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On May 8, the bombers went to both Berlin and
Brunswick. The mission saw the 352nd Fighter
Group fly their first all-Mustang escort mission
and the “Blue Nosers” finally appeared over
Berlin. The Jadgdwaffe responded with over 200
fighters. The group’s patrol area was soon the
scene of dogfights from 30,000 feet to street-
level with the action hot and heavy for nearly an
hour.
Over Brunswick, the 487th squadron’s 2nd
Lieutenant Carl Luksic gained the distinction
of being the VIII Fighter Command first “ace in
a day.” His encounter report provides an accurate
description of the action:
“While Lieutenant Bob O’Nan was chasing
this Bf 109 I saw on my left five or six FW 190s
which I immediately turned into. I put down ten
degrees of flaps and started queuing up on one
of the ’190s. I fired very short bursts from about
300 yards, 15 degrees deflection and observed
many strikes on the canopy and fuselage.
He immediately pulled up and rolled over and
the pilot bailed out, his airplane going straight
in from fifteen hundred feet. At this time in this
vicinity there were three ’chutes – one from the
enemy aircraft that I had shot down and one from
the enemy aircraft that Lieutenant O’Nan had
shot down, but I do not know where the third one
came from.
I then broke away from one shooting at me and
got onto another ’190’s tail and fired short bursts,
but did not see any hits. However, the pilot
evidently spun out as he went straight into the
ground from eight hundred feet or so and blew
up. I was then joined by two P-47s but lost them,
and finally joined up with two from our own group,
Captain Cutler [from the 486th squadron] and his
wingman. He started down over Brunswick to
strafe a ‘drome, but observing so much ground
fire and flak I pulled up and away and lost them.
I then saw another airplane which I thought to
be a P-51. I closed on it to about thirty yards and
identified it as a ’109. I gave a short burst, but
don’t know if there were any strikes, and I found
myself riding his wing as I was at full throttle.
He was about two hundred feet off the deck, and
when he looked at me he pulled up, jettisoned
his canopy and bailed out. I went down and took
a picture of the airplane, which had crashed into
a small wood, and right onto a small fire.
I started to climb back up when I was rejoined
by my wingman, Lieutenant O’Nan, and Red
Leader, Captain Davis. We started back towards
the bombers when off to our left at nine o’clock
“I then broke away
from one shooting
at me and got onto
another ’190’s tail…
A P-51D of the 4th Fighter Group’s 334th Fighter Squadron with D
-
Day identification markings. (USAF Official)
P-51s prepare for takeoff from the Fourth Fighter Group’s base at Debden. (USAF Official)
P-51Ds of the 20th Fighter Group’s 77th Fighter Squadron. The 20th exchanged their P-38s for P-51s in July 1944.
(USAF Official)
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