Satan's Lady Drag Racing - Team PBM

On this day, 79 years ago, "Satan's Lady" took off from Station 109 Podington, now Santa Pod Raceway, on her fateful final mission. If you haven't had the chance to visit us in the pits and pick up the story of that final mission, here it is, as written by Warren G Winters who flew with the Kirkbride Crew. In January 1981 he had the following article published in "The American Legion" magazine. Please grab a cuppa, put your feet up for a few minutes, give it a read and then you'll know why we need to remember these brave boys and what they did for our freedom.

"Through the mists of time, I can see her yet, in that field in Belgium 35 years ago - a bullet-ridden, oil-streaked, fatally wounded B-17 Flying Fortress. She was majestic even in death with that special gracefulness and cleanness of line for which her breed was noted.
The date was Nov. 26, 1944. Our English base was the 92nd Bomb Group, 1st Division, 8th Air Force with the ancient village of Podington just outside the gate.

By the end of the summer Allied intelligence had realized that the weakest part of the formidable N**i war machine was its steady worsening ability to obtain sufficient gasoline and diesel fuel. With little natural petroleum available, Germany was dependent on synthetic fuel manufactured from coal at petrochemical plants. The destruction of those facilities as given the highest priority by the 8th Air Force.

Our specific target was the Synthetic Fuel Manufacturing Complex at Misburg which, along with Merseburg, was considered one of the most heavily defended targets in Europe. It was protected by 500 flak guns, including several batteries of 105mm and 128mm weapons. Strong fighter opposition was also expected as the enemy made a desperate attempt to save its dwindling fuel supplies.

My fellow crew member, Sergeant Wilson, was his usual cheerful self that morning as he said, "Well, only three more of these milk runs and we'll be heading back to the good old U.S.A." A short, stocky lad of 19, he usually flew as a ball turret gunner, the most uncomfortable, isolated and claustrophobic position of any crew member. That day he was happy to learn he would fly this mission as a waist gunner, a much more comfortable billet. As we walked together to the combat crews' mess hall, he said to me, "You know, we might just make it home by Christmas, don't you think?"

Our aircraft for this mission was "Satan's Lady", an earlier model B-17G, adorned with a painting of a beautiful, dark-haired, long-legged, very sexy - if somewhat sinister looking - lady with two small curved horns which in no way detracted from her sensual appearance. She had the reputation among the pilots of being a "good airplane" with no vices.
Our pilot, 1st Lt. Kirkbride,was one of the very best in the 8th Air Force. He had a reputation for being unemotional, extremely cool and competent in any emergency.

Take off and climb through the low cloud so often present in England in Autumn was uneventful. As we donned oxygen masks and plugged in our electrically heated suits for the climb to 29.000 feet and our entry into enemy air space, we were joined by P-51D Mustangs which would es**rt us to the target and back.

Approaching the target area, we were informed by radio that the B-24 Liberator group directly behind us was under heavy fighter attack. Swinging my turret to the rear, I could see swirling dog fights in progress between American Mustangs and German fighters on each side of the bombers. Suddenly, as a B-24 dropped out of the formation, spinning wildly out of control and trailing a heavy plume of white smoke, three parachutes appeared. Seconds later a German FW-190 fighter, trailing a thin plume of black smoke and hotly pursued by a Mustang, dived under our formation. Both vanished into the haze below.

"Beginning bomb run, bomb bay doors opening" our bombardier called out. Within seconds the rhythmic strumming vibration told us the bomb doors were fully open. With the familiar "whump" of a slightly muffled 12-gauge shotgun, a dark flak burst blossomed in the sky dead level but off to our left. Another appeared on the right. Directly in front of our nose a shell exploded with terrific concussion, the red flash of fire in its centre indicating an extremely close burst. A cloud of dirty black smoke, rank with the smell of cordite even through our oxygen regulators, swept past the windshields. Miraculously no serious damage was done to "Satan's Lady".

The next instant the bombardier called out, "Bombs away, bomb doors closing". Seconds later he was hurled from the bombsight by a blow on the chest from a flak shell fragment which dented, but did not pe*****te, the thin armor plates in the front of his flak suit. At the same time, a tremendous explosion and shock hurled "Satan's Lady" straight up and onto her left wing. (I distinctly remember thinking that our plane must surely have been flown into. I expected to see the waist and tail section missing when I turned around). Our number three engine had taken a direct hit from a heavy flak shell which blew away the cowling and half of the cylinder banks and left flames streaming back past the engine nacelle.

Moments later, tragedy struck our crew for the first time. A heavy flak shell exploded along the right side of the waist compartment and blasted a large piece of shell casing directly through Sergeant Wilson's heart. The war ended forever for my comrade in arms who lay still on the floor of the waist compartment, never to see his home again.

