Re: USAAF Beaufighters
 

Hello Alex,

thanks for your answer.
The 23/12/44 kill of Jones: I think you're right about it being scored is a Beau because the website indicates the first P-61 kill by 414 NFS was scored on 4/2/45. Andrew Thomas and Warren Thompson write that this unit scored 13 kills (of these five in the P-61). The Lutz kill you described fits in well if we assume that Clark's 26/11/43 kill and Anderson's 23/01/44 kill were half-shares with another unit, respectively.
Could you agree ?

Walter Groom and Harold Roth: all I can say that they must've existed.
http://417th-nightfighters.com/wp-co...VanLaecken.pdf

Best greetings from rainy Brandenburg,

Michael

Re: USAAF Beaufighters
 

Hello Michael,
You refer to - "Andrew Thomas and Warren Thompson write" Where ?

If you look at my posts you will see that the Anderson/Armstrong claim on the 23/01/44 was a shared claim with Gamble/Owen, their joint victim was a Do217.

The list of 414NFS approved claims ( not therefore assumed) is on page 649 in the link I have in an earlier post. I have no wish to change anything to fit in with a particular view of events.

However I note that Gamble and Owen are not in the list, for now I cannot recall where I got them from . If not they that shared the Anderson/Armstrong claim of 23/01/44 then who ?

The other claim for that date was as noted in my earlier list, George/Penn, a He177K.

With regard to Groom and Roth, well we now know they existed and are not the Groom and Roth I noted earlier but they are not in the claims list so perhaps their claim(s,?) Was/were disallowed ?
What was the date of their claim(s ?).

All for now

Additional
If the first claim in my 414NFS list by Jones/Rudovsky, dated 23/01/44 was as I suspected an error then we would indeed have a total of 13 claims,
Alex

Re: USAAF Beaufighters
 

...it's OSPREY'S "American Nightfighter Aces of World War 1" page 53.
We need the official Victory Credit Board reports for the 414.-417. NFS.
Can we safely that Schlueter is the top USAAF Beaufigher pilot with 3 kills and Petry the top USAAF Beaufighter radar operator with 4 kills ?

Have a nice evening,

Michael

Re: USAAF Beaufighters
 

Hello Michael,
The claims list .
See my earlier post (post number 2 ) I gave the link.
Alex

Re: USAAF Beaufighters
 

Good morning Alex,

I finally managed to download and open the cool list.
Would you consider this list definite ?
The 414. NFS victory list looks like 8 Beau kills + 5 P-61 kills. No shared kills.
The Jones kill on 23/01/44 is not listed, also not in the section that is sorted by name.

Thanks and kind regards,

Michael

Re: USAAF Beaufighters
 

Good morning Gentlemen,

I think the overall top American Beaufighter ace is Carl Johnson.
He scored 4+1shared kills for the 227.Squadron/RAF.
However, the decimal of his shared kill (22Sep1942) ain't clear.
Thomas/Thompson write it's a half-share whereas Shores/Williams write it's a 1/3 share.
Who can clarify that issue ?

Kind regards,

Michael

Re: USAAF Beaufighters
 

It is a 1/3rd share, on September 25, 1942 (not Sept 22). Reference: Malta Daily Intelligence Summary 462: Air 22/392 Part 3; No 227 Sqn ORB. Shared with F/Lt Peter L Underwood and his gunner, and P/O Richard A Wills and his gunner. Johnson's gunner on all his claims was P/O Leslie H Hunt.

Enjoy!

Frank.

Re: USAAF Beaufighters
 

Good afternoon Frank,

thanks for your answer.
You're right about the date.
It was corrected by Shores in ACES HIGH VOl.2.

Kind regards,

Michael

Re: USAAF Beaufighters
 

All my research into NSG 9 indicated that it was a Beaufighter kill.

Re: USAAF Beaufighters
 

The Operation Reports for the 414th NFS for December 1944 are in box 3756 of Entry 7A of Record Group 18 at NARA II, College Park, Maryland.

Enjoy!

Frank.