Alright, buckle up, because I’m about to spill the beans on something I dove headfirst into a while back: Did Carroll Shelby, the legendary car guy, actually fly a B-29 Superfortress during World War II?
It all started with a late-night rabbit hole on the internet. One minute I’m watching a documentary about the Shelby Cobra, the next I’m neck-deep in forum threads about Shelby’s wartime service. The rumor was persistent: Shelby wasn’t just some gearhead; he was a bomber pilot.
So, I decided to do some digging myself. First stop: the official Carroll Shelby biography. Skimmed through that bad boy, hoping for a smoking gun. Nada. It mentioned his time in the Army Air Corps, but it was pretty vague on the specifics. Time to get serious.
Next, I hit up the National Archives website. Man, trying to find specific service records is like searching for a needle in a haystack. I spent hours sifting through digitized documents, hoping to stumble upon something with Shelby’s name and “B-29” in the same sentence. No luck there either.
Then, I had a breakthrough. I remembered reading that Shelby had been a flight instructor. So, I shifted my search. Instead of looking for bomber pilot stuff, I started looking for records related to flight training. And bingo! I found some documentation confirming that he was indeed a flight instructor during the war.
Okay, progress! But still no B-29 connection. So, I went back to those online forums. Dug deeper, past the initial speculation, and started looking for sources. Finally, I found a comment from someone claiming to have interviewed a veteran who served with Shelby. According to this vet, Shelby primarily flew AT-11s (a navigation trainer) and B-25s (a medium bomber) while stateside.
That felt more concrete. I cross-referenced that information with other sources about the training aircraft used during the war. The AT-11 bit checked out. The B-25 also made sense, as it was used for advanced multi-engine training.
To be extra sure, I even tried contacting the Shelby American Automobile Club. Sent them a polite email, explaining my little research project. Didn’t expect much, but to my surprise, they actually responded! They confirmed that, to the best of their knowledge, Carroll Shelby never piloted a B-29. They reiterated his role as a flight instructor and mentioned the AT-11 and B-25 aircraft.
So, after all that digging, here’s what I pieced together: Carroll Shelby served in the Army Air Corps, became a flight instructor, and primarily flew AT-11s and B-25s. While he definitely served his country, the B-29 bomber pilot rumor seems to be just that – a rumor.
It was a fun little adventure into history, and it goes to show ya, don’t believe everything you read on the internet! Sometimes, you gotta do the work yourself.
Lessons Learned:
- Always verify information from multiple sources.
- Don’t be afraid to change your search strategy.
- Even the most persistent rumors can be false.
And hey, even if he didn’t fly a B-29, Carroll Shelby was still a legend. Car guy, veteran, all-around badass. That’s good enough for me.