Seeing the flames streaming back over the wing, the co-pilot instinctively unbuckled his seat belt in anticipation of bailing out. I dropped out of the top turret, snapped on my chest pack parachute and started forward to jettison the forward hatch door. At that instant the commanding voice of Lt. Kirkbride rang in our headsets. "Nobody bails out. That looks like an oil fire to me and I'm going to try to blow it out. Repeat, nobody bails out!". With controls still intact, he hurled our plane into a steep dive. The rush of oxygen-thin air extinguished the blaze almost at once.

We were far below and miles behind our formation. Luckily the reserve oil tank and controls for feathering the propeller were still intact and the windmilling propeller was properly feathered. But number four engine, riddled with shell fragments and with no oil pressure, seized up and stopped. Again, luck was with us - the second dead engine was properly feathered also.

With both engines out on the right side, the forces of torque turning the aircraft to the right were immensely strong and it took the combined strength of both the pilot and co-pilot on the rudder pedals to hold the plane on course. Lt. Kirkbride yelled for me to find something to tie the rudder pedals in extreme left position to help hold the ship on course. Finding some electrical cords usually used for our heated flying suits, I secured the rudder controls. In this position the rudder was practically inoperative, but by using extreme trim tab settings and ailerons, the compass course toward home could be maintained.

We had control but, despite the two remaining good engines being operated at far beyond normal maximum power setting, we were losing altitude at an alarming rate. We were entirely alone over 100 miles from friendly territory, truly a "sitting duck" for any enemy fighter who might spot us. We expected at any instant the all-too-familiar sight of German fighters swooping down out of the sun, rudders "fishtailing" as they lined up for a head-on pass - their wing edges blazing with cannon fire.
If by some miracle we escaped the fighters, it was highly doubtful that our two remaining engines would last long enough to bring us to safety. (Luckily for us, we learned much later, all the available German fighter forces were engaged in a mass attack on two B-24 Liberator groups. The 445th and the 491st, which had followed us into the target, were attacked in successive waves with deadly effect. Twenty B-24s were lost from the group.)

In a desperate attempt to slow our alarming rate of descent, Lt. Kirkbride ordered everything possible to be thrown out of the aircraft to lighten it. This action, plus the denser air at lower altitude, slowed our descent considerably. With our slow progress toward safety completely unopposed and our two remaining Wright R1820-97 engines running perfectly at extreme maximum power setting, our hopes began to rise. We might just make it after all! Our descent finally stopped at about 150 feet above ground as we approached the German lines.

The patchwork-quilt fields and small villages were teeming with an agitated local population which, no doubt, fired a few rifle shots in our direction.
I suspect the sight of our dark, flak-ridden, oil-streaked, crippled Fortress with two engines out on the same side, barely airborne, suddenly appearing over the treetops, must have so startled the village gun crews that their reactions were just a bit too slow. However, seconds later "Satan's Lady" shuddered under a terrific hailstorm of fire and lead from the ground. With bullets and shells blasting into our plane everywhere, clanging and ricocheting inside, it seemed absolutely impossible that we could all survive this last ordeal. I guessed we would probably go down within yards of safety, having come so far for nothing. With my head tucked between the empty twin machine gun receivers in the top turret for protection, two bullet holes ripped through the plexiglass dome an inch above my hair. About the same time, most of Lt. Kirkbride's windshield was blasted away, covering his face with splinters, but not penetrating his goggles.

Miraculously, our only additional casualty was our tail gunner who suffered a bullet wound through his forearm. A flying jacket on the waist floor, near our dead comrade, was ignited by a tracer bullet, but quickly extinguished. (Later, actual count would reveal well over 200 bullet holes in the fuselage and cabin.)
After what seemed an eternity, but was actually only a few minutes of my life, we were no longer under fire from the ground and were still airborne just above a low pine forest. However, there was a new and ominous sound for our faithful engines. Number one began to cough and spit out black smoke. Lt. Kirkbride's calm voice sounded in our headsets, "Boys, I've got to set her down. Number one has lost its oil pressure and won't last much longer. We're going in!"

Just beyond the edge of the woods, there was a narrow field covered with tall weeds and small saplings. Instructing me to cut the cords holding the rudder pedals on his order, Lt. Kirkbride called out "This is it, boys. Hang on!" At that instant number one engine coughed, spluttered and died. Lt. Kirkbride yelled for me to cut the cords. Our plane settled down into an almost normal approach, flattening several small saplings before bellying into the soft sod with a surprisingly gentle thump.
Immediately, several soldiers ran from the woods on our left. With an overwhelming sense of relief, we recognized the familiar "pot" shaped helmets of American GIs.

The war was over for "Satan's Lady". She had brought all but one of her crew back to safety. No lady anywhere could have done more.

