankin was sent to Nashville, Tennessee. Then he was sent to the redistribution center in Miami, Florida. After three weeks in Miami he was assigned to a P-47 [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 "Thunderbolt" fighter aircraft] instructor's school in Providence, Rhode Island but was to report to First Air Force headquarters at Mitchell Field, New York on his way up there. Rankin was able to get a delay en route and stopped to see his and his family and in-laws in Washington D.C.

When Rankin arrives at Mitchell Field, [Annotator's Note: Mitchell Field, New York - First Air Force Headquarters] he was asked to return there after instructor’s school to give a speech to a group of 300 or 400 people about what it was like to be in combat. If he agreed he would be given any duty station he wanted. He agreed.Rankin was still at the instructor’s school in Providence, Rhode Island when he was informed that a lieutenant colonel was waiting to bring him to Mitchell Field.He was flown to New York in a C-54 [Annotator's Note: Douglas C-54 "Skymaster" transport aircraft].Rankin was scared when he started his speech but calmed down quickly. For doing a good job he was given a letter of commendation and a ribbon.When Rankin finished instructor’s school he requested assignment to Andrews Field in Washington, D.C. and was transferred right away. After a few weeks at Andrews he learned that all of the fighters there were being transferred to Shaw Field so he requested permission to stay at Andrews. In order to do so he had to check out on several different aircraft. He did so and at one point was checked out in eleven different planes including the P-38, B-17, and A-26.At the time, Rankin could fly whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He was also in charge of flying the "wheels" around.Rankin retired on 1 April 1973. He liked what he was doing and would have stayed another five years if they had let him. At the time of his retirement he was the defense and air attaché in Bangkok, Thailand. He had spent a year in language school learning to read and write in Thai.

Rankin had his own plush Gooney Bird [Annotator's Note: nickname for Douglas C-47 "Skytrain" transport aircraft] in Thailand. He would fly to Burma and Laos every month and to the Philippines, Taiwan, and Hong Kong every quarter. It was a good job and interesting work.Rankin met Gunther Rall [Annotator's Note: Luftwaffe/West German Air Force Lt. Gen. Gunther Rall] through Virginia Bader [Annotator's Note: a fine art dealer specializing in aviation art]. Bader contacted Rankin and informed him that Col. Zemke [Annotator's Note: USAAF Col. Hubert "Hub" Zemke] and Gunther Rall  were meeting to promote a print depicting Rall being shot down and that they would like for him to join them [Annotator's Note: the group met in California in 1951].The group spent five days together signing prints. They would go out in the evenings and have dinner and a drink.The following year the German Fighter Pilots Association invited the American fighter aces and their wives and girlfriends to travel to Germany. Rankin went and Rall treated him well. Rankin had his picture taken with Adolph Galland, Gunther Rall, and several young German officers.Rankin and the interviewer discuss visiting Gunther Rall's home in Geramany, how beautiful the area is, and how much of a gentleman Rall is.