Tuskegee Commander obituary

The London 'Times' today carried a full obituary for Lieut.-Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, who died on July 4th ( OK, news takes awhile to cross the Atlantic ).

As a Lieutenant-Colonel,he was ordered to command the first class of black pilots at the Tuskegee Institute. The pilots under his command went on to form the nucleus of the 332nd FG, fighting over North Africa and Italy and becoming known as the 'Tuskegee Airmen'. During this time Davis himself was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

 

An interesting unit with an interesting history. The a/c group also founght over the Reich on it's longest mission over Berlin protecting US bombers on 24 March 1945. Made about 6 claims against JG 7 262's along with another 5/6 from the 31st fighter group. In reality the JG 7 unit only lost 4 jets.
The Tuskegee airmen were ordered to stay with the bombers at all costs and were not given the free hunt characteristics of other fighter groups like the 357th, 355th and 352nd which were continually in air combat with Luftwaffe fighters.

E

 

Sorry to hear that. I saw a documentary in the History Channel were they interviewed the Tuskeege veterans and they chatted about the film "Tuskeege Airmen", which despite many unaccuracies and bad special effects (Come on! It is Hollywood. Hollywood should not use real images...) it was good. Was Mr. Davis the colonel who is potraited in the film or was he the captain who receives his DFC during the film and is promoted captain? The one who sunk a destroyer... He was interviewed in that documentary and he says that there were several unaccuracies. Because they were flying P-51s in North Africa and Italy!!! Thank God it was not truth! But I think that the thing about that they never lost a single bomber for fighters action is true. And they indeed were requested by bombers' crews and did shot down some Me-262s. Correct me if I am wrong, Herr Brown!

 

Friedrich :

Yes, I believe they did shoot down Me 262's on several occassions.......from an older Mustang publication, circa ; 1970. The pilots went to brifing on the morning of march 24, 1945, they were elated to learn that they were going to escort the bombers all the way to Berlin. The 1500 mile (Uk!) round trip was a long and tiring chore, but to fly to the capital of the 3rd Recih was a thrill that the pilots from italy had never hoped to attain.
Though some of the units met with no enemy oppostion, the 31st and the 332nd groups tangled with some me 262's. By utilizing the diving speed and maneuverability of the Mustang to the best advantage, the P-51 pilots were able to emerge victorious (not really !) On the mission, five of the 8 victories were creditied to the 308th squadron of the 31st Group. Captain William J Dillard took off shorlty after a 262 in a long screaming dive that wound up on the deck. Strikes were scored on the left engine of the jet, which began to smoke and flame. The pilot flipped over and bailed out.
Colonel William A. Daniel fired long-range burst that sent a jet into a snap roll then caused the plane to explode. Lt. William M. Wilder hit a 262 in one engine and it flamed, the pilot going over the side.Once the Mustangs could get in a good shot, the engines of these early jets were extremely vulnerable and inflammable.
The pilot of the fourth 308th victim went over the side while Captain Kenneth T. Smith was still firing, and Lt. Ray Leonard got the fifth by flamming both it's engines.

Lt. Roscoe C. Brown of the 332nd group peeled off to attack the jets and found one on his tail. Feinting first to one side and then breaking to the other, Brown got the 262 to speed by him. The P-51 then closed on the jet and flamed it. The pilot parachuted safely.
Flight officer Charles V. Brantley got the second 332nd victory when he followed a 262 in a dive. He registered hits all over the jet and had to pull out. The jet continued to dive straight into the ground. The group's third victory was scored in a similiar manner with Lt. Earl Lane pumping lead into the jet until it went down trailing smoke and flame. 2 more Me 262's were claimed as probable.
This is a brief account of the 15th A.Forces activites against JG 7 jets.......
OK, what about the German side of things.
Major Ehrler 1 B-17
Major Rudorffer 1 Tempest
Oblt. Walter Schuck 2 P-51
Lt. Weihs 1 P-38
Ofw. Arnold 1 B-17
Lt. Rademacher 1 B-17
Lt. Lehner 1 B-17
Oblt. Kulp 1 B-17 ?
Lt. Sturm 1 B-17 ?
Oblt. Schall 1 B-17 ?
Ofw Pritzl 1 B-17 ?
Ofw. Hermann Buchner 1 B-17 ?
Oblt. Worner 1 B-17 ? HSS/ shot out of formation.
Now for the losses of the unit /

9./JG 7 Me 262A-1b werk nummer 111676, Oblt. Ernst Worner shot down by a US fighter near Northeim, Worner bailed out wounded.

11./JG 7 Me 262A-1b werk nummer 110999, Lt. Alfred Ambs shot down by a US fighter near Wittenberg, Ambs bailed out wounded/ burned, and was he very mad about this whole thing when interviewed !

11./JG 7 Me 262A-1b werk nummer 110968, Uffz. Ernst Giefing, his Me 262 hit and damaged by US Fighters near Grossen, Giefing, wounded

JG 7 Me 262A-1a, Oblt. Kulp shot down by US fighters, Kulp bailed out wounded.

that's it my friends. You make the decision....
The b version of the Me 262 was equipped with wing racks to hold 12 R4M rockets under each wing.

E

 

post scriptum.......in additon the US 8th and 15th air forces lost 29 heavy bombers and 14 fighters plus 5 P-47's and several medium bombers of the 9th air force. I do not have P-51 casualties, but I have it somewhere that the 332nd lost 3 P-51's to Me 262 fire.

still searching for the truth !!!

E

 

We all look for the truth...

Why do they say, at the end of the film and the captain when interviewed that they NEVER lost a SINGLE bomber by enemy's fighters-action. If the German archives are true, then it is not rue. ????

 

Friedrich :

Again not haveing the 332nd fighter group history in front of me I cannot say if the B-17's they were protecting were lost. I would imagine that not all the 332nd went after 25 Me 262's and that many stayed with the bomber formation. We have to remember that bomber formations ran a length sometimes of over 10 miles so there was plenty of opportunity for JG 7 jets to attack the US heavies at any place where they may have been protected by other 15th air force fighter groups. Also 8th A.Force could of taken some losses as well. The 332nd also claimed 1 Me 163 as a probable (not !), and 3 more Me 262's as damaged........well ah......
anyway I am hopefully receiving more Luftwaffe data within a months time where I can add to this story. There were 59 P-51's of the 332nd operating this date and the unit earned a Distinguished Unit Citation.....

E

 

I had not heard about his passing--thanks for letting us know.

 

I had not heard of his passing either.
Apparently the Tuskegee Airmen never lost a bomber-im not sure that the losses are correct...