339th Fighter Group 06/08/1944
A. Combat.
B. 8 June 1944
C. 505th Fighter Squadron.
D. 1630 hours.
E. Vicinity of Rennes; deck.
F. Five to six tenths cloud cover with base at 3,000 ft. visibility excellent.
G. Two FW-190’s.
H. One FW-190 destroyed.
One FW-190 destroyed (shared with Lt. Starnes).
I. a. 2nd Lt. Peter J. McMahon, O-812456, 505th Fighter Squadron.
I was flying on Lt. Jaaskelainen’s wing in the vicinity of Rennes about 1630 on June 8. We had sighted a convoy of trucks and were flying in loose trail preparatory to dive bombing from about 2,500 ft.
An FW-190 slipped in between Jaaskelainen and I, and I fired a short burst but allowed too much deflection and he started down doing sharp aileron movements. Going straight down I cut my throttle and when he eased up a bit I got strikes on his tail. Then he rolled it on its back as if he were going to split-ess at about 800 ft. When he rolled over I got solid strikes on his belly after which he rolled back right side up, nose down, and exploded into the ground from about a half turn spin.
I pulled up just under the cloud layer and saw a P-51 chasing another 190 on the deck. I came down on the right and fired one burst, noting strikes on the right side of the fuselage. The other pilot Lt. Starnes, was getting in solid bursts on the inside and the 190 hit the ground and exploded.
Starnes and I then pulled up and joined our flight leader. We strafed the convoy, other trucks and some railroad cars on the way home.
PETER J. MCMAHON
2nd Lt, Air Corps,
505th Fighter Squadron.
Official US Army Air Forces Combat Report by Peter McMahon of the 339th Fighter Group. This material is a transcription of official reports-testimonials of Peter McMahon's combat experience.
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