WWII Pilot Combat Report - Claude Mussey

Claude Mussey

56th Fighter Group 02/21/1944

HEADQUARTERS SIXTY FIRST FIGHTER SQUADRON AAF STATION F- 365 , APO 637 U. S. ARMY Encounter Report VIII F ighter C ommand F.O. N o . 246

a . Combat b . 21 February, 1944 c . 6 1st Fighter Squadron , 56th Fighter Group d . 1530 hours e . Over Zuider Zee f . 8/10 overcast at 4,000 g . 1 Me 109 h . 1 Me - 109 d estroyed i . I was fly ing Halstead Blue four to Lt. Klibbe when we sighted three e/a at about 27,000 feet. We circled over to where they were and they came at us out of the sun. We then started turning with them and after about four turns we were getting on their tail. I was about to open fire when an e/a snapped over on his back stalled out. I lowered my nose and rolled over ending up headed straight down at the e/a. I was at about 100 yards when I opened fire. After I fired, he started tumbling completely out of control. I claim O ne Me - 109 destroyed . j. rds .50 cal A.P.I.

CLAUDE E. M USSEY 2nd Lt., Air Corps. SUPPORTING STATEMENT: I was flying Halstead White two to Major G. Johnson at 18-20,000 feet heading west when I noted contrails above and west of us at about 25-28,000 feet. One of the P-47's in the flight shot down a Me-109 which went straight down in a very tight spiral. It was not smoking and nobody bailed out. It crashed just east of the point of land southwest of Maiken Island on the west edge of the Zuider Zee. Since only two e/a went down in this vicinity and the one shot by Lt. Klibbe was smoking, it is my belief that the e/a I saw was destroyed by Lt. Mussey. ROY L. BOWLIN JR., Captain, Air Corps.

Official US Army Air Forces Combat Report by Claude Mussey of the 56th Fighter Group. This material is a transcription of official reports-testimonials of Claude Mussey's combat experience.

Donations

Do you have WWII memorabilia that you are not sure what to do with it? The children don't want it? Then let us help you preserve this history by donating these items to the Army Air Corps Library and Museum.

We are accepting donations in the form of uniforms, medals, ribbons, patches, photos, memorabilia, papers, gear and equipment.

We also accept monetary donations to support our operations and long term plans.

Donate

This website is part of the Army Air Corps Library and Museum, and as a 501(c)(3) Non-profit, your qualifying donations are tax deductible.

Volunteering

Are you an AAC, AAF or USAF Veteran, family member, historian or WW2 enthusiast? We Need YOU! Contact us today to see how you can help the Army Air Corps Library and Museum, a Texas Not-For-Profit Corporation.

We need your help! We are looking for volunteers that can help us with the following tasks.

(1) Typing and Transcriptionists: One of our big projects is extracting data from the thousands of documents we have and putting this data into a database where we can display the information on a website such as this one. (2) Photography and Document Scanning.

Historical Artifacts

We are looking for photos, documents and other types of artifacts including uniforms and gear of the 8th Air Force in World War II as well as other units and commands. We accept electronic/scans or originals of pictures and paper records. A General Order could be an award document that contains information on many servicemen. Special Orders may contain transfers or other information. Flight records, accident reports, maintenance logs, after action reports, pilot encounter reports, diaries and biorgraphies; all of these types of documents help us support or mission: preserving your history! Contact us today for instructions on sending us this material.