John Godfrey

4th Fighter Group 05/01/1944


Headquarters Fourth Fighter Group APO 637 U.S. Army Pilot Combat Report VIII Fighter Command F.O. 323 Combat 1 May 1944 336 Fighter Squadron 1850 Hours N/W of Soarbruken 3/10 with Haze Me109 1 Uc109
I was flying Rocky Rod 3. The bombers had bo m b ed and arce on their way out. From 6 o'clock to the bombers I saw a formation of 12 a/ c diving down , flying in American formation, so I took them as friends. When they got closer I recognized them as bandits. I called up on the R/T, reported them and then dove to attack. My transmission was jammed and I found I was alone. Seeing as how my NO 2 could not keep up, I came down and made half hearted head-on attack after a couple ind reached the bombers. The rest scattered and I found I was right in the middle of the gaggle. I tied on to 3 Ho109's who pulled up to make another pass at the bombers. By this time other Mustangs had arrived so I singled one out who did a split "S" down through the opening in the clouds. I had no difficulty in following him and caught up to him at 2,000 feet. I climbed up his tail and pressed the old tit noticing bags of strikes all over. I pulled up to port and came down again. Again I clobbered him and pulled up to port. The pilot jettisoned hi s hood so I came back again to try and hit him before he bailed out. During this time he took no evasive action . Before I got down again the pilot had bailed out, so I waited for the kite to go and I took a picture of it burning. I flew towards the Jerry in the parachute, noticed when I got very close that he was wounded in the right shoulder, and that he wore black boots and a battle jacket similar in style and color to that of RAF . I waggled my wings and he waved with his left hand very vigorously . I claim 1 Me109 Destroyed

Ammunition Expended John T. Godfrey 377 Rounds API Capt. AC., Pilot

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

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.