318th v. Italian aces

[mrfahrenheit]

On April 25, 1944, three Italian G.55s were shot down by P-47s of the 318th FS (325th FG).

As the following link shows, three of them went down, with only one (Toressi) being for sure claimed:

Italian biplane fighter aces - Giulio Torresi

My grandfather, Joseph Harper, had a probable on that date, and shot down one of the two remaining Italian losses (either Biagini or Tarantola).

To me, it sounds like the other American kill (by Emmert) was south of Turin. Between 2000 and 2003, all three of these crashes have been recovered. So, it should be possible to deduce which plane was credited to my grandfather, Harper.

Does anyone have maps of the locations of the crashes? Because, I would think, if of the two non-Toressi crash sites, one was more northern, that would be the one claimed by my grandfather.

Any information into this is much appreciated! Thanks!

cjb

[veltro]

To try to determine "who's who" in an aerial combat with several claims is most important to have copies of the individual mission reports for that day.

Have you got the one of your grandfather (and eventually of the other claiming pilots)?

You should also try to get in touch with the Mr. Giancarlo Garello, the Italian researcher who studied in-depth that combat while writing his book "Centauri su Torino", published in 1998 by Giorgio Apostolo Editore in Milan.

To try to get in touch with him, contact the publishing house ( http://www.apostoloeditore.com/Home.htm ) by e-mailing them at: info@apostoloeditore.com

[mrfahrenheit]

Thank you, Veltro!

I sent a query to the publisher. Hopefully they will be able to forward it to the expert. In the meantime, thanks again for your help!

cjb

[mrfahrenheit]

Veltro, an update....

Mr. Garello wrote back to me, not only providing me with a map of the three crashes that helps determine which was my grandfather's probably, but also told me that early on in his research for the book, he realized that the probably claim should have been made a full kill.

Thank you again for your help!

[veltro]

Glad to have been of help.

After all, this is what these forums should be for...