Well Michel
I have nothing against Caldwell, except perhaps his rather "blind faith" in JG 26
As far as I can see he is the only one to find these three P-47s and assign them to JG 26.
From US sources we can be fairly certain 4FG mission was to patrol the Ostend-Ghent sector. The fight they got into was in the Bruges area, which fits their mission profile. However we also have to remember that a combat patrol like this took place quite high up and the exact path taken is always tricky to compute, especially since all three squadrons were involved.
4FG reported that two pilots were missing after chasing enemy aircraft roughly over Ghent and going eastward, ie towards Brussels rather than the coast, while the third pilot, William Morgan, went down into the North Sea off Ostend. This indicates if nothing else that the 4FG split up and chased/were themselves chased by various German units. Blankenberge is along the coast north east of Ostend and the claim vs the loss fits extremely well.
At this time III./JG 26 were based in northern France while I./JG 1 was based in Holland. Both units had Belgium within easy reach so it is not impossible both units actually were involved. Since 11./JG 26 was known as 11./JG 54 at this time it is also clear why we have that unit listed.
I wonder from where the details origin that two P-47s collided? They are not listed as such in the 4FG books I have. Sounds like an afterthought where someone in USA could not find any German claims so ergo collision must be the answer....
At this stage it seems impossible to find out the exact truth of claims vs losses and as far as I go, I am OK with that. I can accept not all riddles are solvable, but it would be interesting to know why JFV has switched the name from Hoffmann to Rathenow...
Cheers
Stig