HISTORY

This discrepancy could be attributed to the system of escorts on

which their commanders decided. The Red Tails always stayed

within visual range of their charges, while other units opted for

a tactic that involved standing off at greater distances, and catching their victims before they could get to the bombers. That was

part of the strategy of the 8th and 15th Air Forces in their attempt

to gain and maintain air superiority over the enemy. Thanks to their

tactics, the 332nd FG lost half of their charges compared to their

colleagues. The Red Tails, over the last eleven months of the war,

lost only 27 bombers they escorted to action of enemy fighters.

These losses were over the course of 7 of 179 escort missions they

undertook during this period.

Kampfgeschwader ‘Boelcke’ Fighter Pilots

The German ‘Boelcke’ bomber wing was formed in April, 1936 and

after two changes, the designation became Kampfgeschwader 27

in May, 1939. It carried the name of a legendary flyer from the First

World War, Oswald Boelcke. It fought its way through Poland, Western

Europe, the Battle of Britain, and from there through to mid-1944 the

eastern Front. Throughout this whole period, it flew Heinkel He 111s.

Photo: Jeffrey Ethell Collection

Photo: Tuskegee Airmen 332nd Fighter Group pilots

Distinguished Unit Citation

Before being attached to the 332nd Fighter Group, the 99th Fighter Squadron received two Distinguished Unit Citation awards

from the American President. The first was for action in Sicily in

1943, and the second was for action at Monte Cassino in the spring

of 1944. At that time, it was a component of the 324th FG. A third award came together with the whole of the 332nd FG for the

escort of bombers on March 24th, 1945.

On this day, the 15th AF received orders to raid targets in Germany

and occupied Czechoslovakia. It succeeded in attracting the atten-

As was their custom, the Red Tails stuck close to the bombers

they were escorting, and the 99th FS claimed three jets as damaged, with another three probable kills being claimed by the

100th FS, and same unit also claiming three confirmed kills. The

successful pilots were F.O. Charles V. Brantley, 1/Lt. Earl R. Lane

and 1/Lt. Roscoe C. Brown.

The last named pilot attacked one of the ‘Turbos’, as the Americans

called them, in a dive, but lost contact. When he climbed back up to

24,000 feet, he spotted another Me 262 approaching from the right

and from above at a distance of 2,500 feet. Brown went into a climb

at some 15 degrees, and with the help of his gyroscopic gunsight,

he fired three long bursts from 2,000 feet from the enemy’s eight

o’clock position. The German bailed out of his aircraft.

Besides the 332nd FG, the 463rd and 483rd BGs also received the

Distinguished Unit Citation.

tion of at least a part of the enemy’s aerial assets which protected

the crossing of the Rhine during Operation Plunder.

The Red Tails were tasked with the escort of B-17s to Berlin, where the target was a plant that manufactured Daimler-Benz engines destined for tanks. The target was reached by 158 ‘Heavies’

and 241 fighters. This force was intercepted by JG 7 Me 262s, and

their pilots claimed ten B-17s and three escort fighters. Among

the enemy fighter pilots were such well known names as Heinrich

Ehrler, Hermann Buchner and Franz Schall. In actual fact, though,

the jets only shot down two bombers and two Mustangs, which

hailed from the 332nd FG. Both were apparently brought down

by Walter Schuck during an Me 262 training flight with JG 7. Four

Me 262s were shot down and all of their pilots sustained injuries.

The bomber crews reported shooting down eight Me 262s as confirmed kills and five as probable. In all likelihood, at least one was

actually shot down. Fighter pilots of the 31st FG claimed five Me

262s confirmed and three probable, out of which one was observed from low altitude at an enemy air base.

INFO Eduard - June 2021

Photo: Jeffrey Ethell Collection

Photograph from Ramitelli, Italy in March 1945 shows left to right, crew chief Marcellus G.

Smith and pilot Roscoe C. Brown who downed a Me 262 on March 24, 1945 and added scored again on March 31. After the war Brown became a professor at New York University.

P-51D "Tootsie" in background was assigned to Lowell Steward.

The Bf 109 G-10 "Yellow 2", which formerly belonged to KG(J) 27, was found at the end of the

war in Kaufbeuren. The green and white checkerboard is a quick identification feature of this

unit. The white number on the rudder is a marking used by the unit responsible for transporting aircraft to combat units. It is not clear why the plane was located here. The 3rd and 6th

Panzerjägerstaffel Bü 181 were permanently based here, as was the training unit FFS A 23

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