109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

Hi All,
Curiosity gets me again.
There are plenty of links to Bill Overstreet flying thro' the legs of the eiffel tower and shooting down a 109.
However none seem to mention a date or identify the 109, Does anyone have any ideas as to the identity of the 109, or the date of the combat.
cheers
Jerry

example of google search info

http://www.actionart.ca/index1e.htm

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

Hi Jerry

Must say I have my doubts. According to the victory list of 8th and 9th AF published by Frank Olynyk, Overstreet never claimed any certain victory during "spring" 1944. His most busy day was April 11th when he claimed 3 Bf 109 as damaged and part of one He 111 destroyed.
His only claim for a destroyed Bf 109 was on July 29th.

The "incidence" is not mentioned by Olmsted in his book the Yoxford Boys as far as I can see.

Finally the Mustang used by Overstreet was a B model and not a C model as stated.

Cheers
Stig

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

Dogfight + Eiffel tower + crash = Paris + spectacle + many witnesses

If that doesn't add up, the story simply doesn't add up.

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the thoughts & comments, I did start to wonder if it was just me getting old and sceptical, but i could not find any details anywere.
But I have to admitt the artwork looks good.
cheers
Jerry

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

I have ask this few weeks ago on WIX forum and this fight did happen. As I know Mustang pilot is still alive.

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

Brewerjerry,
I was researching this same claim some weeks ago!
I found two JG 27 losses around Paris on that day..one from 9th Staffel and the other, the machine from Lt. Beucker ( am not sure by heart his name but if not Beucker must be Brecker or Becker ) from 11./JG 27 ( flying a 11 Red ) Bf 109 G-6...I will post for you all the details while back home...now from memory it is very hard to remember ALL the details...but those were the 2 Luftwaffe losses around Paris ( Bf 109 G-6 ) that I found...
Yours
Adriano
Ps: Will post that night the werknumemers and full names of those 2 pilots. Please do wait and forgive me for not remembering their names by heart...

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

Hello,

Maybe "Photo"! taken :D

Best regards

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

Brewerjerry:
Here it goes: the "probable" losses of JG 27 around PARIS on the 29th June 1944:
29/06/44Fw. Richard Maiwald7./JG 27Bf 109 G-6 (441730)
White 1 + |Unknown reason
20 km E. Caen29/06/44Lt. Hannes Löffler9./JG 27Bf 109 G-6 (412619)
Yellow 3 + |Unknown reason
Near SW. Paris29/06/44Lt. Paul Becker11./JG 27Bf 109 G-6 (165162)
Red 11 + ~Combat
Near Paris
Yours
Adriano Baumgartner

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

Hi Adriano,
Thanks for the replies and info, so it may have been true after all, the possibilities being then, ( as Caen is a bit of a distance away).

Lt. Hannes Löffler 9./JG 27Bf 109 G-6 (412619) Yellow 3 + |Unknown reason Near SW. Paris
or
Lt. Paul Becker 11./JG 27Bf 109 G-6 (165162) Red 11 + ~Combat Near Paris

Cheers
jerry

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

JERRY,
I would first CHECK all LW losses that day, to be 100% sure....
And...I would try to have a look at the Combat REPORT of 1/Lt Bill Overstreet for that particular combat ( 29th June 1944 ). I have not seen it...so can not be sure about WHERE the Bf 109 crashed...most of sites says he shot the Luftwaffe machine after passing down the Eiffel Tower...but where? I mean to the West, East, North or South of the town? Did not manage to find it...so...can not say for sure, if that his victim was one of the two JG 27 machines downed that day around Paris....and did not checked ALL Bf 109 losses that day around Paris...SO...maybe a Bf 109 trainer? Who knows? Those two JG 27 machines can be put on the "probable" victims list though...
Have a nice day...
PS: Have you or another member on this Forum ever SAW the Combat Report of 1/Lt Overstreet for that combat of 29th June 1944?
Adriano

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

As far as I know I have microfilm copies of all 8th Fighter Command combat reports from World War II, and they match completely the claims and credits listed in the 8th FC Victory Credit Board reports. I do not have a combat report by Overstreet at Paris. I have a combat report for April 11, 1944 for 3 Me-109s damaged (1150, 1215 and 1225, all W of Hanover) and 0.25 share in a He-111 destroyed also at 1215 W of Hanover (one of the sharing pilots is Bud Anderson). A second combat report for June 29 claims an FW-190 at 0910, SW of Leipzig. And a third combat report for July 29 claims an Me-109 at 1030, W of Merseberg. All of these claims are backed up by credits from the respective VCB reports.

So, if it happened he didn't file a combat report to be reviewed by the VCB.

Frank.
Historian, American Fighter Aces Association.

