[Leendert]

The AFHSO in DC sent me the following excerpt of the 27th FS diary:

12 April 1944 - 27th Fighter Squadron

"Penetration escort for B-24s was flown on the 12th by 10 P-38s led by 1/Lt
Francis Dawson, Mathews, Ala. to Bad Voslau aircraft assembly plant and
airdrome in Austria. Only five (5) enemy fighters were encountered, three (3)
of which were ME 109s with Hungarian Air Force markings. No claims, losses or
damage were reported. Excellent bomber formation and presence of high flying
P-47s over the target resulted in extensive damage to aircraft and
installations on the Bad Voslau airdrome. 2/Lt John J.C. Kim of Honolulu, HI
was forced to land on Vis Island landing strip for fuel enroute to base. In
attempting to take off again on the short strip, one engine failed and the
plane crashed from 200 feet about 3/4th of a mile from the end of the runway,
where a group of Yugoslav Partisans were walking. Eight (8) of the Partisans
were killed an twenty (20) injured. An R.A.F. Corporal was reported to have
pulled Lt. Kim from the burning plane, but he died on the14th as a result of
burns and other undetermined injuries. Lt. Kim was one of two pilots of
Chinese ancestry who joined the Squadron on 31 March 1944, and was considered
an unusually good pilot by his comrades. It was his second operational combat
mission."

Next to the definitive identification of Lt. Kim in this, the aircraft he was flying points to a P-38 after all.

Regards,

Leendert