MTO luftwaffe claims

[micky]

Hello, i need info about an MTO luftwaffe claim:
on november 3 1943, an allied twin engine plane was shot down "by German fighter" near Poviglio, about 20kms north-west of Reggio Emilia (north italy).
I was unable (i'm a Macintosh user) to read the OKL fighter claims of Tony Wood site, anyone can help to identify who make the strike and what kind of plane was shot down? thanks in advance.

Micky

[veltro]

03.11.43 - Uffz. Froschmann - 8./JG 53 - P-38 - 20 km. N.W. Reggio - 8.600 m. - 12.45 - Film C. 2031/II Anerk: Nr. -

As a Macintosh user too I can share your frustration when downloading Tony Wood's files and discovering that they are .exe files (a not too understandable choice...).

But don't be put off by this: these are simply in Winzip compressed archives format and if you tell StuffIt to decompress the "medsouth_vol2_1943.exe" all the same, it will decompress the file into the original "*.doc" file. I've just tried and it works...

[micky]

Thank you Ferdinando, as ever, you are wonderful!

Mick

[micky]

Latest news: some information was taken from a local newspaper of the era, the "Solco Fascista" of november 4 1943. It says that the pilot was taken pow by the carabinieri and taken to the Castelnuovo Sotto hospital with minor injuries. The pilot was describeb as "French degaulliste pilot". I have chekched the MACR list of the day and have not found traces of Usaaf P-38 losses on november 3 1943, the research will continue on the Free French recognition units

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Yes, a recon version of the P-38 of a French unit was shot down over Italy this day by fighters and the pilot was captured.

I'm currently at work but will post more about it when I have time (probably this week-end).

[micky]

May be 33ème Escadre...?

[micky]

OK friends, i've found it! He was a French pilot, Lt De Forson-Ney, 33eme escadre!

from the site http://www.er133belfort.free.fr/fra/trad/sal33.html

"La Hache se met sur le sentier de la guerre

Le 1er juillet 1943, la " Hache " est déclarée opérationnelle et rejoint son premier terrain d'opérations, celui de la Marsa, près de Tunis. Le 12 juillet 1943, le capitaine Gavoille effectue la première mission de guerre de l'escadrille sur le P-38 n°307, d'une durée de 4h10 mn, à 11.700 m d'altitude, sur le sud de la France ; au retour, au large de la Sardaigne, il fait l'objet d'une interception et d'une attaque de la chasse allemande, mais réussit tout de même à rentrer de justesse à son terrain de départ. Jusqu'à fin novembre 1943, 36 missions de guerre seront effectuées, principalement sous forme de couverture aérienne (mapping) de secteurs donnés dans le sud de la France.
Au cours de l'une d'elles, le 3 novembre 1943, le lieutenant De Forson-Ney ne rentre pas avec son P-38 n°3112. "