[David E. Brown]

Hi Christian,

Below is my response to a similar query here that was posted prior to the loss of posts on the site in 2005. No new information to add. I would welcome any further knowledge of comment you might have on this topic.

Cheers,

David

Arado Ar 234 “T5+BH”, WNr.140611, 1./FAG 100
(Information Request on TOCH LDB, October 10, 2003)

One victory that has been well noted in the past is the Ar 234 shot down by a Mustang of the 454th FS / 479th FG piloted by Lt. Hilton O. Thompson. The action took place near Traunstein, Germany, on April 25, 1945 with the aircraft crashing near Berchtesgarden and the pilot managing to parachute out safely.

The event, summarized from the AAF Combat Report (27th April, 1945) was published in the excellent "Aircraft Profile #215" by Richard Batson. It was further detailed in another Profile on the "P-51 Mustang", and in Roger Freeman's "The Mighty Eighth". Surprisingly, this combat receives only the briefest of mention in Smith and Creek's Monogram Monoarch-1 book "Arado 234 'Blitz'" (p. 186).

About ten years ago (1993), Jim Crow sent me a photo that showed the partial remains of an Ar 234 in deep woods and was noted to have been taken at Berchtesgarden. Its visible Werknummer - 140611 - and Kennzeichen - T5 + we.BH - did not appear in the Monogram book, nor any other know references or Werknummer lists. The late (and much lamented) Luftwaffe historian and researcher Lorenz Rasse kindly provided me with a copy of Thompson's Combat Report, and with this information I was able to match the location of Thompson's observed hits with those seen on the wreck, thus indicating with high probability that this aircraft was indeed Thompson's victim.

However, while the pilot appears to safely parachuted out of his burning aircraft and probably survived, his identity remains a mystery. From what it known via the aircraft’s markings, it and the pilot were attached to 1./FAG 100 flying out of Hörsching, Austria.

At the time, I corresponded with former Ar 234 pilots Willi Kreissman and Hans Hirn for possible leads, but to no avail. I did receive a response to a query I posted in the Gemeinschaft der Jagdfleiger's magazine "Jägerblatt" from Fredric Müller-Romminger of Bad Reichenhall Germany, who was working on a history of the airwar in his part of the world: "Bomber über der Heimat - Ein Kreigstagebuch des Berchtesgardener Landes". Unfortunately, he too could shed no further light on the pilot's identity, though it is possible that with the passage of time he may have done so.

I would therefore appreciate any further thoughts anyone might have on the pilot's identity. Can anyone confirm if Fredric's book noted above was ever published? Anyone have an email for him? And further, does anyone know if Hilton O. Thompson is still alive? Any help is much appreciated.

Cheers,

David