H. W. BROWN
354th Fighter Group 09/11/1944
A. ENCOUNTER REPORT – 354th A.C OMBAT. B. 11 September 1944. C. 354 Fighter Squadron, 355 Fighter Group, AAF Station F-122, APO 637, U.S. Army. D. 1205 E. South of Kassel. F. 4/10ths; tops at 8,000 feet, bottom 4,000 feet. G. COMBAT. H. THREE ME 109s - DESTROYED. I. I was leading Falcon Blue Flight at 23,000 feet at 9 o'clock to the bombers and I saw about 20 plus, ME 109F's attacking the bombers in elements of four from high at 3 o'clock. I called them in to Falcon Leader and at the same time dropped my wing tanks and started a shallow dive with full throttle to catch four 109s that had just shot a B-24 out of the high tail end box. I dove down and intercepted the four 109s at the deck. We went into a lufberry and the leader was a little higher than the other three so I jumped him first. I fired from about 200 yards from a very large deflection. (I have a K-14 sight). He burst into flames and exploded. I CLAIM THIS ME 109 - DESTROYED. I then cut back on my throttle and fell into the lufberry again and started after the last 109 in the lufberry. I closed to 200 yards and fired. I saw many strikes on the wings and cockpit area. I over ran him and pulled up. He tried to belly his ship in but it caught fire just before it hit the ground. I circled and took a picture of the 109 in the plowed field. There was a lot of dust in the air and the ship was burning. I CLAIM THIS ME 109 - DESTROYED. I was then attacked by two 109s. I broke up and into them. One of the 109s started to follow but he changed his mind after firing a few shots at me. He then tried to get away. I took out after him and I saw the other 109 was going in the same direction but some distance ahead. The 109 that tried to attack me and changed his mind was not aggressive at all. He flew straight course and as I was about 200 yards behind him and ready to fire I remembered my K-14 sight and switched to "fixed radical". In the meantime the pilot of the 109 must have cut his throttle for I had just enough time to pull up and do a half roll so as not to lose him from sight. I saw his flaps going down and as he was losing his speed I gathered he was trying to belly it in. He jettisoned his canopy and hit the ground very fast. He slid across the ground which was very swampy and hit an irrigation ditch and the 109 stood on its nose for a few seconds and then fell back. I circled and made a firing pass on it trying to set it on fire. I saw the pilot was half out of the cockpit and my bullets looked as though they hit him. He did not move so I guess he was dead already. The engine was torn off and both wings were messed up. I CLAIM THIS ME 109 - DESTROYED. I CLAIM THREE (3) ME 109F's (all of these 109s had fixed tail wheels) AS DESTROYED. THE K-14 sight is a pilot's dream. The accuracy in deflection shooting is unbelievable. H. W. BROWN, 1st Lt, Air Corps.
Official US Army Air Forces Combat Report by H. W. BROWN of the 354th Fighter Group. This material is a transcription of official reports-testimonials of H. W. BROWN'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.
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.