Nazi flown p-47's ??

[bugazon]

Hello from another newbie who has signed up. This is the best reference site and Im glad to be aboard. Anyway, I was reading a book on the 71st infantry, Sixty days in combat, and the author referenced that a squad of four nazi captured p-47's that strafed their positions. I was wondering if anyone has pictures or knows the pilot names and how they were captured. Thanks, Keith G

[Scott Rose]

I've never heard of the Luftwaffe having 4 P-47's or using them in combat (an Italian pilot did shoot up some bombers with a captured P-38 Lightning). They did have at least one flyable P-47 through.


http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/p47beetle.html

[Former Member]

Scott,

I think I remember reading about the Italian pilot using the captured P-38 Lightning. If I remember correctly...didn't the Italians destroy the P-38's engines due the low octane and poor quality fuel?

John

[Tulio]

This is the caption for a photo of a P-47, as it appears on page 294, of Warren Bodie's book "Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, from Seversky to Victory" [ISBN0-9629359-1-3]:

"When an American fighter group moved into the abandoned Luftwaffe airfield at Gottingen (sp) Germany, the captured and German-marked P-47D pictured in the aerial view was found to be non-operational. The tailwheel strut was broken or collapsed, the propeller was missing and other components were in need of replacement or repair. All machine guns were operational and ammo boxes were full. (AAF 57465AC)

The caption makes reference to a picture in page 293, indicating the date as May 12, 1945.

I have to find and then I will check a book titled "Strangers in a Strange Land" where I belive, I have seen photo or photos of P-47 in Luftwaffe markings.


Saludos,


Tulio

[Django]

http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/p ... highlight=

[ZuluEcho]

This is probably a case of friendly fire. Often when a Allied aircraft was spotted attacking friendly forces it was marked off as 'one of the captured ones'.

Maintaining and utilising a enemy combat aircraft, when you have plenty of your own is not very likely, but certainly not unheard off. e.g the Axis use of Allied bomber (Kampfgeschwader 200).

And now i'm gonna completely contradict myself, there are a few accounts such as: http://www.stormbirds.com/hillis/tboltkill.htm

...during the desperate last days of the war, the Luftwaffe had repaired and refitted a number of lightly-damaged Allied aircraft which had come down in German-controlled areas. While several different aircraft types were used, P-47s and P-51s were considered especially valuable.

and interestingly

Fred Hillis.... .....that meant he was an “Ace” ... he had shot down five aircraft in combat - four German planes and one American plane.

although i'm finding the above quote hard to believe <maybe someone can shed some light on this> the bit about an American flag being painted on as a kill!

[Tulio]

The Squadron Signal book on the P-47, shows the same photo as I captioned above, plus another P-47, coded F + U, this one has a propeller on, and there is also a weird looking character as nose art.

The location is the same airfield in Gottingen.


Saludos,


Tulio

[Randy Haskin]

although i'm finding the above quote hard to believe <maybe someone can shed some light on this> the bit about an American flag being painted on as a kill!

Jack Cook posted a shot of a Corsair (?) with an American Flag kill marking on it...IIRC a C-47 that the crew had all ready bailed out of?

I searched the site here and couldn't find it....

[Trey Carroll]

Jack Cook posted a shot of a Corsair (?) with an American Flag kill marking on it...IIRC a C-47 that the crew had all ready bailed out of?

I searched the site here and couldn't find it....

Got the story right but it was a Mustang. I heard the guy was from Fort Wayne, IN.

[img][img]http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a5/Mister51/CaptLouisCurdesinP-51D1945.jpg[/img][/img]

[ZuluEcho]

Crikey!
Trey thanks for posting the pic! I guess the story about Hillis having a US kill is true.

[Jack Cook]

Off the top of my head.
The captured and flown P-47 was "Beatle", a C model flown by Lt Bill Roach of the 355th FG captured intact in Nov. 43 after landing out of fuel in France (thinking he was in england).
They're were some cases of friendly fire. Lt Coppolino of the 366th FS 358th FG claimed a enemy P-47 in April 45 but another group lost a P-47 with pilot killed downed at the same time and place.
Another 366th FS pilot named Fred Hillis (later one of Watson's Wizzers) claimed this a/c also has a destroyed enemy P-47. His story is in the Paine field ME-262 factory site. Sam Hitchcock, whom I mentioned in the Pearl Harbor thread was the 366th FS CO at the time said the story was BULL and Coppolino downed a US P-47.
http://www.stormbirds.com/hillis/tboltkill.htm

Last edited by Jack Cook on Wed Dec 06, 2006 12:15 am, edited 1 time in total.

[tom d. friedman]

tulio, that 's the book!!

[Roger Cain]

There are two books out, Strangers in a Strange Land, and Volume II Escape to Neutrality of the same name, but the first volume has the pictures of a couple German marked P-47's in it.

[Tulio]

I tried to find the books I mentioned; given that I haven't been home almost since January, I have had a hard time remembering in which box they are.

If interest continues on this subject, I will continue looking, but if the names of the books are enough, then the search can continue by the interested parties, either at their local bookstores or libraries.

Saludos,


Tulio

[maxum96]

Scott,

I think I remember reading about the Italian pilot using the captured P-38 Lightning. If I remember correctly...didn't the Italians destroy the P-38's engines due the low octane and poor quality fuel?

John

I remember reading a book about this incident years ago. Supposedly the P-38 in question was shot down by a YB-40 that flew on that particular mission with the intent of shooting down the Italian P-38.