Blue on Blue footage (US x RAF Mosquito?)

[Adriano Baumgartner]

Am I a bit poor on identification (ID) or am seen between 1:03 and 1:10hs, an US Air Force fighter shooting down a RAF Mosquito (probably a PR machine)?

If so, this is may be one of the rarest cases of "Blue on Blue footage" ever seen...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE3PceU-UqA

There are a lot of other amazing footages, like the Me 262 spinning after hit and the Me 163 Komet belly landing and being shot.

A.

[bearoutwest]

Adriano,
Certainly looks like a Mossie. What is the bump on the right hand fuselage? Camera port?


There is also the possibility, that its an even rarer Luftwaffe gun camera footage, firing on a Mosquito.


...geoff

[MW Giles]

The bulge is a fuel coolant radiator on stbd side under the wing.

This and the large canopy dome would suggest to me a PR XVI

Regards

Martin

[stefaan]

Not unheard of. A few SAAF Mossies were shot down by USAAF fighters, so bad that 60 sqdn started to paint Barber stripes on the fins.

[Andy Fletcher]

A very common occurrence for both PR Mossies and Spits to be intercepted by USAAF and RAF fighters. Often a bigger threat than the Luftwaffe.

[harryurz]

On the "Mosquito fates" spreadsheet compiled by Mark Huxtable theres this reference:


"In the ORB for 140 PR Squadron, on 2nd October 1944, Mosquito XVI NS523 took off at 08.15 hrs from Melsbroeck, on a sortie to Krefield - Duisberg. However, I don’t know if it was the outbound or inbound stage of the sortie, the a/c was intercepted according to the ORB by a P-47 of IX U.S.A.A.F., shooting it down near Louvain (now Leuven?), Belgium, resulting in the loss of the crew, S/L C.D.N. Longley and F/S J.T. Taylor. Based on the duration of a sortie of the same day it would have taken no more than three hours, which means the shoot down must have occurred some time before 11.15hrs. "2nd TAF" says MS523 (sic), with F/S J.T. Taylor aboard as navigator for F/L M. Jones, was hit by flak near Boulogne and crash-landed at 12.20, Category B damage, Taylor being injured. The P-47 pilot claimed this as a "Mosquito in German markings" (!). n October 2nd, Tubby Longley, who had commanded 'A' Flight 140 since March, was returning from the last sortie of his tour with his navigator, F/Sgt Taylor, when they were attacked by a Thunderbolt near Louvain and shot down: both were killed. (http://www.34wing.co.uk/34wing.html) Shot down by P-47 on PR mission nr Louvain 2.10.44 (Air Britain Serials)"

[edwest2]

I have read at least one account where anti-aircraft gunners in Europe let an enemy flight pass while firing on friendly aircraft. A publication was produced during the war as described in the following:


"For training purposes, models were especially important — per the U.S. Army-Navy Journal of Recognition, it was critical that observers be able to see an “object as a whole” and be “able, through
constant practice, to recognize that object (plane, tank, ship, etc…) from any angle.” Initially, the parts-based WEFT recognition system (standing for: wings, engine, fuselage and tail) dominated
training, but it was time-consuming — observers had to recognize then mentally assemble parts to determine the whole. This approach was subsequently discarded in favor of a total-perception
view of recognition, aimed at speeding up the identification process by tapping into innate pattern-recognition capabilities. The Journal of Recognition also published regular issues to help keep
readers up to date on changes in aircraft design."


Example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/39384434944...kAAOSwsQ1hx31W

[KM1957]

Capt. Maurice L. Martin of the 390th Fighter Squadron, 366th Fighter Group claimed to have shot down a Mosquito with German markings on 2 October. From the squadron history, "One Mosquito, blue gray in color with German crosses on the fuselage was spotted flying due west at 12,000 feet at 0925 hours. It was shot down by Captain Martin at 0940, exploding in mid-air and landing at J-6057, on the outskirts of Louvain."

Kent

[MW Giles]

The Mosquito on the 2nd October was NS523 of 140 Sqn RAF that was shot down by P-47s near Louvain on a PR sortie

S/L CDN Longley and F/S JT Taylor both killed

I see that info is already set out in an earlier post, oh well

Regards

Martin

[Adriano Baumgartner]

When I first saw this image, I indeed thought this could be one of those machines, either from 680 or 140 Squadron. We must remembered that at least one 25th BG reconaissance machine (US) was also shot down by friendly fire...

What is amazing is that this is an US Air Force "official footage" where we do see this clearly DH Mosquito being shot down.

Thanks for all who contributed!

A.