Two great shots of "Satan's Lady" at Flame & Thunder by Julian Hunt of Eurodragster.com . The track lights were amazing, giving The Lady a spooky green glow very fitting for Hallowe'en!! Big Thank You to Simon and the team at eurodragster for all the great coverage and pics during the year.

Neeeeeeeearly time!!!! Next Saturday, 28th October, will see us back at Santa Pod Raceway as we celebrate the end of another mindblowingly awesome season....!!🤘🤘 Pressure is off, fun dial is switched to overload... Pit decorations are packed and Goody Bags are stuffed... Flame & Thunder is best event of the year!!!!! :D 🔥👻🔥😃
Tickets for this fantastic action packed family event are still available and you'll find all the details, including what's on (and there's sooooooooo much) by clicking the link below
Seeeeee you there!!!
https://santapod.co.uk/flame-and-thunder.php

We're so excited to have been invited to be a part of the show at Flame & Thunder 2023 at Santa Pod Raceway, so we'd better start cracking on with our usual Satan's Lady Hallowe'en Goody Bags to hand out to the kiddies who visit our pits.. I wonder how many we'll get through this year🤔😉
There's still time to grab your tickets gor this action packed, fun, family day (and evening)... believe us, you don't want to miss out!! You'll find all the info you'll need on this link... https://santapod.co.uk/flame-and-thunder.php

Massive Thanks to Santa Pod Raceway for inviting us to run "Satan's Lady" at this years "Flame & Thunder".
Flame & Thunder is a huge action packed day for all the family featuring Drag Racing and Stunts galore with a huge gathering of Jet Vehicles along with cars and bikes from various classes of Drag Racing on track. There'll be plenty more action off track including JCB Dancing Diggers, Monster Trucks, Live Stage, Fun Fair and much more. The climax of the day will be a spectacular Firework Display.
Tickets are available by clicking the pic below.
Right, better get off here and start ordering all the things we need to make up our usual goody bag giveaways... Hope to see you there!!!
Phil, SuZe and Pat ~ Saluting "Fame's Favored Few"

Santa Pod Raceway - Flame & Thunder Flame & Thunder at Santa Pod Raceway is an action packed day for all the family featuring motorsport stunts and Drag Racing inc jet cars, monster trucks and a firework display.

What a great season 2023 turned out to be!!! After taking "Satan's Lady" to JKE Raceworks for some upgrades over the Winter, we went into it knowing we'd be on a learning curve, and likely to have to hand over the No.1 that we'd carried since 2017. Bearing that in mind, we set ourselves the, hopefully, realistic aim of finishing the season in the top 10.

🔸️Easter... Festival of Power turned into Springspeed Nationals, and we were joined by Phil's lifelong friend, and ex-NHRA JFR clutch guy, Andy Bissett..... as a guest, not to work obviously!!!. We concentrated on consistency with the new clutch, and found it, running consecutive 9.06s in qualifying, however Race Day started with a 0.06 red light! Doh!!
🔸️Springspeed turned into Festival of Power, and we were working on better 60ft times... getting them down from 1.47 to 1.38!! Raceday ended in Rd3 thanks to a 0.016 breakout! Doh!!
🔸️Sportsman Nationals saw Phil and "Satan's Lady" secure the No.1 Qualifier with a 9.002 on a 9.00 dial-in. Sadly Raceday ended early again with a second round exit at the hands of Scott Collier.
🔸️Summer Nationals, we qualified well, going into RaceDay 5th from 17. But once again, we exited early thanks to a 0.03 breakout! Doh!!
🔸️Dragstalgia... we were asked by Santa Pod Raceway and the British Drag Racing Hall Of Fame to take our pit display Into the Historic Marquee to mark the 80th Anniversary of the arrival of the 92nd Bombardment Group at Station 109. It was an amazing weekend we were so proud to represent the brave boys who flew their mighty B17s from "Pod" during WWII.
🔸️Greenlight Nationals... We again qualified well, 4th from 23, despite twice changing the dial-in board in the pairing lanes and then going on to run the original number!!!!! Raceday saw a other breakout, this time in Rd2!! Doh!!
🔸️National Finals... and we were once again joined by "Dial-In Dolly Dave", vacating his usual position on the bank for pit duties! Although Blade King had already wrapped up the 2023 Championship, we went into the event in 6th spot with a chance to improve. Despite being only 0.017 off his Dial-In, it was only good enough to secure Phil the No.4 spot. Let's not mention the -0.0005 breakout in qualifying shall we.... definitely another Doh moment!!! Raceday saw us make it through to Rd3 where, as soon as Phil dropped the clutch, he realised he'd been asleep and our season was over!!!
😆Fun times ensued in the pits with the top 4 swapping race numbers, Blade getting our No,1 Liam claiming Gary's No.2, Dave picking up Scotts No.3 meaning he could finally get rid of his No.4 by passing it to us !!!

