shoot down ME262

[Karoband]

From O'Connell, Me 262 Production Log, (2005), p. 182:

501221 Me 262 A-1a.This 3./JG 7 (or 11./JG7) aircraft was lost on 21 April 1945 while strafing Allied troops. It was shot down by Pfc. Ralph V. Caputo of C. Battery, of the 559th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion, 19th Anti-Aircraft Group, near Klotze (Gardelegen/Stendall), Germany with a MG 51 machine gun. The unnamed pilot was captured ...

Jim

[Juha]

Thanks Jim
so the pilot wasn't Buchner and during his last combat sortie Buchner didn't fly 501221. Reading the caption again it doesn't claim explicity that Buchner was flying 501221 during his last combat sortie, only tells the story of his last sortie and adding that the Yellow 3 was "probably the most colourful aircraft he ever flew..". So my bad. From the facimile pages of his logbooks it seems that he flew Me 262 nr. 3 only once up to 31 March 45.

Juha

[Karoband]

Thanks Juha,

I was also confused about Buchner flying 501221.

Jim

[Juha]

A bit OT but because I brought the text of Buchner's memoirs here I looked the case of his last combat sortie more carefully and here are some facts which shows that there are some problems with the info given in his memoirs, at least in its English edition.

According to the English edition of Buchner’s memoirs (Hikoki 2000) he was attacked during landing by a RAF Mustang. The soldiers at the tower had identified the attacker as a Mustang and the endnote 56 says “Believed to be an RAF Mustang from either 130 or 403 Squadron.” which is odd because both mentioned sqns were equipped with Spits, Mk XIVs and XVIs respectively, at that time. It is perfectly possible that the soldiers at the tower confused Spit and Mustang, especially if the Spit had clipped wings but it is odd that in the book they didn’t correct the confusion. And anyway I cannot find suitable RAF/RCAF/PAF etc claim for the Buchner case.
And according to http://relikte.com/rotenburg/index.htm the Rotenburg airfield was occupied on 22 April 1945 by British troops, so the date given in the caption is too late.

Juha

[Karoband]

http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showth...p?t=18111.html

Jim

[Juha]

Hello Jim
thanks for the hint but I’m with Steve Brew in this, IMHO the distance between Rotenburg and Neuruppin is too big and there is over 90 degree difference in direction from Celle from where 41 Sqn operated at the time.

BTW a wonderful source on the LW a/fs is deZengs’s excellent Luftwaffe Airfields 1938-45 http://www.ww2.dk/lwairfields.html

Juha