|
Re: JG 77 Claims March 13, 1943
This was the day of the great Airacobra massacre. US 81st FG lost seven out of twelve Airacobras to II./JG 77, without being able to shoot down even a single German fighter.
II./JG 77 overclaimed, but with that many Airacobras shot down in a single air combat, I think it's easily understood. Airacobras were more or less "raining from the sky".
JG 77 recorded two losses on that day, but both obviously were in other air combats than the one which saw the Airacobra massacre.
Around two weeks after this incident, the Airacobras of 81st FG were withdrawn from first-line service and employed on convoy patrols with the North-West African Coastal Air Force in a sector where there was no risk of encountering German single-engine fighters. The other Airacobra equipped unit in North Africa, the 350th FG, also was withdrawn from first-line service to fly coastal patrols in the rear. That took place already in late February 1943.
|