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Re: Gun Camera film photos
Peter,
My apologies as I tried several times to answer your question, but I kept getting a notice that I was not logged in. It was confusing because the screen just before getting the "not logged in one" would say I was logged in. I guess at 84, I must start learning all over again!
Yes, after each encounter, if a pilot claimed a victory, probable, or damaged, there was an Encounter Report written. There were problems though. If it was a day with a lot of action, there were usually several pilots making claims. The individual you reported to would take notes and it might be a several days before the actual claim was written up. Additionally, the is no question that on occasion, my claim might be attributed to someone else and his claim mixed up with mine.
The first probable I got was about 250 miles away from base but no mission was credited unless you reached 300 miles from base. However to give me credit for the probable (gun camera film) my encounter report said that I had reached Ploesti (534 miles away), got into a big fight, turned to the right (or left), latched on to this 109, and set him on fire. It read great except it never happened! We could have corrected these reports but we never saw them before they were filed.
I hope this answers your question. If not, ask again.
Cordially, Art Fiedler
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