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Re: Allied fighter sweep at Belgrade on 17 April 1944
Hallo Gunther,
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To expand on the other contributions the following can be added. Using Frank Olynyk's 'USAAF (Mediterranean Theater) Credits for the destruction of enemy aircraft in air-to-air Combat, World War 2' there is only one possible claiming unit, the 97th Fighter Squadron of the 82nd Fighter Group. However there is no mention of any claim that day by any US fighter unit in the MTO for a Ju 88.
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On 17 April 1944 the 82nd FG flew as escort for a B-17 5th Wing mission to Belgrade. Their 97th FS were the only squadron to engage enemy aircraft in the air. They encountered 2 Ju 52s and 2 He 111s some 20 miles NE of Belgrade. 1/Lt. William W. Patterson shot down one Ju 52. The remaining Ju 52 and one of the He 111s were both hit by more than one of the P-38 pilots and shot down. After gun camera review Patterson was given credit for the He 111 while Captain James A. Force,Jr. was credited with the second Ju 52. The second He 111 escaped. The American pilots thought the enemy aircraft might have been returning to base after being scrambled on warning of the incoming raid.
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Patterson was later awarded the Silver Star for this action. Apparently the gunner in the He 111 that was shot down damaged three P-38s, two of which were later crash-landed in Italy and were written off. The third damaged P-38 was Patterson's, but he managed to land safely at an airfield in Italy with one engine shot out. There was no strafing of airfields that day by the 82nd FG. Perhaps another USAAF unit was involved ?
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16 P-38s of the 97th FS were in action that day. The flight leaders were Lts. Tate, Engh, Patterson and Batie. The other two squadrons in the group, the 95th and 96th FS, did not see any action against enemy aircraft on that mission. The action probably took place between 1200 and 1230 hours (US time).
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The above comes from a combination of the very fine unit history of the 82nd FG, 'ADORIMINI' by Steve Blake and John Stanaway and the original mission reports of the 82nd FG (on DVD).
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Gunther, do you know anything about the Ju 52/He 111 units or crews involved in this clash ?
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Hope this helps, regards,
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Martin Gleeson.
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