P-51 pilot's story ,339th FG at Fowlmere

[merkman]

Found a film done by Steve Ananian that he shot on 16mm movie film around the base of the 339th fighter group at Fowlmere , England. Gives a rare glimpse of daily life at the base with some film shot from the airplane as well.
You can find it here: http://www.rareaviation.com/store/cart.php?target=category&category_id=926 Along with lots of other rare films. Good footage of jackets and uniforms too. Same FG my Uncle was in but different squadron's. Here;s a pic of my uncles P-51.

 

[Twitch]

That site has a fairly eccelctic selection of films.

I take it your uncle was Vern Blizzard 339th Fighter Group, 504th Fighter Squadron who scored 6 ground kills. Guess the photo from summer-fall 1944 after re-equipping with the Ds. Reason he had Punkie II was because Punkie was lost in belly landing on way to Fowlmere.

 

[merkman]

Correct! He also had 1 probable and 1 damaged Me 262's to his credit. Punkie was my Aunt's nickname. His time in combat was from Jan. to May 45'

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

Merkman,

Thanks for posting the link. It has some stuff I never thought I would find.

Neat pictures of your Uncle's plane!

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Steve Ananian flew with author Bert Stiles at Fowlmere. That was the home of the 3rd Division, 339th FG, 505th F/Sq. Stiles had transfered in from bombers where he had been a B-17 co-pilot at Bassingborn. Those experiences are recorded in his classic WWII book, "Serenade to the Big Bird".

Stiles didn't have his own mount yet at Fowlmere so he flew Jim Starne's Mustang, "Tar Heel". Bert lost it one day in November, '44 during a case of 'target fixation' and followed an FW-190 right into the ground. KIA at the age of 23. His parents published his book posthumously.

There is a lot of history from Fowlmere and the 339th.

-dixon cannon

 

[Twitch]

Merkman- I wrote about one of the guys in his outfit in another squadron a few years ago. Here's what it was like for your uncle---

DOWN & DIRTY

The air war of WW II had two sides. One was the air-to-air facet with its “clean” kills and the then there was the aspect of fighters versus ground fire.

A MATTER OF LUCK
It was literally statistically safer to fight at 20,000 feet over the Channel in a duel of squadrons instead of slithering into enemy airfields to peck away at the planes parked there as every gun from 88 mm flak weapons to 7.65 mm pistols directed their projectiles in your direction.

Many of the aces were foiled while attacking ground targets. John Godfrey couldn’t resist making repeated passes on a bunch of Ju 52s until probably even the cook of the airdrome was firing at him. Gabby Gabreski shot himself down coming in so low that his Thunderbolt’s huge prop skimmed the ground creating enough engine damage to ultimate bring the plane down. Many more less-famous individuals became guests of the Luft Stalags to begin their own version of Hogan’s Heros as the war continued.

As the Luftwaffe grew weaker and the Allied air offence grew stronger it was often a case of system overload. With enormous raids and feints on targets the sheer number of aircraft incoming to the Reich proper each day was more than the German alert system could handle. Often the only warning a Luftwaffe airdrome had of attack was an Allied fighter booming into view and spraying lead at parked planes.

This was safe for one or two passes if a section came across a juicy target-rich airfield. Once everyone was alert and manning the guns the odds changed. In the ETO from 25,000+ feet right down to the dirt the Germans had concentrated weapons coverage. On Pacific islands light AA- anti-aircraft- fire met attackers. European targets were often curtained with steel. Of course some facilities were not heavily defended but in general they were more often tough than not.

At high altitudes the venerable 88 mm flak rifles could hurl their shells past 20,000 feet. Where many 88s were ringing a target the pilots invented the phrase “flak thick enough to walk on.” When the shells burst to hurl shrapnel about the sky they did so with dirty black puffs of smoke. As those shells proliferated, the sky had so many black balls of flak that it appeared as if one could hop from one to the next they were so close together.

