Allied Jet Killers of World War 2 Read online

  Keller told Army investigators, ‘I saw a dogfight in the vicinity of Würges [60 miles west of Fulda]. Besides a German fighter that was engaged in the fight, there were several other aeroplanes in the air. The German fighter rammed an aeroplane and both of them caught fire and crashed’. Manrer said he heard the sound of machine guns, followed by an explosion. He went outside and saw a column of smoke about 600 yards from his railway station. Later that afternoon both Keller and Manrer went to the crash site. A feldwebel in the Wehrmacht gave Keller several items from the wreckage of the Mustang, including a gold ring, a dog tag with Browning’s name on it, currency and a photograph, also marked with Browning’s name. Manrer said the wreckage of the P-51 was spread over an area of about 400 yards, and he found a section of the canopy rail with Zarnke’s name on it.

  On 9 February 1945, Maj Robert W Foy (flying this aircraft, P-51D-20 44-63621) and his wingman, 1Lt Johnnie L Carter, attacked a pair of jets at 15,000 ft. Foy scored hits on the right engine of an Me 262, which slowly rolled over into the clouds, where Foy lost sight of it. He claimed a probable. Carter fired several effective bursts at the other Me 262, forcing the pilot to bail out. This was Carter’s fourth, and final, victory of the war (Lt Col Clarence ‘Bud’ Anderson)

  Browning had hit Me 262 Wk-Nr 500042, flown by Oberstleutnant Volprecht Freiherr von Riedesel, commander of KG(J) 54. After they had collided, both aircraft caught fire and spun in, coming down within 600 yards of each other. Riedesel is reported to have survived the crash, but he died in hospital the next day. Unfortunately, there were no recoverable remains of Capt James W Browning, so the 28-year-old seven-victory ace (who also had two strafing kills) is listed on ‘The Wall of the Missing’ at the American Military Cemetery in Luxembourg.

  After the pair of jets bounced by Browning on 9 February sped out of range, he called Bochkay to say he would cover him as he pressed home his attack. That was the last anyone heard from Capt Browning. Two years after the war had ended, US Army officials spoke to two German civilians who witnessed what had happened to Browning. His Mustang was seen to collide with the Me 262 flown by Oberstleutnant Volprecht Freiherr von Riedesel, commander of KG(J) 54, and both aircraft spun to earth, crashing just 600 yards apart. With no recoverable remains, Capt James W Browning is listed on ‘The Wall of the Missing’ at the American Military Cemetery in Luxembourg (Lt Col Clarence ‘Bud’ Anderson)

  Six days later, 2Lt Dudley ‘Dixie’ Amoss of the 38th FS/55th FG was flying one of 500+ USAAF fighters escorting heavy bombers targeting oil refineries. Spotting an Me 262 below his flight, Amoss dived on the jet and caught its pilot completely by surprise. His first burst struck the engines and the second, from just 200 yards astern of the fighter, caused it to explode. Despite this, somehow the pilot still managed to bail out. On 21 March, Amoss ‘made ace’ by destroying three Fw 190s, only to be shot down by flak near Hopsten airfield minutes later. He spent the rest of the war as a PoW.

  On 22 February the Allies launched more than 3000 aircraft from the RAF and the USAAF’s Eighth, Ninth and Fifteenth Air Forces on Operation Clarion, which was the codename given to the systematic destruction of the German rail and road transportation network. In response to this aerial onslaught, JG 7 scrambled nearly 50 Me 262s, and they drew first blood shortly before 1200 hrs when ace Oberfeldwebel Hermann Buchner and future ace Oberfähnrich Heinz Russel of 3. Staffel prepared to attack 1st Air Division B-17s over Stendal. Just as they were about to intercept the bombers, the German pilots spotted formations of P-51s from the 352nd, 353rd and 364th FGs as they rendezvoused with the B-17s. Switching their focus to the fighters, Buchner and Russel bounced a section of Mustangs from the 364th FG out of the sun, the former sending the P-51 of 2Lt Francis X Radley down in flames for his 48th victory (of 52).

