Lt. Nielson of 82nd Fighter Group (1943)?

[Dénes Bernád]

I am looking for a certain Lt. Nielson of the 82nd Fighter Group, whose P-38 was damaged in combat over Skoplje (recorded as Yugoslavia, actually Bulgaria) on 21 October 1943.

Thanks,

[Martin Gleeson]

Denes,

I have him as Douglas A. Neilson. I have a note made to this effect but not my source unfortunately, although I could probably find it eventually. (Think it might have come from an old issue of 'LIGHTNING STRIKES', the magazine of the P-38 National Association ?).
According to Frank Olynyk's volume on USAAF fighter claims in the MTO he made one claim for a damaged Bf109 on 24 February 1944. Further notes made by me indicate on that date he was a First Lieutenant and a member of the 95th Fighter Squadron, 82nd FG.
That is all I can find right now.

Regards,

Martin Gleeson.

[Martin Gleeson]

Denes,

I realize now my main source was 'ADORIMINI' (sub-titled 'A History of the 82nd Fighter Group in World War 2') by Steve Blake with John Stanaway.
Neilson is first recorded flying a mission on 18 September 1943 during a strafing mission of airfields around Foggia, Italy by the 82nd FG. His P-38 was shot down apparently by AAA but he evaded and returned to his unit on October 5th.
He completed his 50 mission tour of duty on 4 April 1944.

Hope this helps. I can find nothing else on him.

Martin.

[Dénes Bernád]

Thank you, Martin, for the info, which is very useful. At least I can now confirm his complete name and parent unit.

Do you happen to have any details on the bombing raid by 20 P-38s of the 82nd F.G. against Skoplje on 21 October 1943? Perhaps the aforementioned book would contain any useful info. I am looking particularly for any damaged P-38s.
Also, reportedly the same day but a couple of hours later, a reconnaissance P-38 was attacked in Bulgarian airspace, which was also damaged by Bf 109s. Can you confirm it?

Thank you, again,

[Martin Gleeson]

Hallo Denes,

Again using 'ADORIMINI', and confirmed by 'AIR WAR EUROPA, Chronology 1942-1945' by Eric Hammel, this raid on Skoplje was solely a fighter-bomber mission by the 95th and 97th Fighter Squadrons of the 82nd FG. They bombed locamotive sheds but their aiming was classed as poor. However they later learned that they had destroyed 42 locamotives, mostly by near misses !
2/Lt. Bert W. Lutz (97th FS) and 2/Lt. John C. Rogers (95th FS) each claimed a damaged Bf 109. Neilson was the only casualty recorded for the 82nd FG in return. That is all I have.

I have a CD with all the 82nd FG Mission Reports. Unfortunately my computer will not open it any more. Can anyone else with this disc help Denes ?

I know nothing about the reconnaissance P-38.

Do you know which unit the Bf 109s belonged to ?

Regards,

Martin.

[Dénes Bernád]

Originally Posted by Martin Gleeson

Do you know which unit the Bf 109s belonged to ?

That's the catch of the story and the reason why I asked the questions: those Bf 109s were Bulgarian!