II./JG 52 vs 15th US Air Force, 20 Mar 1945

[Don Pearson]

Don,

Per Barbas, Lt. Duttmann claimed a P-51 10km WSW Veszprem at 1405, Uffz. Kellmayer an La-5 abt 1400 Veszprem.

No losses noted

Don

[Don Caldwell]

Bruce -- Thanks for pointing out the Denkmal site, which was new to me and has now been bookmarked. According to this source, JG 52 suffered no casualties on 20 Mar 45.

Don -- The Barbas source was one I hoped someone would open up for me. I believe Duttmann did not file his claim for lack of a witness. The only P-51 lost was the one Peter noted. The 332nd FG UH states that it was due to engine failure. A sneak attack is possible, of course, but no e/a were noted by the rest of the flight. I haven't a clue as to the La-7 identity, which (fortunately) is outside my scope. The 325th FG claimed 1-1-0 Bf 109 & 1-1-0 Fw 190 near Lake Balaton at about the right time, so the loss of a JG 52 Messerschmitt (pilot OK) can't be ruled out.

Thanks again for the help.

Don