|
Re: Any Truth Here Or A Big Fishing Story
It has to be a fish story. My database of USAAF aerial claims does not have a John/Jack Payne in it in WW2; I do have a LtCol John Scott Payne (USMC) who is credited with a MiG-15 in Korea while on exchange duty. And no claims by anyone named Payne in the 19th FS, 318th FG. Too bad he was too busy driving around the countryside to get around to preparing any combat reports. And while I could be wrong, to the best of my knowledge all P-39s for Russia went via the Alaska-Siberia route.
The aces in the 19th FS were Lustic (6, died 1990), Anderson (5, died 1995), Mathis (5, died 1993), and Vogt (5, died 1988). The only other aces in the 318th were in the 333rd FS, Wolfe (9, KIFA 1948), and Stone (7 (maybe), died 1994). So there is no one around that I can easily ask about him.
Frank.
__________________
Civilization is the most fragile ecology of all.
|