A strange strafing... made by a P-38
 

Hello,

I have heard so many fancy stories about WW2 but I would like to share this one as it is puzzling me a bit, to say the last.

First of all, my trusty witness was then a 10-year-old boy who was keen of aircrafts, living wartime near Florennes airbase.

He still remembers vividly a strange event occured during a clear and sunny day in January 1944.
At noon, he saw a P-38 weirdly 'escorted' with two German single-engined aircrafts; all of them with landing gears down, approaching in the landing pattern of the airbase. Walking anyway, he was surprised, seconds later, by a machine-gun fire and saw the Lightning climbing steeply away, shining with its alu skin.

This man is fair and lived the WW2 (and kept some artefacts) and I don't know why not to trust him (no hoax).
However, there is - to my limited knowledge - no (ground) claim made by a P-38 pilot during this timeframe in Florennes area (which was well strafed on the 8/2/44); IF the pilot destroyed something on the ground (the witness did not know/see the fate of both 'escorting' German fighters).

Perhaps this daring pilot was lost homebound after his 'coup d'éclat' , remaining unrecorded ?

In the evening, a German, billeted in his house and working daily on the airfield, told to his father : the P-38 fainted an 'emergency' and wanted to surrender (???). As he approached, he fired and escaped unscattered, causing some casualties on the ground (obviously, no matching of known dead).
If the second explanation seems doubtful, there would be a real background to his story. But, I am afraid, this is not fact just a boy's recollection.

So my naïve question would be : have you ever hear about (this or) a kind of story like that ("a trick to win") ?
Please, only facts.

Best regards

ClinA-78