[Henofred]

Bonjour Rick,

Neumann bomber was shot down by RCAF Mosquitoes FB VI from No.418 Sqdn

Newspaper excerpt:

Four Canadian Mosquitos Bag 7 Nazis in 8 Minutes

An R.C.A.F. Fighter Station Somewhere in England, Jan. 27, 1944 - (CP) - Raiding more than 100 miles inside France, four of the R.C.A.F.’s swift Mosquito intruder planes, led by W/C Don Macdonald of Vancouver, today destroyed seven German aircraft in an action lasting only eight minutes. Macdonald himself set the pace for his fliers, shooting down a Heinkel 111 and a Heinkel 177 after leading 26 missions without seeing one enemy aircraft. "Just think, after 26 trips without seeing a thing and then bingo, we get two," said Macdonald's observer, P/O Stan Wilson, an Englishman.

F/L Johnny Johnson of Omemee, Ont., with F/O Jimmy Gibbons of Vancouver as observer, and F/O Johnny Caine of Calgary, with F/S Earl Boal of Regina as observer, shared in the destruction of four Junkers. (Charlie Scherf [RAAF] and his Navigator) F/O Al Brown of Winnipeg, shot down the seventh enemy plane, a Focke-Wulf, to give Canadian fighters their best day since Dec. 20, when Spitfires destroyed eight German planes. Johnson's pair brought his total of victims to four and Caine, a comparative newcomer to the squadron, raised his to three. "There is no question about them being definitely destroyed." Macdonald said. “They went down and poofed. We saw three of them explode and go up in smoke.” Brown thought the "most interesting part of the whole show was the way those Jerries blew in pieces when they hit the deck." "It is a sight I'll always remember — just like lighting fires at home.”

Best regards,
Frederic