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Old 26th October 2021, 18:39
Brian Bines Brian Bines is offline
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Capt Peterson / Ofhr Sorge 11th April 1944

The former Maj. Richard A. Peterson of 357th FG related on a DVD how he shot up a 109 pilot on his parachute because he said the German had fired on parachuting bomber crews the , story has now resurfaced on YouTube . In a history of 357th FG it states that on the 11th April 1944 a P-38 fired on one of the units P-51s that was engaging a 109 that had been shooting at US airmen on their parachutes . Peterson did shoot down a 109 on that day and a JG 3 loss list shows on 11th April 44 Ofhr. Alfred Sorge as wounded when shot at on his chute (FSA am Schirm beschossen) in Bf 109 G9 411046 10/JG 3 at Haldensleben . JG 3 losing nine killed and six wounded in the days action . Jorge does not appear as being KIA not being shown on the VDK site for 1944/45 while the Luft. Officers Careers site shows a Lt. Alfred Sorge b 20-1-23 being in JG 3 1944/45. While circumstantial and allowing for the fact that Peterson was relaying the story years after the incident , while apparently keeping if from his fellow pilots at the time , it seems Sorge may be the Luftwaffe pilot he fired at . Does any one have an NVM for Sorge that day or know anything more about him .

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Brian Bines
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Old 26th October 2021, 21:53
Adriano Baumgartner Adriano Baumgartner is offline
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Re: Capt Peterson / Ofhr Sorge 11th April 1944

Brian,

I may be wrong but I doubt that the wounds of Alfred Sorge were related to a direct hit (or several hits) of .50 ammunition fired by Major Peterson. Doubt also if someone would survive (even if hit on the arms or legs) a direct hit of this kind of ammunition with phosphorous or high explosive shells. And one second burst would fire how many .50 rounds? Some 20-50?

Perhaps Major Peterson missed the German pilot on his chute, after all he was being fired and affraid off by one of his mates on a P-38....and the sky was not empty at all...

Perhaps Alfred Sorge was wounded previously, when his machine was hit and he was flying it (I assume schrnapel may have hit him on the cockpit or glass splinters, as one generally read about on War Memories).

I only read of one Marine pilot (F-4U) who lost his leg or foot by a direct ramming from a Zero pilot (who may have exausted his ammo and cut the American's pilot foot with his propellers). A .50 has such impact that am not sure if one would survive the impact or even the loss of blood from 20,000 feet up to "mother earth".

It would be nice indeed if you could find what really happened to this Alfred Sorge and maybe find his relatives.

All the best in the search and all the luck.

A.
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Old 26th October 2021, 22:26
Larry deZeng Larry deZeng is offline
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Re: Capt Peterson / Ofhr Sorge 11th April 1944

Adriano -

You are right. I've fired the Ma Deuce (at armored and unarmored vehicles at a distance of 1100 meters) so I know what it does and can do. But this does not preclude a few .50 slugs striking in and around the cockpit and causing shrapnel from metal they hit. A chunk of the instrument panel or a piece of the perspex, fuselage, etc., could make for nasty wounds when they struck the pilot.

L.
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Old 27th October 2021, 15:56
Brian Bines Brian Bines is offline
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Re: Capt Peterson / Ofhr Sorge 11th April 1944

Adriano and Larry

Thanks for your replies I always thought if Sorge had been hit by .5 fire it would have been a passing round causing a flesh wound rather than a direct body hit , as you say .5 is pretty lethal . If a copy of an NVM was available it would show light or severe wound . Sorge appears operational in January 1945 so it would appear any wounding did not prevent further operational flying . A couple of other JG 3 pilots did not survive being shot on the chute and at least six were shot either killed or wounded on the ground after crash landing or baling out ,

Thanks again
Brian Bines
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Old 27th October 2021, 23:37
Wilcke Wilcke is offline
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Re: Capt Peterson / Ofhr Sorge 11th April 1944

Firing on german fighter pilots hanging on their parachutes was common practice by US fighter pilots from 1943 onwards. It had a deadly influence on treating downed allied over german soil. The german Government made a diplomatic note via Switzerland adressed to the US to stop this violation against the Hague Convention. But the US ignored this note with the result, that AH himself ordered Police and Wehrmacht to stop protecting downed allied airmen from being lynched by the outraged german population. Although this order was cancelled soon, this was common practice. My father in law, then 11 years old, was witness of such execution of two US-airman, when their B-17 was shot down 1944 near Uetze east of Hannover. Their bodies were then burned in the wreck of the bomber.
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