[Don Caldwell]

Many thanks, Leon, for sending me the 3 pages from Düttmann's memoir. My objective in starting this thread was to ferret out data on the Luftwaffe's encounter with 15th Air Force B-17s on 20 Mar 45. I knew from the INTOPs that Bf 109s were sighted. Four B-17s were lost. I've since gotten their MACRs, and the four went down from Flak damage and engine failure -- there's no mention in the MACRs of any e/a. My only indication that II./JG 52 was involved is Düttmann's Flugbuch. But D. claimed in his memoir that 20 Mar was a bad date.

Düttmann concludes that his 20 Mar P-51 combat should be the 18th because Pitt Esser's was definitely on the 18th -- he met the American pilot postwar, got a copy of his records, etc. I'm OK with that, except that D's FB entry mentions an LK with "7 Fortresses und 8 Mustangs", and there was no bombing mission to Austria by the 15th AF on the 18th (some kind of special op can't be ruled out, but 7 would be a peculiar number.) However, his memoir doesn't mention B-17s, only a Schwarm of Mustangs. So was his real-time entry correct, or his very late post-war "prompted" memory? Or neither?

The 15th FC lost only one P-51 on the 20th, the 332nd FG bird already dismissed on TOCH. The 325th FG did lose 3 on the 18th, a major strafing mission to Austria. Two were lost to Flak, but the pilot of the third reported he was in good shape when he disappeared from the formation, and could well have been the pilot shot down by Esser. However, as this was on the 18th, it doesn't address my original question -- did II./JG 52 intercept 15th AF B-17s on 20 Mar? Neither side filed any claims or sustained any losses compatible with such a combat. The UHs of the four 15th AF P-51 groups mention no LKs with Bf 109s on either the 18th or the 20th. I'm forced to conclude that any encounter on the 20th was minor. A shame...

Don