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I WAS FLYING AS BLOTTO LEADER. WE CAME OFF
THE TARGET,
JOINED
UP, AND SET COURSE FOR HOME. SOON AFTER WE
CROSSED
THE
RHINE 109'S WERE CALLED HIGH AT 13,000 FEET,
AT SIX O'
CLOCK.
I BROKE BACK INTO THEM AND IN DOING SO LOST
MY SEC-
OND
ELEMENT. MY WINGMAN AND I WERE ENGAGED BY
TWO 109'S.
WE
WENT INTO A LUFTBERRY AND AFTER THREE ORBITS
ONE OF THEM
BROKE
OFF IN A SHALLOW DIVE TO THE WEST AND I GOT
ON HIS
TAIL
AND OPENED FIRE. I OBSERVED STRIKES AND
PIECES FLEW
OFF
THE BELLY ON MY SECOND BURST. I CLOSED TO
APPROXIMATELY
TWO
HUNDRED YARDS AND FIRED AGAIN. THE ENTIRE
TAIL SECTION
BLEW
OFF AND THE PLANE WENT INTO A SPIN. THE
PILOT BAILED
OUT
AND I WATCHED THE PLANE CRASH.
I CALLED MY WINGMAN AND HE SAID HE WAS
JOINING SOME
OTHER
PLANES. I STARTED WEST AT 8,000 FEET AND
SOON AFTER
I
SAW A P-47, WHICH WAS SMOKING, HIGH AND TO
MY RIGHT. I
STARTED
TO JOIN HIM AND THEN TWO FW-190'S BOUNCED ME
FROM
TEN
O'CLOCK AT 8,000 FEET. I BROKE INTO THEM AND
DOWN AND
FOUND
ANOTHER COMING IN FROM BELOW AT ONE O'CLOCK.
HE OPEN-
ED
FIRE AND I TURNED AND FIRED ABOUT TWENTY
DEGREES FROM
HEAD-ON.
I OBSERVED GOOD STRIKES AND HE BEGAN TO
SMOKE. I
THEN
TURNED BACK INTO THE OTHERS AND THE LAST I
SAW OF HIM
HE
WAS SMOKING AND GRADUALLY LOSING ALTITUDE. I
MADE ANOTHER
HEAD-ON
PASS AT THE OTHER TWO AND ON THIS PASS I WAS
HEADING
WEST
SO I USED WATER INJECTION AND BROKE FOR OUR
LINES. THE
190'S
DID NOT FOLLOW.
I THEN STARTED AFTER THE 47 I HAD SEEN
SMOKING BUT WAS
UNABLE
TO FIND IT. HE LATER PROVED TO BE MY WINGMAN
WHO BAIL-
ED
OUT SOUTHEAST OF AACHEN.
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