Harry Brown - top US P-36 pilot ?

[knusel]

Good evening,

is it true what wikipedia implies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_W._Brown_(pilot)
that Harry Brown's second Pearl Harbor claim was confirmed in March 1942 ?
That would make him the top US P-36 pilot with two kills in that type.

Cheers,

Michael

[RSwank]

Not according to the scoring list here:

http://aces.safarikovi.org/victories...ii-by.name.pdf

Harry W Brown has 6 credits but only 1 on 7 Dec, 1941.

[knusel]

The same is implied by the cieldegloire webside
http://www.cieldegloire.com/bataille...pac_centre.php
and the list provided by Alex Smart
http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showpo...73&postcount=2
which implies that the US P-36 total of confirmed kills is 4 (Brown, Rasmussen, Sanders, Sterling), right ?

Michael

[Frank Olynyk]

Harry Winston Brown is credited by the USAF with one victory at Pearl Harbor. He also claimed another victory, credited as a probable, although he considered it destroyed. The problem is that this second claim appears on a list of victories prepared by Fifth Air Force at the end of the war, as a destroyed. But his squadron at Pearl Harbor was assigned to Seventh Air Force, and I can see no way that Fifth Air Force can, or has any business in, confirming Seventh Air Force victories. I have the same problem with A T House's third "victory", which he claimed in January 1943 with Fifth Air Force, but which is credited to him in a Silver Star citation from 14th Air Force in 1944/45. I cannot accept such "out of theater" confirmations.

Enjoy!

Frank.

[knusel]

Good morning Frank,

did Brown transition to the 5th Air Force after Pearl Harbor ?
Alex Smart's list is from 1978 with only one Pearl Harbor kill for Brown. Thus, either the Office of Air Force History ignored that second confirmed kill because it was not valid or they did not know about the confirmation.
This second claim is very interesting because it would confer the eternal glory of being the sole top US P-36 pilot to Brown.
;-)

Michael

[knusel]

This website indicates seven as his total
https://475th.org/history/aces/475th/

1. 07.12.41 Val
2. 07.12.41 Val (belated confirmation)
3. 04.03.43 Oscar
4. 16.08.43 Zeke
5. 16.08.43 Zeke
6. 16.08.43 Zeke
7. 24.10.43 Zeke

However OSPREY clearly says he has just six:
https://www.amazon.de/475th-Fighter-...rmat=2&depth=1

[Alex Smart]

Hello Michael,
Wow, am surprised that anyone could remember my very early post,2017.
I see in the Wikipedia link you give in your first post that at the time December 7th Brown knew that he had hit two enemy aircraft but thought that one had "got away". That a/c was eventually found in 2002. So that's probably how we can say "Yes" to his 2 victories on December 7th. The websites single claim were most likely made before 2002 as was the official Claims document.
Alex

[knusel]

Good evening Alex,

but the OSPREY book "475th Fighter Group" by John Stanaway in which a Brown total score of 6 is indicated is from 2007.
Is there something like an official bulletin, that proves the belated confirmation ?

Have a good Tuesday,

Michael