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I
WAS
FLYING VACTRIC LEADER (RED FLIGHT) ON A
BEACHHEAD TOP COVER
PATROL
WHEN THE FIGHTER CONTROLLER CALLED IN FOUR
PLUS ENEMY PLANES
PROCEEDING
FROM CAEN TO THE BEACHHEAD AT ABOUT 7,000
FEET. VACTRIC
RED
AND BLUE FLIGHTS LOWERED TO 8,000 FEET AND
FLEW INLAND ABOUT
FIFTEEN
MILES AND THEN A 180 DEGREE TURN AND FLEW
BACK TOWARD SHORE.
WE
WERE THREE MILES NORTHEAST OF CAEN WHEN OUR
CONTROLLER CALLED TO
NOTIFY
US THAT THE "BOGIES" HAD BEEN
IDENTIFIED AS "FRIENDS". AT
THAT
INSTANT BLUE TWO CALLED IN SEVERAL TWIN
ENGINED PLANES BELOW
US
AT A VERY LOW ALTITUDE AND I CALLED TO
REMARK THEY WERE PROBABLY
MOSQUITOES.
WE MADE 1 180 DEGREE TURN IN A SHALLOW DIVE
AND I SAW
ABOUT
6 SPITFIRES DIVING TOWARD THE PLANES WE HAD
SPOTTED. WE
IMMEDIATELY
WENT INTO A STEEP DIVE DOWN TO THE DECK AND
I SAW A
TWIN
ENGINED PLANE WHICH WAS EITHER A JU-188 OR A
ME-140 AT AN
ALTITUDE
OF ABOUT 100 FEET. MY WING MAN, LT. GILBERT,
AND I GAVE
CHASE
AND THE ENEMY PLANE FLATTENED OUT ON THE
DECK AND WENT BOUNC-
ING
OVER GROVES OF TREES AND MAKING VERTICAL
BANKS ACROSS SMALL
FIELDS,
MAKING ANY ACCURATE FIRE EXTREMELY
DIFFICULT. I FIRED
SEVERAL
SHORT BURSTS AT ABOUT 300 TO 400 YARDS AND
FINALLY WAS CLOS-
ING
IN ON A TURN ACROSS A FIELD WHEN I FOUND I
WAS FLYING INTO FOUR
OR
FIVE TALL TOWERS OR POLES WHICH I AVOIDED
ONLY BY STANDING THE PLANE
ON
A WING TIP AND FLYING THROUGH VERTICALLY.
AGAIN I CLOSED IN TO
ABOUT
150 YARDS AND AS WE BOUNCED OVER SOME TREES
I LET A LONG
BURST
INTO THE SHIP AND OBSERVED STRIKES IN THE
UPPER FUSELAGE
AND
THE PLANE ENGINE. THE JERRY PILOT THEN CRASH
LANDED HIS PLANE
INTO
THE FIELD AHEAD AND THE SHIP WAS BADLY
BATTERED AS THE LAND-
ING
WAS MADE AT ABOUT 225 MILES PER HOUR. I THEN
MADE A TIGHT
360
DEGREE TURN AND CAME ABOUT AND TOOK SOME
PICTURES AS MY WING
MAN
PUT A FINAL BURST INTO THE WRECKAGE. I CLAIM
ONE ME-410
DESTROYED.
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