Ruff numbers

[Hard Sarge]

Normandy Air Campaign -- 6 June to 28 August 1944
Allied fighters and medium bombers lost 1637
German fighters and medium bombers lost 1522
Total Allied aircraft lost (incl. heavy bombers) 4101
Total USAAF and RAF personnel lost 16,674
Total Allied sorties flown 389,400

[DandricSturm]

There aren't many numbers rougher than those.

[Hard Sarge]

IV/JG27 lost 98 planes in 2 months of fighting
 
II/JG3 lost 116 for the 3 month campaign
III/JG3 lost 93
 
end of June
2nd Tac lost 322 planes
IXth AF lost 255
VIIth AF lost 125
 
the LW lost 646
 
Allies flying some 99000 sorties to the LW 8000
 
there was a odd battle, the LW lost 6 planes and made 5 claims on P-47s, but no P-47 unit made any claims in that area or time that day or the day before or after, so, who or what did the LW run into ?
 
 

[goodboyladdie]

ORIGINAL: Hard Sarge

there was a odd battle, the LW lost 6 planes and made 5 claims on P-47s, but no P-47 unit made any claims in that area or time that day or the day before or after, so, who or what did the LW run into ?

Blimey! That's pretty impressive. That sounds exactly like what often happened IRL.

[Hard Sarge]

for a odd note for the 1st FG in the MED
 
22 Sep 43  The group provided escort for units of the Regia Aeronautica. Over 200 aircraft transferred to North Africa.
 
the early days in the Med Camp were ruff on the 1st FG
 
shocking
 
 

[Hard Sarge]

Ah got to love it, have read the reports of the 2nd action
 
as they say, it all depends on luck and timing
 
 
"Mission to the Straits of Skarpnto [?] to give cover to a Naval convoy. Stayed there an extra hour hoping to see some action, but no luck. Soon after the Group left, Bill [Leverette] & his outfit ran into 20/25 Germans. They shot down 14 Ju-87s, damaged 2, and shot down 1 Ju-88. Bill got six himself (later given credit for seven) running into the last one. On the return home found our airdrome U.S. on account of a dust cloud that rose to 11,000 feet. They vectored us into Mersa Watruh [?] where we refueled."

[Hard Sarge]

funny, that claim of 6 and the upgraded to 7
 
one story from the PTO
 
a Marine pilot (think it was Swett, James E. ) was on Canal, just got there on a transfer and there a major airaid, he ran and got into a F4F (they were back ups by now) that had overloaded wingguns, took off and tried to follow the fight as it was being reported over the radio, as he was closing in, he spotted a number of Vals to the other side of him, so broke off on joining and went after the Vals
 
I believe he claimed 7 kills, think they had to pick him up from the water as he was pretty shot up by the rear gunners, every one thought he was nuts, but as he told them where he was fighting, they went out to look, and found 8 Vals crashed and burned out, and since he was the only one to say he was in that area and the major battle had been else where, it was confirmed, in the Marines, they told him to learn how to count, since he claimed 7 kills, they gave him 7 kills, the 8th one was a freeby
 
I think he also said, you had to be in the right place at the right time, the rest is just training
 
 

[Hard Sarge]

Personnel status of the Group at the end of 1943 were as follows.
KIA:21
Missing: 76
Prisoner of War: 16
Accidental Deaths: 6
Wounded/Injured: 16
Escaped and returned: 7

[Hard Sarge]

LOL
 
this guy been having a bad war, he has had other troubles before this
 
Another pilot, Jack Pettus, couldn't jettison the belly tanks in engage the enemy aircraft and was further plagued with a small fire in the right engine. He overcame these problems by making sudden motions with the plane, dropping the tanks, and feathering the burning engine. After all this, Pettus even managed to strafe a train on the way back