Charles London
78th Fighter Group 06/22/1943
a. 22 June, 194 3 Unit
b. 83rd Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group Type and Mark of Our Aircraft
c. P-47C Nu mber Of Enemy Aircraft
d. One 1 Type Of Enemy Aircraft
e. FW 190 Time of Attack
f. 0925 Place of Arrack
g. Due 1 mile off West Coast of Walcheren Island Weather
h. 5/10 high cirrus t 30,000 feet visibility good Height of Enemy
i. 8,000 feet Enemy Casualties j. 1 FW 190 destroyed Statement of Claim: 22 June, 1943, I was leading Roadhog Yellow flight, on bomber escort mission. There was a mixup on the time and instead of meeting the bombers over the target at Antwerp, we met them coming over Walcheren Island as we were going in. They were north of us so we turned left to get over them and escort them out. As we turned in behind the bombers I saw one B-17 straggling behind the formation. I immediately led my flight to cover this straggler. As I was pulling in over and behind the bomber I observed a FW 190 flying at about 90 degrees to me, positioning itself to attack the B-17. I fired one short burst at a 90 degree deflection and closed in behind the enemy aircraft. I then started firing again from about 30 degrees deflection down to 0 degrees and closed to about 350 yards, from where I fired a five second burst. As I fired I saw incendiary flashes on the wing and fuselage to the FW 190, but he took no evasive action. By this time we were down to about 5,000 feet. The FW 190 started a slow turn to the right and went into a 45 degree dive towards land. I then broke away and saw the enemy aircraft continue down and crash on Walcheren Island, close to Domburg. I did not see the pilot bail out.
Official US Army Air Forces Combat Report by Charles London of the 78th Fighter Group. This material is a transcription of official reports-testimonials of Charles London's combat experience.
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