More than 70 years after facing the Luftwaffe in the skies over Europe, an American pilot was reunited with his trusty plane.

Lieutenant colonel George Hardy, 91, said he still “loves” the P51D Mustang which is now based at North Weald Airfield but once flew from Ramitelli in Italy.

The veteran served in the first group of African-American military pilots in the United States Air Force and flew the fighter in the final months of the conflict.

He made 21 missions in the plane, mostly escorting B-17 Flying Fortress bomber planes into Nazi Germany to protect them from the Luftwaffe.

Now living in Sarasota, Florida, he was invited to the UK by Peter Teichman, chief pilot of the Hangar 11 Collection in North Weald, which maintains Second World War fighter planes flown at air shows.

Mr Teichman managed to contact lt col. Hardy earlier this year through history groups.

The plane, named Tall in the Saddle, was bought by the collection in 2001.

The Mustangs were among the most highly regarded combat aircraft of the Second World War.

Lt col. Hardy, speaking in North Weald, said: “This is one of the most beautiful airplanes going.

“It was so easy to fly and so responsive, and at 19-years-old flying that airplane - you couldn't beat that.”

He explained he was a replacement pilot and was asked to fly Tall in the Saddle after its original pilot became an operations officer.

Most of his tasks were high altitude escort missions and he said he did not encounter many enemy aircraft as he joined in March 1945, near the end of the fighting in Europe.

But he said pilots were asked to attack strategic ground targets after ensuring bomber planes were safe, and Tall in the Saddle has had bullet repairs in several places on the fuselage.

“That was the only time I fired my gun, as by the time we got over there, there weren't many airplanes left,” he said.

“But often the targets on the ground shot back.”

He flew his last mission in the plane on August 7 1945 but went on to fly other aircraft, completing 50 missions in Korea and 70 in Vietnam before pursuing a career in communications.

Tall in the Saddle was assigned to the 332nd Fighter Group, which was famous as the first black flying group, in October 1944.

The group is sometimes referred to as The Red Tails, after the paintwork on the planes, and also as The Tuskegee Airmen, as the pilots were trained at Tuskegee University in Alabama.

Lt col. Hardy was accompanied to the UK by Craig Huntly, historian of the 332nd Fighter Group, and Mr Teichman said he hoped to take the veteran up for a flight in Tall in the Saddle during his week-long visit.

Lt col. Hardy joked about his record, saying: “I never had to use a parachute, so I never got in any real trouble.”