John Du Four

4th Fighter Group 08/16/1943


HEADQUARTERS

FOURTH FIGHTER GROUP

A.P.O. 637   US Army

Pilot’s Personal Encounter Report

8 FC – FO 105

 

A.  Combat.

B.  16 August, 1943.

C.  336 Fighter Squadron.

D.  0930 hours.

E.  1 Mile North Paris.

F.  Good.

G.  Me 109G.

H.  1 Me 109G Destroyed

1 Me 109G Damaged

I.  I was leading 336 Squadron of the Fourth Fighter Group and my position was 2000 feet above and slightly northeast of the first box of B-17’s.  I noticed that enemy fighters were making headon attacks on this box of bombers, so I dove down to position directly in front of the bombers about 2000 feet and attacked with first a beam and then a large deflection shot, the second of two Me 109G’s who were just turning in to make their head-on attack.  They were well out of range (approximately 700 yards) but luckily the snap shooting worked out and strikes were seen on the rear part of the 109’s fuselage.  I claim this Me 109G as being damaged.

Resuming my position, I noted two more 109’s preparing an identical type of attack; this time I didn’t wait but immediately pressed forward my attack by diving slightly, throttling back and making a very steep turn to place myself where I could get a 30o deflection shot at about 300 yards range.  I fired for approximately six seconds but saw no strikes or results.  It was impossible for me to increase my rate of turn any further so I started to pull up to re-position myself for further opportunities.  As I started to pull up, I took one last look at the 109 and saw his left wing suddenly peel back and fly off.  The 109 immediately flicked into a peculiar uneven type of spin and when last seen was heading straight down completely out of control.  It seemed to me that the wing broke off at about two feet from the root.  My No. 2, F/O Herter, was following close behind me and saw the aircraft flick over and start on its crazy spin although he did not see the wing come off because my aircraft was in the way.  I claim this aircraft as destroyed.

 

Confirmed By:

GLENN A. HERTER

Flighter Officer, Air Corps

 

JOHN G. DU FOUR

Major, Air Corps

 

Ammunition Used

 


Official US Army Air Forces Combat Report by John Du Four of the 4th Fighter Group. This material is a transcription of official reports-testimonials of John Du Four'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.