Daniel Britt

352nd Fighter Group 12/20/1943


 

ENCOUNTER REPORT

Lt. D.T.Britt

 

a.  COMBAT

b.  December 20, 1943

c.  487th. FIGHTER SQUADRON

d.  1130

e.  20 miles N W Oosterwolde at 22,000 to 10,000 ft.

f.  Visibility Good.

g.  Me 109

h.  One ME 109 Destroyed

i.  I was flying Crown Prince Yellow 2.  We had just left the Bombers, and had started to withdraw.  In the vicinity of Oosterwolde, I saw 2 bogies at 23,000 ft, about 4,000 ft. below our flight.  After identifying them as ME 109s, Yellow leader attacked one.  I saw many strikes on his wings and fuselage.  Yellow leader broke up, and I came in and fired a short burst, getting a few strikes.  I pulled away to the right altitude, 22,000 ft.  I looked back and saw the other ME 109 turn on its back and head for the deck.  I split “S”ed and followed him quickly closing to 200 to 250 yds. line astern, going straight down.  I fired a long burst at 15,000 ft., from 200 yds.  Dense smoke poured from the engine.  I continued firing into the smoke, although I couldn’t see the plane because of it, and fired down to 10,000 ft. and then broke away.  I watched the E/A diving and spinning towards the ground, where it crashed and exploded.  The pilot did not bail out.  The plane was silver, or silver on top and light blue underneath.

CLAIM:  One ME 109 Destroyed.

 

Serial # 42-8633                Markings:            H O – Q                 Ammo. Exp.       1355 I.

 

DANIEL T. BRITT

1st. Lt.  AC.

 

Lt. Harold S. Riley.

I was flying Crown Prince Green 3.  I had just pulled up after attacking an FW 190 and was looking for the rest of my flight, when I saw an ME 109, silver in color, below me and diving.  I started down after it at once.  At the same time, I saw another P-47 closing on it faster than I.  The other P-47 opened fire at 15,000 ft. dead astern.  I saw many strikes, and what looked like the belly tank, explode.  The ME 109 spun down, and started to smoke.  The P-47 continued firing into it, to about 10,000 ft. and then broke away.  I watched the E/A spin out of control and continue down untill it hit the ground, sending up a huge sheet of flame.

Serial # 42-22530              Markings:            H O – R                Ammo, Exp.       76 I.

 

HAROLD S. RILEY

1st. LT.  AC.

 

SEYMOUR JOSEPH

1st. Lt.  AC.,

S – 2 Officer

 

 

 

 


Official US Army Air Forces Combat Report by Daniel Britt of the 352nd Fighter Group. This material is a transcription of official reports-testimonials of Daniel Britt's combat experience.


Return To Stories





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.

Contact us if you are contemplating a donation of any kind.

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.