  Among Eighth Air Force fighter groups, the 55th FG was a relative latecomer in scoring jet victories. The first pilot to make a claim from the unit was 1Lt Walter J Konantz on 13 January 1945 – it was his second of three victories. On 15 February, 2Lt Dudley M Amoss was patrolling at low-altitude in this P-51D-5 (44-13818) when he bounced an Me 262 near Amberg and shot it down in flames. The pilot of the jet survived, bailing out of the burning jet at less than 500 ft (55th FG Association)

  Elsewhere, other elements of the 353rd FG were on a freelance patrol in the area between Brandenburg and Moritz when a call came over the radio that bombers had reported jet aircraft in the vicinity of Brandenburg. 350th FS CO Maj Wayne K Blickenstaff was leading the group, and upon arriving in the area he spotted four Me 262s in a diving left turn. Three of the jets scattered, but one kept turning to the left. Blickenstaff pursued the latter through cloud, and when they broke out at 7000 ft he was directly over central Berlin. While still chasing the jet, he noticed another Me 262 heading in his direction some 3000 ft below him. Blickenstaff jettisoned his drop tanks, split-essed and set off after the second jet fighter.

  When Amoss claimed his Me 262 over Amberg, it brought his score to 2.5 victories. On 21 March 1945, he ‘made ace’ when he shot down three Fw 190s southwest of Münster. On the same mission he was hit by flak strafing Hopsten airfield, crash-landing in Holland and being taken prisoner (55th FG Association)

  When Blickenstaff had initially called out the four Me 262s, Capt Gordon B Compton was leading the 351st FS slightly above and to the left of the 350th FS. He began to pursue the third jet in the formation, but when he could not close the distance he turned his attention to another aircraft and waited for its pilot to pull out of his dive. When he did so, Compton was waiting;

  ‘He turned right in front of me. I did not have time to track and range with my K-14 gunsight, so I picked out his line of flight and fired a long burst for him to fly through. I saw a few strikes on the right jet unit and it began leaving a trail of white smoke. With this unit crippled, the Me 262 was unable to pull away, and I got dead astern of him at a distance of about 350 yards. Pieces came off following one burst, and finally he pulled up sharply to the left, climbing several thousand feet per minute. Then the right jet unit burst into flames and the pilot rolled over and bailed out.’

  Compton had just destroyed the first of two Me 262s that he would be credited with.

  Meanwhile, back over Berlin, Blickenstaff pulled out of his split-S and tried to reacquire the Me 262 that had flown past him, but the German pilot had disappeared into low altitude haze that blanketed the area and escaped. After an eight-minute easterly pursuit Blickenstaff believed he was nearing the Soviet frontline, so he broke off and turned his flight back in the direction of home. As he passed through 8000 ft northwest of Berlin, Blickenstaff observed another Me 262 flying east through the haze. Once again, he rolled over in pursuit;

  ‘I was able to pick up enough speed in the dive to close on this enemy aircraft, and I opened fire at a range of 600 to 700 yards. Strikes were observed in the left jet and a thin stream of smoke began to trail from it. Finding that I was able to close even more, I opened fire again at a range of 400-500 yards. The enemy pilot responded with some rather wild evasive action so that I was unable to keep my sight upon him. The Hun dove for the deck and started pulling away, but I scored strikes again on the left jet. Smoke began to pour out of the left jet. The pilot jettisoned the canopy and bailed out the right side. The plane rolled over to the left and split-essed into a forest.’

  Blickenstaff’s persistence had been rewarded, the Me 262 taking his tally to exactly five victories. He would claim three Fw 190s and two Bf 109s on 24 March, taking his final score to ten.

  On 22 February 1945, the Allies launched a sortie of more than 3000 aircraft against the Reich as part of Operation Clarion. The 353rd FG was on a freelance patrol that day when Maj Wayne K Blickenstaff chased an Me 262 that escaped, although he soon spotted a second over Berlin and chased it eastward towards Soviet lines before breaking off. He then found a third jet northwest of Berlin and shot it down at low level. This was Blickenstaff’s fifth victory. On 24 March, now-Lt Col Blickenstaff became a
n ‘ace in a day’ when he shot down two Bf 109s and three Fw 190s (Peter Randall collection)

  I. and II./KG(J) 54 took a beating again during the morning of 25 February, with 16 Me 262s being caught in the process of taking off from Gibelestadt by the 38th FS/55th FG. The unit was performing a fighter sweep in the Nurnberg area at 13,000 ft at the time, the jets being spotted by Capt Donald E Penn in the lead Mustang. He called for his flight to jettison their tanks, before engaging the Me 262s and in a swirling low-level dogfight that saw Penn and five other pilots from the 38th claim seven jets destroyed without loss.