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

Hi
Thanks for the replies,
So it looks like I jumped the gun, and the jury is still out then.
cheers
Jerry

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

Was having trouble posting on this board yesterday and this post was corrupted.

new link, http://www.flickr.com/photos/olaftheblack/273391969/ which shows the direction the Bf109/P-51 most likely flew. Note the trees on the left and right.

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

Stig - B6-O, 42-103309 P-51C was salvaged 12 July so that wouldn't fit July 29 credit. Overstreet's next ship was B6-O 43-24823, a P-51B-15. This was Bud Anderson's OLD CROW before Anderson got his P-51D 44-14450 B6-S.

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

Kutscha, that photo looks photo-shopped!!!
The people and vehicles have very weal shadows, so it must have been a cloudy day. The plane has none. It also looks wrong color and type wise. Danny

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

I just saw on CBS This Morning that Overstreet passed away this week @ 92.

Godspeed.


Chappie

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

I received this last week from my good old friend Steve:

WWII ace who flew through Eiffel Tower dies in Va.
USATODAY 8:09 p.m. EST January 2, 2014
William Overstreet Jr. died Sunday at a hospital in Roanoke, Va., a funeral home says.

ROANOKE, Virginia (AP) — World War II fighter pilot William Overstreet Jr., who gained fame for flying beneath the Eiffel Tower's arches in pursuit of a German aircraft, has died. He was 92.
According to Oakley's Funeral Home, Overstreet died Sunday at a Roanoke hospital.
Overstreet's famous flight in Nazi-occupied Paris has been credited with lifting the spirits of French Resistance troops on the ground. In a 2009 ceremony at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, the French ambassador to the United States presented Overstreet with France's Legion of Honor.
According to his obituary on the funeral home website, Overstreet worked as an accountant until retiring at the age of 65, then worked with numerous charities and veterans groups.
“The Berlin Express Arrives in Paris”, By Len Krenzler, www.actionart.ca
http://cdn.1starriving.com/wp-conten...B-1024x819.jpg


In the spring of 1944 Bill and his P-51C “Berlin Express” were near Paris when the scene that is immortalized in the artwork by Len Krenzler of Action Art that leads this article took place. Bill had followed this Bf 109 from the bombers he was escorting when most of the German fighters left. The two planes had been in a running dogfight. The German pilot flew over Paris hoping that the heavy German anti-aircraft artillery would solve his problem and eliminate Overstreet and the “Berlin Express,” though Bill managed to get some hits in at about 1500 feet. The German’s engine was hit, and Bill stayed on his tail braving the intense enemy flak. His desperation undoubtedly growing, the German pilot aimed his plane at the Eiffel Tower and in a surprising maneuver, flew beneath it. Undeterred, Bill followed right behind him, scoring several more hits in the process. The German plane crashed and Bill escaped the heavy flak around Paris by flying low and full throttle over the river until he had cleared the city’s heavy anti-aircraft batteries.

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

Nice story !

Are there any penetrations of armour-piercing ammo in the the struts of the Eiffel-Tower, which can confirm this incident ?.

Best wishes !

Horst Weber

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

I've always been fascinated by this aerial encounter and was surprised to find the lack of details about it, such as a firm date when it occurred. Has any more details surfaced since the last post on this subject?

When asked about this encounter, Bill Overstreet could not recall any details and often replied "I was a little busy at the time".

I too always wondered about such things as what direction did he fly under the Eifel tower, what was the Bf109, pilot and unit involved, and where did it crash.
Cheers, Gary Koch

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

Sounds like pure mythology to me.

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

No claim submitted, no combat report, no date, no matching German loss in the vicinity, no witness on the ground (in Paris' center!), nobody (air and ground crew) from the 357th FG seems to recall or believe it either. It's just one guy story told well after the War. It make good clickbait articles but no serious book would ever mention this fairy tale.

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

Could very well be an embellished war story due to lack of credible provenance. Such stories are not uncommon. I know, I was asked by the daughter of a former P-38 pilot to research a story where her late father claimed to have been shot down in a raging dogfight where he shot down several aircraft, actively worked with the Resistance, and finally escaped by stealing an Me262 and flying it behind friendly lines, eventually crash landing on an Allied airfield. I even found newspaper articles where the fable was retold and received rave reviews. Of course, it was all bogus and I felt like a heel to have to tell the daughter that it was all made up.
I find it surprising that Overstreet did not recall any details because he was "busy at the time". I've interviewed several WWII fighter pilots (like my good friend Bob Milliken, 474th FG P-38 ace) and they tend to recall lots of little details from intense engagements. Oh well, I guess it's true that "when the legend becomes fact, print the legend".

Re: 109 shot down by Bill Overstreet (eiffel tower)
 

Agreed, I have interviewed many fighter pilots from both sides, and to not remember an alleged incident such as this defies credibility.