Closer to earth there were lighter calibers like the 37 mm and 20 mm weapons. They had less range and punch than the big 88s but could hurl a lot of metal up due to their faster firing rates. At ground level the 20 mms were joined by machine guns of all types and calibers along with 8 mm Mauser rifle rounds and even Walther pistol fire from 9 mm to 7.65 mm. This couldn’t be discounted since an errant “lucky” shot would be anything but lucky for the hapless Allied pilot whose craft took a Mauser round in a vital part fired by a German private.

A nicked oil or fuel line would sooner or later spell the end of an engine’s ability to run. A puncture in a cooling system would allow only a few minutes of running until overheating.

Some planes were specially developed to weather the incoming rounds from the ground, like the IL-2 with its thick armor plate but most fighters were simply “standard issue” planes made for aerial maneuvering and high performance. Armor was as thin as possible in a compromise of performance and protection. Where an Allied fighter did have plate behind the pilot to stop rounds fired from behind, it didn’t have a layer of armor on the undersides.

When a squadron peeled off and strafed an airfield the first few fellows had it easy as the surprise worked in their favor and gunners had yet to get ranges and compensate lead and deflection. If you were the sixteenth plane of the group was rotating through for a second and last run the slugs were more accurate and plentiful. Maneuvering was more two-dimensional than three. Pilots couldn’t “outmaneuver” low flak and machine gun fire with skill it was pretty much all a matter of luck.

The 8th Air Force credited air-to-ground kills so dangerous was getting a ground victory. As the years have passed ground victory scores have become pass?© to discuss or credit a pilot with in the 8th AF or any other. Why is it seemingly a negative thing that top Navy ace David McCampbell destroyed twenty-one Japanese aircraft on the ground along with the thirty-four he got in the air? Beside the twenty-four ETO Mustang pilot John Meyers got while airborne he destroyed another thirteen on the ground. While ground kills should not be lumped together with aerial ones for a total they should be proudly listed separately since destruction of enemy aircraft ultimately contributes to his defeat. It matters not how many ace pilots the enemy has, if there aren‚Äôt enough planes to fly.

The most ground victories of any pilot in WW II are the 38.5 of Thomas A. Reynolds in the China-Burma-India Theater. He also scored 3.0 in the air. In the ETO Elwyn G. Righetti destroyed 27.0 on the ground and 7.5 in the air. Second to him was Lt. Colonel Joseph Thury with 2.5 in the air and another 25.5 ground kills. We look at a couple missions in Thury’s combat life as the Reich crumbled in its death throes.

A GLIMPSE AT THE 262
The 339th Fighter Group’s 505th Fighter Squadron arrived in Fowlmere, England in late 1944 but the group claimed 691 victories by the war’s end. Much of the large-scale air-to-air combat operations seeing hordes of Luftwaffe planes in the air was generally over. Production Minister Albert Speer’s assembly of combat aircraft was in high gear, nevertheless, and in 1944 40,593 were produced. This meant there were plenty of planes to go around in early 1945 even though many had been destroyed by the Allies. One wonders how a 40,000-plane run would have changed the course of the war had it occurred in 1942.

The Me 262 was a relatively unknown entity to the Allies as late as April, 1945. None had been captured or crashed in Allied territory since they began operations in September, 1944. So on the 16th when Joe Thury, followed by seven other P-51s, spiraled down to 10,000 feet all they knew it by were gun camera stills from the USAF. They’d been released from their bomber escort duties as they returned to England and were on the lookout for targets of opportunity.

They were outside of Munich at Chiem, Germany when someone broke radio silence, “something’s moving below.”

Below was the Autobahn and Thury strained to make out a tractor towing something toward a large open space near the highway. It was a camouflaged airfield! 6,000 feet. 5,000 feet. At 4,000 feet Thury made out a winged object behind the tractor. It was unfamiliar. Then it registered. It was an Me 262!

Now shapes became distinct. There were many, many aircraft of all types at the edges of the field blending into the forest so as to hide them. This was juicy target. The Autobahn was used as a runway for the planes. Intelligence had reported a 262 factory hidden in the area of Munich and this must have been a staging field for the new planes.

