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Re: Me262 Fldte
"The Me 262 combat diary" by Foreman and Harvey noted, on page 41, that on 18 July 1944, Hptm Werner Thierfelder, commander of Ekdo 262 "failed to return from a scramble. His body was found in the wreckage of his Me 262 near Landsberg. German reports state that he was shot down in combat and it would seem that he had become involved in a 15th Air Force raid striking northward from Italy."
The next combat loss appears to have been on 28 Aug 44, when Oberfeldwebel Hieronymus 'Ronny' Lauer ran into a flight of P-47s from the 78th Fighter Group. Lauer crash-landed to avoid the 'Spitfires' on his tail. He managed to get away alive, although Lt MD Croy fired on him as he was running from the wreck. (page 53)
So, it appears to depend on what credence you place on the 18 July report.
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