Lagarto - I think we share a common interest for this date in history! I have been researching all the various claims to what really happened on this date and was intrigued by the fact that no losses were sustained by JG1 on this date, which is the day pf first P-47 kill of WWII in th ETO. There are still several sources that claim the P-47 losses were due to engine/mechanical failure, as opposed to enemy action.
I remember the first time I read that JG1 FW-190 pilot Ernst Heessen actually shot down 2 P-47s and the group had no losses - I was very intrigued by this information. The books were 'Battles with the Luftwaffe' by Theo Boiten and Martin Bowman (although in their previous collaboration 'Raiders of the Reich', they state that 2 of the P-47 losses were due to engine failure). The other book that states the 2 P-47s were shot down by one FW-190 pilot is Don Caldwell's 'JG-26 War Diary - Vol. 2'. Anyway - we share a common interest on 'having to know'!
Here is an incident I'd like more clarification on: I recently finished reading Roger Freeman's new book on the 56th FG "Wolfpack Warriors'. We all know the Jume 26, 1943 event where Lt. Robert S. Johnson is bounced by FW-190s and is almost shot down and then another FW-190s 'escorts' him to the French coast.
In this new book, Freeman has a statement from Gerald Johnson where he claims that he shot the FW-190 from R.S. Johnson's tail and that his claim of being escorted by the 190 was an exagaration of what really happend!
Any thoughts on this new information? And my apologies for a post on an old topic, but I just was turned on to this site and am very impressed by the level of detail and amount of information available here.