WWII Pilot Combat Report - JOHN MEYER

JOHN MEYER

352th Fighter Group 12/04/1943

ENCOUNTER REPORT Combat Dec. 4, 1943. 487 th Fighter Squadron 1 500 hours 10 mi. W. Utrecht Vis. good ME 109 1 ME 109 dest royed

Narrative: At 1500 hours approximately 10 miles west of Utrecht, leading 487 th Squadron at 20,000 ft. I saw an a/c flying in a NW direction below at about 10,000 ft. As the a/c approached directly beneath us it headed back inland. I lead 487 th White Flight down to attack, with Red Flight providing cover. Closing rapidly, indicating 400 mph, directly astern I fired a short burst at 250 yds. closing to 175 yds. at 5 0 deflection. E/A took no noticeable evasive action. Strikes were observed at rt. wing root and fuselage directly below pilot's seat. Flame was seen coming from this and engine area. A large explosion then took place blowing off what I believe to be the rear section of the fuselage. The nose dropped and plane headed straight down in flames. We zoomed back up and gained the group. Claim: 1 ME 109 destroyed . J. A/C Ser No. A/C Markings Ammo Exp 4 2 - 8 529 HO - M 256 API JOHN

C. MEYER Major, AC I was flying Crown Prince White 2 on Maj. J.C. Meyer's wing at 20,000 ft. At 1500 hrs. about 10 miles west of Utrecht I saw an a/c flying in a northwest direction below us and at an altitude of approx.. 10,000 feet. It turned inland when it was directly under us and Maj. Meyer called to say he was going down. We closed rapidly and I saw that the a/c was a ME 109. Maj. Meyer opened fire at approx.. 225 yds. firing to about 150 yds. and at about 5 0 -10 0 deflection. E/A took no evasive action and strikes were observed which centered from pilot's seat to engine. The rear end of the fuselage seemed to come off, and flames and smoke came from the e/a which fell off into steep dive. We climbed rapidly and rejoined group.

Serial # 42-8474 Markings: HO-E Ammo Exp: NIL GEO. L. WERTENBAKER, MAJ., AC DARRELL H. HAMRIC Capt. , A C. , S-2 Officer .

Official US Army Air Forces Combat Report by JOHN MEYER of the 352th Fighter Group. This material is a transcription of official reports-testimonials of JOHN MEYER'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.

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.