339th Fighter Group 08/04/1944
A. Combat.
B. 4 August 1944.
C. 505th Fighter Squadron.
D. 1315-1330 hours.
E. About 20 miles south of Hamburg; deck.
F. 5/10 cloud; visibility good.
G. One ME-109.
One FW-190.
H. One ME-109 destroyed (shared with Lt. Tongue).
One FW-190 destroyed.
I. a. 2nd Lt. Lawrence J. Powell, O-817095, 505th Fighter Squadron.
I was flying Upper White two on a ramrod to Hamburg. At 1300 we left the bombers to chase bandits and went down on the deck to strafe an airfield during which time I lost my flight leader while dodging flak. I stayed on the deck and just after someone called in “bandit” a 109 cut across in front of me, from left to right. I made a sharp right turn and immediately got my sights on the e/a. I closed in rapidly from astern to about 400 yards and gave him a short burst, observing hits on the wing. The e/a made a sharp left turn and I let go with a long burst at 30 degrees deflection with a 2 radii lead at about 250 yards, observing many hits on the cockpit and around the wing roots. At this point the 109 straightened out and started a gentle dive, finally crashing into the trees.
When I came home I was told that I shared this e/a with Lt. Tongue. All of the action took place at about 400 feet.
We went down to strafe two locos and were making our passes when I spotted an FW-190 firing on a P-51 in a left turn. I pulled a 45 degree deflection shot on the e/a but my tracers went behind his tail. I closed in to 200 yards and gave him a long burst at 30 degrees deflection and 2 ½ radii, observing hits on the tail. All through this the e/a stayed in his turn as if he hadn’t seen me. I pulled a three radii lead and gave him another long burst with hits observed on the cockpit and fuselage. The 190 straightened out and went into a steep dive. At about 100 feet the canopy flew off and the pilot bailed out but his chute never opened. As the 190 hit the ground there was a violent explosion. This action took place at 400 feet in the Hamburg area.
I claim one ME-109 destroyed (Lt. Tongue) and one FW-190 destroyed.
LAWRENCE J. POWELL, JR.
2nd Lt., Air Corps,
505th Fighter Squadron.
Official US Army Air Forces Combat Report by Lawrence Powell of the 339th Fighter Group. This material is a transcription of official reports-testimonials of Lawrence Powell's combat experience.
Lawrence Powell: Personnel File
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