WWII Pilot Combat Report - ALWIN JUCHHEIM

ALWIN JUCHHEIM

78th Fighter Group 02/24/1944

OFFICE OF THE INTELLIGENCE OFFICER 83rd FIGHTER SQUADRON INTELLIGENCE COMBAT REPORT REFERENCE F.C.F.O. NO. 250

Combat. 24 February 1944. 83rd Fighter Squadron, 78the Fighter Group. Furstenau. Patches of low cloud, excellent visibility. Me 109's. 1 Me 109 destroyed, 1 Me 109 probably destroyed. I was leading Blue flight on a bomber escort mission. About ten minutes after R/V, I saw the lead box of bombers fire a green flare, so I flew over to investigate. About six Me 109's made a pass from above and continued down. I followed one and fired a two second burst from about 200 yards with 10 degrees deflection. I saw strikes on the wing, and fuselage. The 109 headed out of his dive and then started for the deck again. I fired two more 2 second bursts and made hits both times. The range was about 200 yards. The canopy blew off, but the pilot did not bail out. He crashed in an open air field and disintegrated. I pulled up on another 109's tail and he started to turn and then went for the deck. I followed, firing a short burst at about 300 yards. Black smoke came from his engine. My wing man and I followed him over a little town and into some woods. We were line astern and within 600 yards. The 109 suddenly disappeared. My wing man and I think he crashed into the trees as he was not well enough camouflaged to be difficult to see.

25 February 1944. ALWIN M. JUCHHEIM 2nd Lt., Air Corps, 83rd Fighter Squadron. Supporting Statement of Claim: I was flying as Lt Juchheim's wing man when he bounced a Me 109. We followed the e/a down to about 3,000 feet when Lt. Juchheim fired a short burst and made hits which started the e/a smoking. The 109 then headed for the deck with black smoke streaming from it. We followed and Lt. Juchheim fired another short burst at an altitude of 200 feet. The pilot of the 109 jettisoned his canopy, then his ship rolled slowly and went in at a sharp angle. 25 February, 1944. HARRYL. BLYSTONE 2nd Lt., Air Corps, 83rd Fighter Squadron

Official US Army Air Forces Combat Report by ALWIN JUCHHEIM of the 78th Fighter Group. This material is a transcription of official reports-testimonials of ALWIN JUCHHEIM's combat experience.

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