“Let’s go down and hit the field,” Thury said, as the silver Mustangs passed 3,000 feet. They steepened their descent and flicked on the gun switches. No AA fire yet. Thury could see some 200 Luftwaffe fighters on and around the field- mainly 109s and 190s.

Pauline, Thury’s wife’s namesake, pointed her nose toward the field making 400 MPH as he lined up a Bf 109. No defensive fire yet. He pushed the button and the six fifties spat out its rounds kicking up dirt in front of the doomed Messerschmitt. Then pieces began to fly off and the parked plane exploded a split second later. Gas and oil odor could be smelled as the Mustang flashed over the wreck.

Looking back, the other P-51s were plastering the field without a hint of enemy fire. Several German planes were burning. Pauline made a circuit of the field and Thury lined up a 262. Now there were tracers in the air and orange golf ball-sized stuff from the 20 mms. They floated amongst the eight Mustangs, which gave back .50 calibers. Thury’s one thought was for the coolant system or oil lines of the Merlins. One round could mean death or at least spending time as a POW.

“Get the guns first,” he ordered thinking that if some of them were suppressed they’d have an easier time of it considering there were but six defensive guns firing.

The planes came in line astern aiming at the smoke from the rapid-fire guns. If the first plane didn’t get it the rest took up the attack one by one. Finally all the gun crews were killed and the Mustangs picked up where they’d left off. Thury fired from 1,000 feet on the 262 again. At that range the bullets criss-crossed due to the gun convergence being set at about 600 feet. The rounds found the jet as they walked up to it throwing dirt in the air. Splintered Me 262 pieces from the shattered plane spat forth as the crate began to burn.

As Thury began his left turn pattern the P-51s were flying around the field he noted several 262s destroyed along with FW 190s and Bf 109s. It had been ridiculously easy. This was the rub. Some fields were well protected with many guns ringing the place but occasionally others weren’t and the Allied pilots could exploit that. Of course one never knew.

About out of ammo, Joe gathered up his Mustangs and exited the area without loss. It was another two and a half hours home to Fowlmere. Commanding officer of the 339th, Colonel John Henry debriefed Thury. Joe knew how the brass’ minds worked and when Henry asked him, “Should the group hit the field again tomorrow?”

Thury replied “I don’t think that would be smart…but I’ll go.” He knew the Germans would fortify the place now that it had been discovered and the relatively easy time they had was a fluke. Henry knew the orders for a return visit were being cut but knew Thury’s logic was right. There were more 8th AF pilots and planes being lost in ground attack than in the air at this point.

In hindsight, no one knew how long the war would last. Would a POW be captive for a month, as was the actual case, or several months? With a couple of minor changes in strategy or incidents that occurred on either side the conflict could have droned on for a few more months.

RETURN ENGAGEMENT
The next morning Thury awoke at 5:15 AM to prefect flying weather, which was forecast to the target area. It was decided at the briefing that anyone could call in targets and guns as they saw them. They wanted to clean up the area and not have to go back.

Takeoff was scheduled for 11:49 AM, which was after most of the daily bomber formations had gone. Thury’s crew chief had the men work all night on a special wax job that he said would give 10 MPH extra to Pauline. That amount could mean life or death in combat.

Once strapped in, Thury yelled “clear!” opened the throttle one inch, turned the boost pump and battery to ON, and the magneto switch to BOTH and touched the starter. The big Hamilton-Standard 4-blade prop began to turn faster as the Merlin came to life with its deep roar. The mixture quadrant was moved to NORMAL now.

Coolant and oil radiator flaps were set full open while on the ground and set to AUTO on takeoff where thermostats took over. The mags were checked for output at 2,300 RPM and the prop was cycled to the proper pitch. The supercharger was toggled momentarily to HIGH. The drop in RPM meant it was working properly.