So our aim of top 10 ended with ETB4.... and we're really happy with that!!!
Massive thanks to all of our classmates for great racing and even greater camaraderie, to "Dial-in Dolly Dave" for his services, and to Santa Pod Raceway and the SPRC Crew for all the hard work involved in giving us such a great venue to race at. Thanks to all the photographers who point their lenses in our direction, to everyone who takes the time to give us a like, send a message of support, visit us in the pits, or read SuZe's ramblings.
Who knows what next season will bring... but for now the target is off our backs and it's time to relax before we start getting used to that new number.... ETB4️⃣!!
Phil, SuZe and Pat ~ Saluting 'Fame's Favored Few'

Well, this weekend sees us back at Santa Pod Raceway for the Finals of the UK National Drag Racing Championships... and after wearing the No.1 on "Satan's Lady" for 6 consecutive years, since the class introduction in 2017, it's time to hand it over at the end of this weekend.
We went into this season knowing that we would struggle to retain it for a 7th after making changes to the bike over the Winter months. We were on a learning curve, so we went into 2023 with the aim to finish in the top 10. We go into the Finals currently sitting in 6th spot, so we're happy with that... but, of course, if we could improve a little we'd be even happier!!
As we have since 2014, we will again be racing in tribute to the brave boys of the 92nd Bombardment Group USAAF, as we mark the 80th Anniversary of their arrival at Station 109, which we now know as Santa Pod Raceway. If you haven't yet managed to pop by our pits to look around our tribute walls and pick up a leaflet or two, please do, we'd love to see you, you'll find us under the 8th Air Force flag.
Tickets for this weekends event are still available and you'll find all the information you need here....
https://santapod.co.uk/national-finals.php
Good luck to all those who will be taking to the sticky this weekend, either on 2 wheels or in 4. 2023 has been an awesome season and we're sure The Finals will be a other great weekend.
Here's to it!!
Phil, SuZe and Pat ~ Saluting "Fame's Favored Few"

The Greenlight Nationals at Santa Pod Raceway saw the penultimate round of the UK National ET Bike Championship. Following the winter upgrades to "Satan's Lady" we're still on a learning curve and were really hoping that Mother Nature might just play ball, but she had other ideas. Fridays Test Day started wet (which gave us an opportunity to give the caravan a good clean) but cleared to sunny with a tail wind. All change for the weekend which switched to overcast with a strong headwind on Saturday, with Sunday seeing slightly weaker headwind and sunny skies and it was HOT!!
Qualifying was interesting, with another massive field of bikes! One gh8ng we have definitely learned is to stick to our instincts when dialling-in, rather than changing our mind (or rather Phil changing his mind) in the pairing lanes... not once, but twice, throwing away a potential No.1 Qualifier spot...!!! The dial-in board had sat in the caravan showing with 9.22 but, for reasons best known to himself, Phil changed it to 9.23 just before the run.... the 9.2208 run!! Then, whilst waiting in the lanes for Q4 the 9.18 which was on the board was changed to a 9.16.... with the timing slip showing 9.1853... Doh!!!
Raceday started from 4th spot, and a tough pairing, against points leader Blade King, and an unusual situation of Phil leaving first. Blade's reaction time showed he was obviously distracted, and the win light came on for "Satan's Lady".
Round 2, saw Phil line up alongside the Kawasaki ZX9 of Nicholas Playdon. Nicholas had been on the numbers so we knew it would be tight. His 0.09 light was bettered by Phil's 0.009, with the win light once again shining for "Satan's Lady".
Round 3 of 5, and it was the oh so familiar pairing of Phil and Gary Hester. After being so close to red-lighting in the previous round, Phil staged shallow, but that affected his reaction of 0.11, to Gary's 0.05... win light in the other lane, and Gary moved on.
Massive congratulations to Liam Holgate on lifting his first ET Bike winners trophy, and top marks to Dave Grundy for loaning Scott Collier his road bike to compete on, after Scott suffered severe engine damage during qualifying... now that's Sportsmanship for you!!!
Although some may say 2023 has not been our year, we're happy with the way things are progressing... and hopefully, The National Finals, 22nd-24th September, might just see everything we've learned this season coming together.
As always we must say Thank You to the SPRC Crew and Marshalls who give us such a great surface to race on, and ensure that the events run smoothly.
We would like to send our very best wishes to Comp Bike racer, Garry Bowe, for a speedy recovery following his horrendous incident during Eliminations Sunday... hope to see you back ontrack soon Garry!
Thank you to everyone for your continued support and encouragement... we really do appreciate it.
Phil, SuZe and Pat ~ Saluting "Fame's Favored Few"