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Old 17th January 2018, 22:21
Laurent Rizzotti Laurent Rizzotti is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Paris, France
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Re: Major Robert Charles Curtis - 52nd FG ace

According to the book "La chasse de jour allemande en Roumanie" by Roba and Mombeek:

USAAF claims:
52nd FG : 3 shot down and 1 damaged
31nd FG: 1 claim (I guess 1 shot down)

German losses:
I./JG 53: none
III./JG 77: two total losses
Bf 109 G-6 WNr 160357 "black 9" shot down by P-51 at Cocorova, 20 km NE Turnu Severin, Lt Franz Trowal KIA
Bf 109 G-6 WNr 163131 crashed 20 km N Tirgu Jiu, pilot baled unhurt, name unknown
(The Luftwaffe losses summary database confirm two losses that day, one shot down in air battle, one missing due to enemy action)

And I also have three Rumanian losses that day
1) an IAR 80 of the Scoala de vanatoare (Fighter school) at Ghimbav, formation attacked by eight Mustangs. Slt. av. Gheorghe Popescu was shot down and killed when he crashed in the Postavarul Massif.
2) Six Bf 109 G-2 of Grupul 7 Vanatoare (7th Fighter Group) took off against this raid but only four returned to base. One landed in Turnu Severin, but there no new of last one until 28 July. The German command then informed us that the Romanian Bf 109 G-2 242, flown by adj. sef Gheorghe Hapaianu crashed near the village of Medvedja, Yugoslavia.

Sources:
http://www.aviatori.ro/articole_details.php?id=31
http://brasoave.blogspot.fr/2009/05/...tin-balta.html

So we have 4 or 5 total Axis losses (3-4 Bf 109 and 1 IAR-80) against 4 US claims. So far so good, except if we have US gunner claims

By the way, the four claims as I have them in my file:
31st FG:
1st Lt Robert E Riddle, 307th FS, 1 Bf 109 over Rumania (bringing score to 7 victories)
52nd FG: 3 Bf 109s E Turnu-Severin, Romania, by 2nd FS
1 by Cpt Robert C Curtiss (bringing score to 13 victories)
1 by 1st Lt Arthur G Johnson, Jr (bringing score to 7,5 victories)
1 shared (0,50 each) by 2nd Lt Willard C Pretzer (bringing score to 2 victories) and 2nd Lt Elmer J Mendonca (first claim, so score 0,50)

So saying that Curtiss shot down Trowal is lacking proof, as any of the other US claims could be Trowal too.
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