23 Dec 42 with P-38 fight over Bay of Buscay
 

dear all,

we are looking for the MACR of the P-38 pilots that were attacked on 23 Dec. 1942 by Ju88 C6 of KG40.

Namely : while 51 P-38 escorted by one Boston are going to Gibraltar, 4 Ju88C6 of KG40 bounce the group, shot down the Boston and one P-38, and damage several P-38.

In detail :
Lt Earl Green of the 95th FS survive an manage to evade to Spain
Lt Broadhead of 96th FS flies back to Saint Eval
Capt Buddy Strozier 96th FS force lands in Portugal
Lt T.S. Miller 97th FS crash lands in Spain.

Can you help find the MACR for these pilots ?

Thanks a lot
Gilles

PS : special thanks to C. Goss for all the above info

Re: 23 Dec 42 with P-38 fight over Bay of Buscay
 

I have the MACR for the A-20 which says little while all that I managed to get from the USA was the 23 Dec 42 extract for the 82nd FG history

Re: 23 Dec 42 with P-38 fight over Bay of Buscay
 

Hello Giles,

This action is a very interesting one. Mostly during the 1990s I put in a huge amount of time and effort to research this combat and events surrounding it. For me this was driven by the P-38 of Lt. Brodhead being force-landed on the County Clare coastline near the village of Ballyvaughan, some 40 miles from where I live ‘as the crow flies’.

I wrote an article on this landing, the Bay of Biscay combat, etc. which appeared in the September 2000 issue of ‘FLYPAST’ magazine. My efforts were greatly helped by the history of V./KG 40, ‘BLOODY BISCAY’ by Chris Goss, published a few years earlier. I would also point you to Dennis Burke’s excellent website covering the foreign aircraft crashes and forced landings in or off neutral Ireland during WW2 ( https://ww2irishaviation.com/ ). This also features two other incidents with 82nd Fighter Group pilots.

On your initial post I must point out that Lt. Green was MIA and did not survive. Lt Brodhead attempted to return to England but became lost and finished up landing in Ireland.

The major issue here is lack of documentation. Records for the 82nd FG, especially for late 1942 and early 1943 were either not written up in some cases, or if I recall correctly from an 82nd FG veteran, were lost or destroyed in 1945 before the unit returned to the USA. I have proof that the Group kept very detailed records at this time, but unfortunately the originals are lost forever. This appears to be a problem for other MTO units as well. Try finding anything on the 3rd Photographic Group !

If I recall correctly and as Chris notes, there is a MACR for the A-20 lost that day, but not for any of the P-38s. The practice of compiling MACRs did not begin properly until about mid-1943. Retrospectively, various units wrote up MACRs for some of their earlier losses (e.g., 47th BG). I found no MACRs for the 82nd FG, possibly until after the North African campaign was over if memory serves me well.

I have copies of Individual Deceased Personnel Files for three 82nd FG pilots lost around this time, including Green. Though large, they are hugely disappointing in providing no details of their last mission or loss. However, I was lucky enough to correspond with several of the 82nd FG pilots flying that day and with the widow of Arthur Brodhead. She kindly sent me copies of various documents from his wartime service, including his Combat Report of the action. This was the sole source for his Lightning serial (Bureau) number, 43-2098, and his victory claim. Even the 82nd FG Association had little knowledge of their wartime documentation, but their historian Steve Blake was of great help. He co-authored ‘ADORIMINI’, a fine history of the unit. Without him I would not have made as much progress as I did.

I hope this helps a little, if only to show how difficult it is to find anything on this action.

Regards,

Martin Gleeson.

Re: 23 Dec 42 with P-38 fight over Bay of Buscay
 

I've wondered why there are so few records on the 3rd PG. I've created an EXCEL list on the losses of the Photographic Groups in the Med but have significant holes I have been unable to complete.

Re: 23 Dec 42 with P-38 fight over Bay of Buscay
 

Gilles,

Please confirm me that if there were 51 (fifty-one) P-38 being escorted by one A-20?
Seem to me that the number of P-38 may have been much lower and that they were probably being guided by the A-20 or escorting the A-20....otherwise only 4 Ju 88 wouldn't have dared to attack 51 Lightnings without being slaughtered without mercy.....something may be wrong with the numbers informed there...

Re: 23 Dec 42 with P-38 fight over Bay of Buscay
 

Adriano,

I can add the following, mostly based on information from the unit history 'ADORIMINI'. The 51 P-38s were apparently divided into four groups of approximately a dozen each with a B-26 Marauder to lead each group and seemingly divided further into two sub-groups on either side of the B-26. As far as I can tell, the pilots flew in a fairly loose formation. The A-20 was not leading a group, but had attached itself to the leading formation and was following close behind. It had probably been delayed in England and the crew were trying to join their unit in North Africa.

To add to the woe, 2/Lt. Frank H. Henderson was also lost this date when his P-38 crashed in mountains in Algeria.

Regards,

Martin.

Re: 23 Dec 42 with P-38 fight over Bay of Buscay
 

Thank you very much Martin for taking time to share this information. This is very helpful.

I am particularly grateful to Chris Goss who provided me indeed with a lot of information about KG40. I have his book "Bloody Biscay" but I could not help buying his latest book on the same topic. So, another "thank you": to Chris this time.

The story behind is that I will be investigating soon the crash site of a Ju88C6 involved in that day, an A/C which got lost in bad weather, its crew bailed out, and the A/C crashed, empty, in the Pyrenees mountains, some 250 kilometers away.

The information you all provide here will enable me to describe this day of 23 December 1942.

Have a nice Sunday.

Gilles

Re: 23 Dec 42 with P-38 fight over Bay of Buscay
 

As I have informed Gilles, the 4 Ju 88s in question did not encounter the P-38s but did encounter 3 Beaufighters of 248 Sqn. They did not see the German ac but were approached by a P-38 which they shot at!

Re: 23 Dec 42 with P-38 fight over Bay of Buscay
 

Martin,
Now understood it was a full Squadron moving/transfer to other Theater of War, with a scale on Gibraltar...however things get a bit confused (at least for me).

Were the A-20 and the other 3 mentioned P-38 shot down? Or they ran out of fuel or were forced to ditch or emergency landings due to technical problems (single-engine operation, etc)?

There was just one KG 40 patrol (4 machines) or more than one?

Who bounced the A-20 and P-38 as previously informed by Gilles?

Does someone do have the weather report (WX) for that day on South Europe? Maybe this can help Gilles, most particularly if there were thunderstorms and the prevision of icing.

Anyway, an interesting puzzle here that am sure will be, historically solved and clarified.

A.

Re: 23 Dec 42 with P-38 fight over Bay of Buscay
 

There was loads going on that day.


4 Ju 88s took off 0832-0840hrs
1044hrs in 14W/9718 spotted 4 Bostons and Lightnings
1044hrs Boston shot down and seen burning in the water (credited Ofw Georg Heuer 14./KG 40)
1048hrs Lightning shot down (Staffel abschuss)
4 Ju 88s took off 1230-1231hrs and another 4 at 1328hrs. Nothing to report
4 Ju 88s took off 1100hrs on Frei Jagd. Nothing to report. One crew baled out pilot lightly injured
Ju 88 of 15./KG 40 crashed on take off from Lorient. Lt Robert Baumann plus one injured, Beobachter killed