WILLIAM SWANSON

78th Fighter Group 01/29/1944


A . Type of Action C ombat B . Date 29 January 1944 C . Unit 82nd Fighter Squadron D . Time of Attack 1 11 0 h ou rs E . Place of Attack Koblentz a rea F . Weather 10/10 cloud G . Type of Target FW-190 H . Enemy Casualties One FW-190 d estroyed . I . Account of Combat: I was flying #3 in Churchtime White Flight. We had been with the bombers about ten minutes when we saw two FW-190s flying down sun towards the bombers. Our flight passed them head-on, then pulled out and bounced them from the rear. White leader took the one at 21,000 feet and I attacked the one at 20,000 feet. I took a short burst at 700 yards dead astern, then opened up again at 400 yards and closed on in to 100 yards dead astern. I saw strikes on both wings and fuselage and an explosion in the cockpit. Several pieces came flying back off the E/A. I broke off the attack and last saw the E/A spinning down out of control and smoking badly. I claim one FW-190 destroyed. WILLIAM S. SWANSON 1st Lt. , Air Corps .

Official US Army Air Forces Combat Report by WILLIAM SWANSON of the 78th Fighter Group. This material is a transcription of official reports-testimonials of WILLIAM SWANSON's combat experience.






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