Charles London

Captain Charles P. London (a) 29 June 1943 (b) 83rd Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group (c) Our A/C: P-47-C (d) Enemy A/C: 3 (e) Type: ME 103 G (f) Time: 2200 (g) Location: Vicinity of Gournay (h) Weather: 9/10 low overcast at about 10,000 feet; horizontal visibility good; scattered high cirrus ( i ) Height of Enemy: 21,000 feet (j) E nemy Casualties 2 Me 109 G's Statement of Claim: Our mission was to meet a formation of 120 B-17's and escort them from Gisors out to the French Coast. The other two fighter groups were to follow us in at intervals of five minutes. We had just picked up the bombers to bring them out when I sighted a formation of three enemy fighters coming in from 9 o'clock on the bombers. They were flying in close Vee formation and as I took my flight, Roadhog Red, over to attack the enemy aircraft, I saw they were Me 109 G's. We attacked from out of the sun and I took the one on the right. I opened fire at about 125 yards and fired a 2 or 3 seconds burst closing to 50 yards dead astern with no deflection. Pieces of the enemy aircraft flew off and the right wheel came down. I broke up and to the right. I looked up and saw that my wing man was okay and still with me. I then looked down at the enemy formation and saw that they were still flying together and the one I had fired on was smoking and his right wheel was still down. They apparently had not seen the attack, and the formation continued on its way, flying between the two boxes of bombers and through a barrage of heavy flak. We flew through after them and I opened fire on the same enemy aircraft again, at 100 yards, dead astern with no deflection, and closed to 25 yards. More pieces flew off the Me 109 and it exploded in the air. We were then between the two boxes of B-17's and in heavy flak so I broke off to the right of the formation of bombers I was climbing to get above the bombers, when my wing man, F/O Askelson , who was still with me, reported a Me 109 below us. We attacked from astern and opened fire at about 125 yards and fired a 3 second burst closing to 25 yards, dead astern with no deflection. Large pieces of the right enemy aircraft flew off and it exploded in the air. I then broke up to the right. After checking to see that my wing man was alright I looked down and saw the Me 109 going down in a spiral in flames. At this time of the attack on the second enemy aircraft, it was about 1 o'clock to the bombers formation preparing for a head on attack. I saw both enemy aircraft go down in flames and claim 2 Me 190's destroyed. F/O Askelson , was flying on my wing, kept his position and stayed with me during both attacks and the realization that he was watching my tail enabled me to concentrate on the enemy aircraft I was attacking.