With flaps in the “clean” position Pauline lifts off in about 1,300 feet and flies. Thury held 61-inches manifold pressure at 3,000 RPM until the gear cycled up then backed off to 46-inches and 2,700 RPM as the craft hit 200 MPH passing 500 feet at 2,000 FPM climb.

Sixteen other Mustangs were now with him- the whole 505th Squadron and one alternate plane. They climbed at 160 MPH and were soon passing bomber boxes as the checker-nosed ships crossed the Dutch coast at 20,000 feet. At 27,000 the group leveled off and spread out for the silent flight to Munich.

At 1:45 PM Thury signaled to bank away from the bomber stream south to Munich. Pilots check gun switches, tanks and gauges. A slow descent was ordered when Munich appeareded twenty-five miles distant.

Thury broke radio silence to announce “This is Upper Leader. Drop tanks,”-the squadron was code named “Upper”-as thirty-four, teardrop, 110-gallon tanks, still partially filled, fluttered away.

AUTOBAHN EXIT
Fifteen minutes past Munich Thury recognized the airfield as the group followed the Autobahn west-to-east. It was decided that at first four fighters would feel out the target while the rest stayed at 10,000 feet. At 4,000 feet now Joe’s four ships had 400 MPH showing as they turned off the highway on an invisible off-ramp.

Quickly he zeroed in on an FW 190 at the far side of the field. The six Browning .50s spit out a combined total of seventy-five rounds per second and the FW soon blew to pieces. No return fire.

The three other fighters made their passes and four from the top cover dropped in behind them. Thury was intrigued as to why the defense was so feeble as the eight Mustangs lined up abreast and began across the field.

A flare arched up as a signal to open up and several AA guns threw up heavy fire. Tracers, orange balls, red balls, smoke and dust permeated the air. Thury’s number two was getting his wings holed and Joe announced, “Hit nothing but guns!” over the radio. Like the day before it was a gamble to silence the guns before they took their toll on the P-51s. A hole thumped open on one of Pauline’s wings.

Thury noticed something odd about the return fire from the ground. He strained his eyes to see that the Germans had put platforms up in the fir trees to keep away from ricocheting incoming rounds. It was the Mustangs’ 31,960 fifty-caliber rounds versus the twenty German tree guns!

The ground gun crews were caught in confusion expecting the Americans to be firing at parked planes. One by one they were killed off as the P-51 pilots used the left-right rudder action to hose their shells about the gun emplacements. Of course the P-51 were getting hit, though none was yet fatal to man or machine.

On his fifth pass Thury could now open up on camouflaged planes again and an Me 262 was set afire. The other men’s kills were blazing and smoking up the area now as Thury destroyed a 109. But the enemy recovered some and rifle fire became continual. A few orange balls from the 20 mms re-appeared too.

For the eighth time Pauline honed in. Thury caught sight of two FWs camouflaged in the tall trees and fired a burst that touched off a huge yellow sheet of flame destroying both. But from 450 MPH the P-51s were down to less that 300 now as Thury came around for a last pass owing to little ammo left.

Thwump! Tunk, tunk, tunk, tunk! The sounds reverberated inside the plane as a big hole opened on Pauline’s starboard wing’s leading edge. A 20 mm round and rifle fire hit the Mustang on its ninth pass.

“I’m hit! Can’t get any speed! Take over!” he yelled to Archie Tower, (Tower ended the war with 1.5 in the air an 18.0 on the ground) as Pauline’s speed dropped to 130 MPH. Thury called in Lt. Starnes to keep him covered as he gave full throttle to the stricken fighter.

He was compelled to look back at the carnage of orange fire and thick, black smoke. The tally for the two days would combine for a total of fifty-nine destroyed! Seven of those were Thury’s. Pauline was up to 3,000 feet now and passing Augsburg. The tear in the right wing was causing so much drag that Thury had to hold full left rudder to go straight. By Heidelberg, 200 miles from Munich, the plane had reached 5,000 feet but Thury was getting a leg cramp from holding the rudder pedal down.

