[Six Nifty .50s]

Originally Posted by Franek Grabowski

Well, you should read comments of Polish pilots when they heard of multiple claims of US B-17 gunners in the late 1942! The same one that caused a lot of laugh at Abbeville!

Yes, there's always laughs to be had at someone else's expense Franek. You like to return to that subject, which is good because it ties in with your previous remarks about the Seafire.

After Operation Avalanche, it is safe to say that USAAF A-36 pilots had no respect at all for the flying skills of British Navy pilots. Major Joseph Kelly of the 27th Fighter-Bomber Group described typical encounters with the FAA, which indicates that their training left much to be desired:

" Some British aircraft carriers were providing Seafire aircraft for the patrol line between Salerno and Capri. They lasted about a week! Word was that they damaged all of their aircraft trying to land on the carriers. They spent most of their time when they were aloft, attacking the other Allied aircraft which were also on patrol. At first, we took evasive action. Later, because of their vague idea of what constituted a 'curve of pursuit', we did not pay much attention to them. We figured that they needed the practice but they never seemed to get themselves into a position where they could do damage to another aircraft! "

The Brits deployed 106 Seafires on their carriers and flew 713 'combat' sorties. 83 Seafires were wrecked or seriously damaged in landing accidents (32 were total write-offs). The Seafire pilots claimed two German planes shot down, although that is unlikely. If they shot down any planes, they were probably friendlies.

There's an amusing sidebar to this story. Some weeks earlier, the USAAF loaned six A-36As to the RAF for No. 1437 Flight, because the Spitfire was measured and found wanting. This unit did special recon work for the ground forces. On August 17, 1943, Flight Lieutenant J. L. Griffith and his wingman were scouting some roads near the Italian coast when they were misidentified as Me 109s and jumped in error by two Spitfires of No. 43 Squadron. The Mustang pilots then assumed that they were under attack by Me 109s. In self-defense, they out-manuevered the Spitfires and Griffith latched onto the tail of Spitfire BR290, which was shot down in flames. Flight Lieutenant N.W. Lee baled out safely and splashed down into the sea. Before Griffith returned to base, he was hit by flak and baled out, also landing in the water. A Walrus was dispatched and it soon arrived. Guess who was aboard but Flight Lieutenant Lee.

It must have been an interesting conversation.

Originally Posted by Franek Grabowski

6's comment is quite valid though I do not think it exagerated in time.

I'm not surprised by the comments of Hans-Ekkehard Bob and Joseph Kelly. Fighter pilots are competitive and it's natural for them to belittle pilots from other air forces. But there is an important difference here; the Mustang had a good combat record, and the Seafire did not.

Originally Posted by Franek Grabowski

Please look at memoirs of Rudel when he describes a massacre done by Mustangs over SE (then S) Poland in 1944!

I wouldn't know what Rudel bandied about, but he had zero credibility with some of his fellow ground attack pilots. Members of SG 2 referred to Rudel as selfish, childish, a poor leader, and a political extremist. They also thought Rudel was a flake because he refused to fly an Fw 190 like his subordinates. Instead he clung to his beloved Stuka which belonged in a museum by 1945.