[keith A]

The attitude of the pilot is not an issue. There was no second flight according to RSwank, and his info is usually "on the money". The P-39 was a poor performer but could have gained hits on enemy aircraft. However it is an issue that the versions of the combat recorded at the time stretch from no damage seen, to one possibly damaged to two confirmed destroyed. The possibility of wreckage being found (where and by whom?) is very unlikely. The USAAF was desperate to present an image of success and I suspect this allowed an unrealistic assessment to be made and promoted. At this time in the war the claims of both US and Japanese air forces were ridiculously optimistic and very like the RAF in ETO in 1941, but the RAF realised that accepting these fantasies caused serious damage to morale rather than enhancing it (rival squadrons inventing higher and higher scores because they saw their competitors claims being accepted) and to strategic planning.