WWII Pilot Combat Report - WILLIAM STREIT

WILLIAM STREIT

353rd Fighter Group 10/14/1943

ENCOUNTER REPORT C ombat . 14 October 1943. 3 5 2 nd Fighter Squadron 1310, 1330 Vicinity of Turnhout. 25,000 feet. 2 layers of clouds. 1 st layer 10,000, 2 nd 28,000 feet. ME 109s One ME 109 destroyed.

I. Narrative: We were at 29,000 feet and I was flying #3 position in Wakeford White Flight, Major Bailey my flight leader. When we saw an e/a below us, Major Bailey went down after it and called to us to watch his tail, we stayed above. Then a 109 came in front of us and I took a shot at him, I didn't see any strikes. He rolled over and went down. Just then I noticed a 109 come in on my wingman 's tail (Lt. Morrison). I called to him to break. Lt. Morrison didn't hear me at first so I began to do evasive action so the e/a couldn't get a decent shot at him and also tried to get on the e/a's tail. I kept calling Lt. Morrison, when he heard he broke left and I then pulled in behind the 109, he rolled over, went down and I followed. He then pulled out and climbed into the sun, I was closing in on him when he rolled over again. At this time I began firing, my first burst brought smoke and flames. Seemed like the first shell caught him on fire. I was approximately 300 yards from him. I kept firing and he began to spin down. My wingman saw him spinning down and burning. Lt. Morrison did a marvelous job of staying with me. One the basis of the foregoing and what my wingman saw, I claim one ME 109 destroyed.

WILLIAM F. STREIT, 1 st Lt., A C, 352 nd F Sq.

Official US Army Air Forces Combat Report by WILLIAM STREIT of the 353rd Fighter Group. This material is a transcription of official reports-testimonials of WILLIAM STREIT'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.