David Schilling

C ombat 9 April 1944 6 2nd Fighter Squadron , 56 th Fighter Group 1 120 hours N.E. Schleswig CAVU 3 FW 190s, AR 196, JU W34 2 FW 190 s destroyed, 1 AR 196 destroyed, 1 FW 190 damaged, 1 JU W34 damaged Narrative: My wingman and I had become separated from the Group when we sighted a gaggle of between 30 and 35 FW 190s flying a tight formation circling to the right at 21,000 feet about 20 miles N.E. of Schleswig. We immediately swung around to the rear of the formation and sneaked in range from underneath and the outside. I opened fire from about three hundred yards with about a ten degree deflection from above and immediately saw strikes all over the aircraft. I continued firing until I had closed to 1 5 0 yards when I pulled up violently to avoid a collision with particles from the aircraft which exploded. Several pieces struck my aircraft knocking two holes in the leading edge of my right wing and one in the blister of my canopy. Immediately following this several of the rear end charlies saw my wingman and I and flick rolled to the deck. I picked another target at about a 30-degree deflection at about 300 yards and opened fire. He saw me and turned right, rolled and went down. I saw several strikes and followed him to 15,000 ft., where I broke off and climbed back up. I then saw my wingman diving on the tail of an FW 190 as I rejoined the rear end of the formation. By this time they had me spotted and split into two formations, half of them getting behind me. I flicked hit the switch and went down. At about 12,000 feet I over boosted my engine due to excessive ra ?? ( indecipherable text ) and blew a cylinder-head causing a lot of oil and smoke to come out of the left side of my engine. I had no sooner hit the deck with everything cu t back trying to stop the smoke, when I saw two FW 190s ahead turning to the left. I was still indicating over 400 and lined him up about 350 yards with about a ten - degree deflection. I noticed a large concentration of strikes on the wing roots, cockpit and canopy. As I passed over him, he pulled up steeply to the left, winged over, and went straight in and exploded leaving a large column of smoke. I continued on course out and happened across a lake several miles southeast of Schleswig and saw a Arado 196 on floats ahead and fired at it from about 900 yards and undershot but raised my sights and hit it squarely with a heavy concentration of strikes all over it. It began to smoke just as I passed over it. After I crossed the lake I saw a JU W34 ahead and slightly to the right preparing to land at Schleswig Airdrome. I was overeager and fired too soon and only g o t about five to seven hits before I ran out of ammunition. I then proceeded out on course and saw a FW 190 firing at me from about five hundred yards. I figured that excessive pressures would set the accessory section on fire but took the chance. As I did so, again smoke and oil poured out of the cowling and the FW 190 pulled up to my right and then turned back. I waited until he was out of sight and then cut back to 1800 and 29 inches. The fire stopped and I figured I might make it. Shortly after I had crossed out, I saw Heligoland out ahead and to my right and turned left but due to the haze almost flew over a large convoy led by three destroyers. I turned right and figured I could get between them. They must have been asleep because I was past the two of them before they opened up and they shot everything from both places. After getting out of range I called the boys and told them my predicament, speed, course and time I passed out and the trip home was uneventful. In view of the above, I c laim two FW 190 s destroyed in the air, one Arado 196 on the water, one FW 190 damaged in the air and one JU W34 damaged in the air.