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low we observed about twenty-plus in close
formation going down through the clouds.
The three of us immediately turned into the attack
and came down on them through the clouds.
I found myself directly astern of a ’190, with
a ’109 flying his wing in close formation. I was
evidently unseen as I got in a very successful
burst at the ’109 and observed numerous hits
on his wings, fuselage and tail. He was at about
eight hundred feet, and after catching fire he
went straight down into the ground.
I immediately kicked a little right rudder and
got in another successful burst at the ’190 and
observed numerous hits on its left wing, engine
and canopy. The ’190 went into a tight spiral and
crashed into the deck from a thousand feet.
At this point there were about fifteen or more
enemy aircraft in the vicinity and they started
aggressive tactics, and since I was alone, and
they were making head-on passes at me, I had
to take violent evasive action. I evaded into the
clouds.”
Following close behind Luksic were 487th
squadron commander Lt. Colonel John C. Meyer
and Lieutenants John Thornell and Clayton Davis,
who claimed three each. The group returned to
Bodney with total claims of 27 destroyed, their
best day ever. The day’s action earned the
Bodney Blue Nosers their first Distinguished Unit
Citation, while Luksic, Meyer, Thornell and Davis
were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
While the Blue Nosers scored over Berlin,
VIII Fighter Command Mustangs were ranging
farther and farther afield. That same day,
the Fourth escorted bombers to Brüx (Most),
Czechoslovakia, nearly 800 miles from Debden.
JG 27's Bf 109s provided opposition, but the
Mustangs came out on top with five pilots
submitting claims for five destroyed. The next
day, the group flew east of Berlin to pick up
bombers returning from a strike on Poznan,
Poland over the Oder river.
While the Eagles flew to Poland, the 352nd
went to Berlin again on May 13, the Blue Nosers
got involved in a massive battle with intercepting
enemy fighters. Nearing Tribsees-Demmin, huge
formations of Bf 109s and Fw 190s were spotted
forming up to attack the bombers. First blood
was drawn by the 328th squadron’s Captain John
Coleman and his element leader 1st Lieutenant
Francis Horne, who each scored two. Group
commander Colonel Joe Mason led the 486th
squadron into a force estimated as “100-plus.”
The squadron broke into individual flights, with
the Mustangs attempting to break up the enemy
formation.
Mason, leading White Flight swept through
enemy fighters that turned away, and he later
reported:
“I saw strikes on the wing of one Me 109. Upon
coming out on the far side, I lost the rest of my
flight. As I pulled up in a climbing turn and looked
down at the large formation of bandits, I saw two
Me 109s spinning down, one with about two-
thirds of its wing gone. This collision was forced
by my flight flying through the large formation of
bandits at about a ninety-degree angle. I am not
certain as to whether the ’109 I damaged was one
of the two I later saw going down.
My wingman broke away and down when we
started through, and my second element pulled
up and came in on the rear of the bandits. They
did not see the collision. I then rolled back and
down, chasing twenty FW 190s and Me 109s which
had split off from the bunch and were diving
for the clouds. I closed on an FW 190 and after
a few short bursts, set him on fire. The first burst
knocked his left flap off. He was taking evasive
action in the clouds, and just before entering one,
smoke, flame and debris came back over my ship
and we both went into the cloud. I then pulled up
to keep from running into him in the cloud, and
came out on top. My ship was covered with oil
from the ’190.”
P-51D-10 “Straw Boss” of the 352nd Fighter Group, the “Blue-Nosed Bastards of Bodney.” (USAF Official)
“The rst burst
knocked his left ap
off…”
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