  Two of the Me 262s fell to Capt Donald M Cummings, who pursued one that broke left and down, allowing him to cut inside the jet’s turn and shoot it down. Cummings and his wingman then climbed up to 5000 ft in search of other targets. He soon spotted an unidentified aircraft near Leipheim airfield as it flew over the base at about 4000 ft. Cummings quickly identified the fighter as an Me 262, and he chased it around the airfield until he was in a position to get off a deflection shot. He scored hits all over the aircraft, which rolled over and crashed. With this victory Cummings became the second USAAF pilot, after Urban Drew, to shoot down two jets in a single mission. These were Cummings’ third and fourth victories, and a month later he shared a Bf 109 victory with squadronmate 1Lt Roger B Mooers and then ‘made ace’ on 7 April when he downed two Bf 109s over Celle.

  KG(J) 54’s ranks had been decimated in just 16 days of combat, with a further four Me 262s having been destroyed in strafing attacks on Gibelestadt and two in accidents on 25 February. Veteran bomber pilot Major Hansgeorg Bätcher was subsequently appointed Geschwaderkommodore of what remained of KG(J) 54, which now had just 20 Me 262s left.

  Just as the Gibelestadt action came to a close, 1Lts Richard E White and Eugene Murphy from the 385th FS/364th FG were 200 miles to the north, near Lake Steinhude, when they spotted an Ar 234 at 2000 ft. They duly shot it down in an engagement that saw all three aircraft flying as low as just 30 ft! Although neither pilot would ‘make ace’, this victory was historically significant in that the 364th FG became the first group to score a victory against each of Germany’s three jet aircraft – the Me 163, Me 262 and Ar 234. Only one other group would accomplish that feat, but not until the very end of the war.

  While on a fighter sweep near Nurnberg on 25 February 1945, the 55th FG clashed with 16 Me 262s from I. and II./KG(J) 54. In a huge low-level dogfight six pilots from the 38th FS shot down seven Me 262s, two of which were credited to Capt Donald M Cummings. He claimed the first jet quite quickly, but he was forced to chase the second one around the pattern at Leipheim airfield until he finally scored multiple hits, sending the jet down in flames. This made Cummings the second, and last, USAAF pilot to down two jets in a single sortie. He ‘made ace’ on 7 April when he downed a pair of Bf 109s over Celle (55th FG Association)

  While the Clarion battles raged in the skies over the increasingly beleaguered Third Reich, a new elite Me 262 unit had been established that would soon make its combat debut under the command of the Luftwaffe’s most revered fighter pilot, General Adolf Galland. Designated Jagdverband (JV) 44, it would become known as ‘Der Galland Zirkus’ (‘The Galland Circus’). In terms of aerial victories, the Jagdflieger that served with JV 44 were amongst the most successful, and highly decorated, fighter pilots in the history of military aviation. Indeed, 17 of them had been awarded the Knight’s Cross and the top five aces had a combined score of 934 victories.

  On 1/2 March USAAF fighter pilots claimed six Me 262s shot down, although three are listed as unconfirmed. All three of the confirmed victories fell to non-aces, with one of them being claimed by 1Lt John K Wilkins of the 2nd Scouting Force. Three such units had been created in September 1944 to check for flak sites and Luftwaffe airfields, and gauge weather conditions, en route to target areas in advance of the heavy bombers. Scouting Force pilots (in P-51s) would be credited with downing three Me 262s by war’s end. Another successful pilot on 2/3 March was 1Lt Theodore W Sedvert of the 353rd FS/354th FG, who subsequently claimed another Me 262 destroyed three weeks later, although its demise was unconfirmed.

  As the Allies continued their advance eastward toward the River Rhine, Hitler ordered the destruction of all bridges over this last natural defence. On 7 March the Allies seized the final still-intact crossing – the soon-to-be-famous Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen. The Germans had set demolition charges on it and then detonated them, but the bridge still stood. Reichsmarschall Herman Göring immediately made the bridge at Remagen the Luftwaffe’s number one target. For the first week low clouds hampered attacks by Stukas and Fw 190 fighter-bombers, which were further frustrated by American anti-aircraft guns. On 7 March, a trio of Ar 234Bs from KG 76 attacked the bridge, but failed to inflict any damage. One bomber was shot down by American flak guns.

