Thanks Kent,
With this confirmed, here is the story of this air battle as far as I know:
On 3 October 1944 12 P-47s of 406th FS, 371st FG were led in the afternoon by Major Bacon to attack the Freiburg airfield. On the way they met around 1630 hrs Bf 109s over Alsace and claimed seven shot down (two each by 2nd Lt Rudoph Augarten and 2nd Lt William M Daughton, one each by 2nd Lt Harry L Bailey, 1st Lt Lawrence D Damewood and 2nd Lt Foorest A Kilgore, Jr) and one damaged (by Maj. Harvey L. Case) near Rupt-sur-Marne (K-2434). During this battle the P-47D 42-26311 was shot down and 1st Lt Lawrence D Damewood had to bail out SW of Geradmer and returned to his unit two weeks later. Minutes later the American pilots strafed their intended target, Freiburg airfield, and claimed four aircraft destroyed on the ground.
They had engaged Bf 109s of III./JG 76. According to the Luftwaffe losses summary, this group lost this day 5 aircraft shot down by enemy aircraft, 1 missing due to enemy action, and 2 damaged by gunfire from enemy aircraft. Known pilot losses are 1 KIA and 1 WIA, both in the battle against 406th FS, and 1 KIA and 1 DOW in a battle shortly after (around 1710 hrs) against French Spitfires that claimed two Bf 109s shot down. German pilots claimed three P-47s shot down between 1642 and 1648 hrs. It is probable that the two losses with no time and pilot known were during the first battle.
The known losses in the battle against the 406th FS were Obfhr Horst vom Hoff of 10./JG 76 and Uffz Martin Kernchen of 11./JG 76. Vom Hoff just went missing with his Bf 109 G-6 WNr 413502 "black 7". Kernchen was wounded during the air battle but managed to bale out from his Bf 109 G-6 WNr 165252 "yellow 3", that crashed near Saint-Maurice-sur-Moselle. The seriously injured pilot was brought to a main dressing station in Bussang.
Sources:
"Brennendes Land. Der Luftkrieg im Südwesten. Angriffe - Luftkämpfe - Abstürze 1940-1945", by Fred Trendle. ISBN 3-00-017687-X
http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=39140
MACR 9823 (
http://www.fold3.com/image/139134143/)
http://www.histavia21.net/LIEUX-HIST...e_aerienne.htm
http://www.ahs.no/ref_db/lw_summ_los...iew.asp?PAGE=1
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Maurice-sur-Moselle
http://www.maplandia.com/france/lorr...e-sur-moselle/