By Belgium Pauline began to run hot. Thury set the mixture quadrant to full RICH hoping the raw gas would cool things some but the temps stayed very high. He finally cracked open the cowl flaps gambling for cooling and not creating enough air drag to quit flying. The Merlin’s temperature safely dropped but was still high as the North Sea slid beneath the wings. Thury knew he’d make it when he saw Dover’s white cliffs.

When Fowlmere appeared he realized he had no speed to play with as in a normal landing so he came it at full speed- 130 MPH. Pauline thumped onto the metal runway mat. It was 5:52 PM.

Thury’s tactic of aggressively going after the guns was effective to the point that all the 505th’s planes returned, though many were holed. The group received a presidential unit citation and for leading the attack Joseph Thury was awarded the Silver Star. Pauline was junked having over 100 holes of varying
sizes.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Fry, Garry & Jeffery Ethell
Escort to Berlin
Arco Publishing Inc., NY 1980

Gurney, Gene
Five Down And Glory
G.P. Putnam's Sons, NY 1958

Headquarters AAF Training Command
Pilot Training Manual for the Mustang (AAF Manual 51-127-5)
Office of Flying Safety, Winston-Salem, NC, 1945

Sims, Edward
American Aces
Harper & Brothers, NY, 1958

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Great read.
Thanks
HD

 

[merkman]

Wow, that really brings it into perspective. Thanks.
Everytime we would go to visit or they would come and see us, I would bug him about flying in the war. Had lots of great stories of his time in England. Quite a few pictures too. Unfortunatly his flying career ended in 1949 at Van Nuys airport when he was flying in the guard and crashed a P-51 landing in a crosswind. He survived but got burned pretty bad.
It was he and my cousin who got me into sports cars at a young age as well.
He had a Triumph TR3 when I was about 13. What a ride he gave me!

 

[Dixon Cannon]

A lot of Vern Blizzard photos here:
http://www.web-birds.com/8th/339/504/504.html

Lt. Bert Stiles with 'Tar Heel' at Fowlmere 1944

Capt. Bob Irion - Bert's wing man

-dixon cannon

 

[merkman]

A lot of Vern Blizzard photos here:

I sent Jim a lot of the pictures that are there.
Good website. Another good one:http://www.littlefriends.co.uk/

 

[Twitch]

During the latter part of the war guys like these in P-51 squadrons had little but ground targets rarely seeing a Luftwaffe plane in the air. As I emphasised, don't kid yourself, attacking ground targets was deadly business. Many of the top aces were done in straffing airfields.

 

[Windsock]

In the ETO Elwyn G. Righetti destroyed 27.0 on the ground and 7.5 in the air. Second to him was Lt. Colonel Joseph Thury with 2.5 in the air and another 25.5 ground kills. We look at a couple missions in Thury’s combat life as the Reich crumbled in its death throes.

Twitch, do you have anything more about Righetti? I see a cousin of his (Alan Righetti who was a Kittyhawk Pilot in the RAAF- wrote about him in an earlier thread- just had his 90th birthday this week) and i've been digging up a few pictures for him. Some text would be great to give him as well. He has a copy of the Robert Taylor painting of Elwyn on his wall at home.

Could you also tell me pls, what were there articles written for and did you interview aircrew involved putting them together?

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Twitch, do you have anything more about Righetti? I see a cousin of his (Alan Righetti who was a Kittyhawk Pilot in the RAAF- wrote about him in an earlier thread- just had his 90th birthday this week) and i've been digging up a few pictures for him. Some text would be great to give him as well. He has a copy of the Robert Taylor painting of Elwyn on his wall at home.

Could you also tell me pls, what were there articles written for and did you interview aircrew involved putting them together?

Here's something I found on Righetti. Hope it helps. -dixon cannon
http://www.station131.co.uk/55th/Pilots/Righetti%20Elwyn%20G%20LtCol.htm

 

[Twitch]

Lt. Col. Elwyn G. Righetti born San Luis Obispo CA 1915. Joined Air Corps 1939 completeed training Kelly Field San Antonio TX. Kept on as an instructor in 1940.