  KG 76 was one of the oldest and most prestigious units in the Luftwaffe. The day after the Normandy landings, the Ju 88-equipped Kampfgeschwader was withdrawn from combat operations and became the first group to convert to the Ar 234. In mid-December 9./KG 76, under the command of Hauptmann Dieter Lukesch, became the first unit to be declared operational with 12 Ar 234B-2s. On Christmas Eve, the unit flew its first mission when eight aircraft bombed the city of Liège, in Belgium, in support of the Ardennes campaign.

  Once the Allies crossed Ludendorff Bridge over the River Rhine River on 7 March 1945, Reichsmarchall Hermann Göring made the bridge at Remagen the Luftwaffe’s number one target. For days the Ar 234Bs of KG 76 flew dozens of sorties against the bridge, but failed to destroy it. On 14 March double ace Capt Donald S Bryan of the 328th FS/352nd FG chased an Ar 234 with dogged determination until he hit its right engine, but Hauptmann Hirschberger of 6./KG 76 continued to take evasive action. Bryan finally hit the second engine and the bomber crashed near Elsaffthal. The Ar 234 was Bryan’s final victory of the war, taking his tally to 13.333 kills (352nd FG Association)

  On 11 March two more Arados made a visual bombing run on the bridge, but again they failed to score any hits. On the 12th and 13th, KG 76 flew 37 sorties against the bridge, but the method of attack employed by the Ar 234 pilots had been changed. These attacks were carried out using the Egon radar-operated aiming system, and level bombing runs were made at between 16,000 ft and 26,000 ft. Nevertheless, the bridge at Remagen still stood.

  So far, KG 76 had only lost a single aircraft to enemy action (flak) during its sustained campaign against the Ludendorff Bridge, but this all changed on 14 March. High-scoring ace Capt Donald Bryan of the 328th FS/352nd FG had encountered Ar 234s on three separate occasions, but had only managed to claim one as damaged, on 21 December. On 14 March he was leading a flight of P-51s that was escorting Ninth Air Force A-26 Invaders, Bryan flying 1Lt George A Middleton’s P-51K 44-11628 WORRA BIRD 3/BASHFUL BETSY near Remagen when the Ar 234 flown by Hauptmann Hirschberger of 6./KG 76 was spotted passing beneath his flight;

  ‘I dropped my tanks and started after the enemy aircraft. He was travelling about 50 mph faster than we were and crossed the Rhine south of the bridge, going west, then turned north and made a very shallow diving run on the bridge, but he did not drop his bombs. I saw several P-47s to the northwest, so I headed in a northeasterly direction. I could not catch the enemy aircraft in a straight run, and thought he might turn east to avoid combat with the P-47s.’

  Bryan’s assumption that the Arado pilot would attempt to avoid the Thunderbolts was correct, and Hirschberger passed under Bryan again;

  ‘When he passed under me I dove down on him and opened fire at about 250 yards. I hit him with the first burst and apparently knocked out his right jet engine. He made a shallow turn to the right and started mild evasive manoeuvres. They consisted of shallow turns and a few shallow dives and climbs.’

  In an interview with artist Troy White, Bryan explained that he had fired almost all of his ammunition and knocked out both of the Ar 234’s engines. He then noticed several of his squadronmates and a similar number of P-47s lining up fo
r a shot at the ailing bomber, but Bryan was having none of it. Unlike the previous three Ar 234s he had engaged, this one was not going to get away. Bryan’s Encounter Report continued;

  ‘The enemy aircraft was emitting much white smoke but I don’t believe it caught fire. At about the time I finished firing he rolled over on his back and dived straight into the ground and exploded. Just before hitting the ground the pilot jettisoned his canopy, but did not get out.’

  The Ar 234 proved to be Bryan’s final victory of the war, his tally of 13.333 aerial victories making him the second-highest scorer in the 328th FS.

  Later that afternoon 1Lt Robert E Barnhart was leading ‘Vortex Blue’ Flight from the 360th FS/356th FG, which was covering the last formation of bombers coming off targets in Hildesheim. About ten minutes after departing from the target area the Allied ground-control radar station codenamed ‘Nuthouse’ reported bandits near Hildesheim. Barnhart took his flight of Mustangs back to the target area, but no enemy aircraft were spotted. After ten minutes of fruitless searching he turned westward, at which point Barnhart spotted a bandit at his altitude on a reciprocal course. He banked around behind the aeroplane and set off after it in an easterly direction, but after 15 minutes of full-throttle pursuit Barnhart’s fuel status forced him to break off the chase and head in the direction of home.