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Re: Shootdown of JAAF Fiat BR 20 0ver Buka Nov 43?
See the recent book by Lee Cook titled Dirty Eddie's War.
It seems to me at the time of the shootdown of the Ruth, that both March and Blackburn were considered to have shared the claim, and each was awarded one full credit. This appears to be a holdover from World War I, when pilots who shared a claim were given full credit. I published an extensive list of US Navy and Marine Corps aces in the 1941-43 time period in the Bulletin of the American Fighter Aces Association of the scores of aces with shared victories, as published at the end of the war, and as currently calculated by the AFAA. A handful of names fall off the list of aces if they do not receive full credit for shared victories. One must remember that the US Navy (and therefore the USMC) does not have an Official Policy about aces and their scores. Although I have seen contemporary WW2 announcements of USMC aces being declared Marine Corps Aces. I would also mention that there was the concept of an "assist", for which I have never found a definition, which apparently was considered to be a half-credit. Flatley I think is the only one considered to be an ace by virtue of his Navy Cross citation at Coral Sea for five assists.
Enjoy!
Frank.
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