Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

On 10 June 1944, Lt. Addi Glunz brought down three Mustangs within two minutes time. After shooting down the first, two more Mustangs suddenly appeared from the clouds right in front of Glunz's Focke-Wulf and with some kicking on the rudder he sprayed both of them with cannon fire to good effect.

Does anybody know...
- which Mustangs were involved (type, unit, serials)?
- what Fw 190 Glunz was flying that day?

Many thanks & Happy Newyear! :)

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

As per Caldwell in volume 2 of "The JG 26 War Diary", they were in fact P-47s of the 365th FG. Only one of the three received official confirmation.

Don

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

Thanks for the quick reply Don!
That's funny though... I got the info from Calwell's JG26 War Diary (June 1993 edition) and wanted to know more. I never knew a volume 2 existed. I will go and get it ASAP :) Thanks!


[edit]
Ordered! :)
I found out there also is a volume 1, but I'm mostly interested in the last year of the war anyway...
[/edit]

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

Ronnie,

You were mixing up Top Guns with the War Diaries.

JG 26
Top Guns of the Luftwaffe

JG 26
Photographic History of the Luftwaffe's Top Guns

The JG 26 War Diary
Volume One 1939-1942

The JG 26 War Diary
Volume Two 1943-1945

Judging by the edit you've figured that out yourself as well!

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

You're right, Ruy, I did mix em up :)
Top Guns is a fascinating read. Looking forward to volume 2 of the diary and will possibly buy volume 1 later. My main interest at this point is encounters between Fw 190 A-8/9s and P-51Ds.

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

Got the book. Very nice as it adds a lot more info, but still it doesn't have all the details I hoped for. For instance it doesn't say which aircraft the pilot was flying when scoring victories and generally doesn't have specific info about the aircraft shot down rather than basic type and fighter group. In most cases perhaps this info wouldn't be avialable anyway, but it would have been nice tohave been included wherever it was.


For instance I am interested in the aircraft Ottomar Kruse shot down on 16 August 1944. I know it's a P-51D from 354th FG, but from which squadron? And possibly, which exact a/c and who was the pilot? Does anybody know or is there a way to find out?


Many thanks in advance!

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

According to 354th History , there were 4 pilots shot down 8-16-44.
356th Sq. lost 2 pilots , name , location unknown.
353d Sq. lost 2. Lt. Ken Dahlberg bailed, evaded. Near Maintenon
Lt. Charles Brown bailed, evaded. Near Maintenon
Hope this helps.

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

According to records the 78th FG lost 9 A/C that day , 4 at Argentan , Fr.
8th Fighter command lost 25 A/C total. Tough day.

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

Excellent info, thanks!

Maintenon is directly below Rambouillet forest where the fighting took place and the two losses compare well with the two confirmed claims from JG 26.

One strange thing... the JG 26 book states the claims being made at 1532 and 1435 respectively. Since a dogfight normally doesn't last an hour, I am sure one of them is a typo.

I think we've got a match! Thanks!

One more thing... does the 354th history make any mention of victory claims? One JG 26 machine was shot down in this encounter.

.

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

Your Welcome!

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

354th FG Claims: 8-16 44
356th Sq. - Lt. keith Aldrich - 1 FW 190
Lt. Walter Williams - 1 FW 190
353d Sq. - Lt. Kenneth Dahlberg - 3 Fw 190s
Lt. Charles Koenig - 2 FW 190s , 1 probable, 1 damaged
Lt. John Bakalar - 3 FW 190s
Lt. Charles Brown - 2 Fw 190s
Lt. Woody Sullivan - 2 Fw 190s
Hope this helps,
Mike

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

Thanks very much. Sorry to be a pain but do you happen to have any times and locations for these claims? It would help me narrow down the possible victor over the JG 26 machine :)

Also, may I ask what's your source for this data?

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

No problem. No location given for the 356th. They were patroling in support of Patton's army - the FW 190s they bounced were all carrying bombs.
The 353d bounced 20 Fw 190s above Maintenon and were bounced by a large force , estimated 60 , of Fw 190s. This is all the information available. It comes from the Osprey Book " 354th Fighter Group " by William Hess.
Mike

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

Great info! Thanks very much, Mike :)

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

Glad I could help - I forgot to mention that according to the book, these encounters on 8 - 16 took place in the afternoon.

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

Thanks Mike!

I suppose the book doesn't go as far as to mention who was leading the flight of the 353rd FS by any chance?

If it's not to much to ask, does it mention when the 353rd FS adopted its final squadron colours? (the yellow nose - http://www.homestead.com/354thfighte.../NOSEART1.html)

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

The 353d Flight leader was Lt. Charles Koenig. From what I can find , the yellow stripes were added just prior to the Group moving to France in early June. Hope this helps,
Mike

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

Mike you've been a great help! Many, many thanks!

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

Glad I could help. I like your Art works. Nick King just did a nice print of my Dad's P- 51. www.littlefriends.co.uk click on 357th FG , scroll to bottom of
the gallery page. John C. Howell " Shoo Shoo Baby ". This is a great site !
Cheers,
Mike

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

Nice profile! Interesting your dad flew Mustangs. Explains the nickname for sure :)

I'm in regular contact with Nick King and the Randall brothers. Unfortunately the Little Friends website doesn't deal with the 9th AF, which the 354th FG was part of. It's a great resource otherwise, with regular updates.

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

I hear you - there is not much out there about the 354th FG. Hess's book is only one I have seen. I also have " Big Friend , Little Friend " by Richard Turner. My good friend , Clayton Kelly Gross 354th Ace , lives nearby. He is a real interesting guy. He signed my book and a nice picture of him and his P - 51 " Live Bait ". We have done some WW II symposiums together.
He is a former President of the Fighter Aces Assn.
Let me know if I can do anything for you.
Mike

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

I guess that counts for a lot of WW2 veteran pilots! :) I am currently in regular contact with a 359th FG Mustang pilot and some of the stories he tells me are absolutely fascinating. Comparing his wartime experiences to my own exciting daily life (office job...) makes me really wonder what's better, even though war is a terrible thing. I am sure you understand what I mean. Regardless, flying WW2 fighters must have been an awesome experience, and those pilots who got through their tour of duty unscathed undoubtedly feel lucky, one way or another.

I plan to do some artwork of the P-51B/C later this year. When I get round to that I might do one of "Live Bait". It's has interesting markings!

When I originally started working on Mustang artwork I wasn't terribly interested in this plane. But I can count myself a Mustang fan now :)

Re: Addi Glunz's three Mustangs in two minutes (10 June 1944)
 

On one of Kelly Gross's 1st Missions , his Squadron was assigned a strafing mission. Wary of AA batteries , his Squadron Mates suggested Kelly fly low to attract fire and locate AA Batteries. Kelly's reply , " So what am I , Live Bait" ?
Cheers,
Mike