Just a short one. I decided to cut back on a lot of the details for this as it is largely in line with OTL and the gist of what led up to it can be gleaned from the previous chapter.
CONFIDENTIAL
PILOT’S PERSONAL ENCOUNTER REPORT
A. Combat
B. 10 April 1943
C. 27th Fighter Squadron, 1st Fighter Group
D. 0910 - 0920
E. 30 Miles N of Tunisia
F. Hazy
G. 20 SM.82 and 6 C.200
H. 1 SM.82 Destroyed
I. I was flying my assigned position of Blue 1 in a sweep of the Sicilian Strait with the entire Group. At 0910 a call of Bandits was reported at our 10 o’clock low and I observed approximately 20 SM.82’s with about 6 C.200’s heading generally south at around 500 feet altitude and 6 miles away. The group broke to engage the E/A. I picked out a mottled green and brown SM.82 in the formation. I started firing on it from directly behind and below it at about 350 yards. I fired 3-4 two second burst and observed strikes along the belly and left wing root and left engine. The engine started on fire but I started to come under when passengers aboard another SM.82 began to fire small-arms at me from the open door of the A/C. I disengaged to circle around for another pass. During this time, I witnessed 2Lt. Sweet shooting another SM.82 with the number 604 on its side. This E/A exploded under the sustained fire and I confirm it destroyed by 2Lt. Sweet. By the time I had completed my full circle I was unable to find the E/A I had damaged. Lt. Rush said he saw it ditch, therefore I claim this E/A destroyed. After the first pass, there were too few E/A remaining and my fuel was running low so I rejoined the squadron and returned to base.
A/C Used: P-38G 17 LO #43-2308
Ammunition used: 399 rounds 50 CAL API & T, 77 rounds 20mm
John A. MacKay
2nd Lt., Air Corps
Confirmation
I was flying Red 3 when we engaged approximately 30 E/A 30 miles north of Cape Serrat. I saw 2Lt. MacKay fire on an SM.82 from line astern and set it on fire with strikes all over the E/A. I watched this A/C descend and ditch into the sea with the left wing coming off. I confirm one E/A destroyed by 2Lt. MacKay.
George A. Rush
1st Lt., Air Corps
===================================
12 April 1943
III./SKG 10
Bizerte, Tunisia
Leutnant Gerhard Limberg looked over his recently repaired Focke-Wulf 190 A-5 airplane. He had joined a flight of Ju.52’s on the 5th as ordered to ferry down from San Pietro, Italy, to
the III Gruppe, Schnellkampfgeschwader 10 (III./SKG 10) forward operation airbase near Bizerte, Tunisia. The flight was going well until they were nearing the Tunisian coast when they were suddenly set upon by thirty of the American twin-tail heavy fighters. He had never seen them in person before but had heard of them and remembered being briefed that although they were fast the American heavy-fighters suffered from the same poor maneuverability as any other heavy fighter.
He had used that knowledge to his advantage and even though his A-5 “Jabo” was only armed with two MG.151 cannons he and another 190 from his flight had separated one of the American’s from his group and set upon him. They had damaged one of the engines of the big fighter and were chasing it down when it suddenly did something he had never seen an airplane do while under control. The twin-tailed fighter rolled and yawed into an impossibly tight left turn and dropped into a shallow spiral.
Just then, the shadow of another twin-tail blew past him from behind, scattering his squadron mate and leaving Limberg alone in his pursuit of their prey. As he rolled his Shrike to follow the spiraling American he glanced back to gauge the other fighter that had blown by and was relieved to see it in wide left circle. He focused all of his attention back on the damaged American and followed him down and around.
He was just lining up for another burst of fire when the white spark of American tracers streamed directly over his head. He followed them back and saw the other American had already reversed and was coming directly at him from about eighty degrees to his left. For some reason, all he could remember was seeing an angry pirate’s flag with a crown fire as it came at him. He did not even have time to react before the he heard the blasts of cannon fire directly in front of him. His airplane rattled and shook and the panel that in other Fw 190’s would cover the nose guns blew off his plane.
Limberg flinched at the shock of the hit causing his airplane to wobble as the American flew overhead. He had had enough and refused to be turned from predator to prey. A fast airplane that was less maneuverable than his could be dealt with, as could a maneuverable airplane that was not as fast as his; but, he had just witnessed
both of the Americans reverse their directions faster than anything he was capable of. He rolled right and pressed everything fully forward, praying that the big BMW engine in front of him could pull away from the blood thirsty American devils.
He made it to Bizerte on the deck never getting more than 200 feet about the water or ground as he came in and was thankful to avoid pursuit. Two of his fellow Focke-Wulfs had also made it in, but the fourth of their troupe—the one with whom he had hunted the Lightning—never returned and Limberg could only assume he had fallen prey to the American counter-attack.
So, he was left without an airplane until his was repaired or they found a spare, something that became less likely with each day as English and Americans continually attacked the airfield and all the others around. He heard that Flying Fortress bombers had hit El Aounina and Sid Ahmed especially hard that same day, while the pilots bringing planes and supplies every day for the past week had shared horror stories of flying a gauntlet of American and British fighters and bombers to get to Tunisia. Those few who made it through were bringing stories of even more damage to their airfields in Italy and Sicily.
Just the night before he had overhead one of the Ju.52 pilots who had run the gauntlet three times in the past week share his story of almost being rammed by one of the fighters on the 5th and of narrowly avoiding another one on the 8th. His most recent close call was on the 11th when a group of American fighters and Mitchell Bombers had flown into their formation. The side and turret gunners on the bombers were trying to shoot down the Luftwaffe transports even as the Lightning fighters would zoom through the formations and tear them to shreds. He poor man was still shaking even days later and Lt. Limberg was certain the pilot had lost his nerve would be useless to Fatherland with all of his muttering about “der Gabelschwanz Teufel.”
The Fork-tailed Devil.