Took him till Oct. 1944 til he could wangle an combat assignment with 338th FS 55th FG.

Nov. 2nd shared Bf 109 kill. on Christmas eve in a big battle near Munster he flamed 3 FW 190s and damaged 2 others. Jan 13 1945 downed a 109 near Wurzburg. Became an ace Feb. 3 with a pair of Ju 88s and an FW 190. These were the Mistels- FW 190 piggyback on pilotless Ju 88s filled with explosives.

On April 17th, his 30th birthday he led an escort of P-51s over Dresden. He and his wingman were looking for more ground targets and attacked a Luftwaffe airdrome. In 3 passes he destroyed 9 enemy aircraft. Hit with flak he crash landed but radioed his wingman that he was OK. He wa never heard from again. It was surmized that irate civilians may have killed him but his body was never recovered.

Tally-
7.5 air- 1 probable, 2 damaged
27 ground

Decorations-
Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross w/3 Oak Leaf Clusters and Air Medal w/21 Oak Leaf Clusters.

 

[Windsock]

Sorry for slightly highjacking this thread.........Thanks very much for those links chaps. I'll show him on his return from his birthday holiday- a 2 week on the most luxurious Island resort on the Barrier Reef- such a long way from being an inmate at Sagan.

At the time he wasn't even aware of his US Cousin which made it all the more surreal that they were both fighter Pilots. After the War he visited Elwyn's family to pay his respects and catch up. What a real tragedy that he was never recovered.

Interestingly Alan often receives items in the post- just sent anonymously as gifts because of who he is. The print "Mustangs on the prowl" arrived a while ago (he knows where that came from) and an example of the recent Corgi release of "Katydid" mysteriously arrived the other week. These are amazing people and they are inspirational.

 

[Blizzard]

I don't mean to butt in, but wanted to say hello. My name is Steve Blizzard, son of Robert R. Blizzard and Grandson to Lt. Robert V. Blizzard. From time to time i search Grandpas name or his planes s/n just to see if anything new has come about and low and behold, i came across this post. I have to imagine Merkman and I are related, just can't figure out how. I remember going to Palmdale a couple times when i was a kid meeting grandpas Family, but 35 years later, don't really remember much of it.

Anyhow, Vern and I spent much of my upbringing together and he was a hell of a man, i can only hope to be as much. I remember years and years of his war stories, when we would head up to Big Bear to see his friends, he'd take boxes of films and we would watch it for days. We lost him back in 01, and it was the first person i had ever lost. It is still tough to think about it but after his last years dealing with parkinsons, was a relief to see him finally out of pain. We love and miss him dearly. My dads sister recently started scanning some of his old pictures and she had sent me a few that i'm betting a group like this might enjoy.

 

[merkman]

Holy crap! You're my cousin Bob's son! My dad John Blizzard Sr. was your Grandfathers brother. Gee, I love how this family stays in touch. I'm glad you have an interest in Vern's experiences in the war. Good seeing these pictures again. Send me a PM so we can get in touch. We have been in Arizona since 1967. The last time I saw Uncle Vern was when he and Charlene
came out for my Dads funeral in 1989. He was a great guy.........

 

[Django]

Now that is pretty cool!! :eusa_clap

 

[Blizzard]

That's wild huh? I tried to pm you when i found this thread but i guess i need to make more posts or something cause it wouldn't let me. I wound up staying out here in San Diego after I left Vern & Charlenes when i was 18. Got into custom painting aircraft for a living till i became disabled after a pretty bad street bike crash. You know, the whole need for speed bit. Anyhow now am married and we are starting our family, just had our first daughter back in March 1st, her name is Jena Belle Blizzard and she is everything to the wife and i at the present time. Took me till i was 38 to pull the trigger but wouldn't trade her for the world. We have a place just south of Blythe on the Colorado river, but that's as far east as we get much anymore. Do some hunting, fishing and i'm into rc flying anything.

In fact, been designing a p-51 model plane modeled after Punkie II, check it out in action. Plan on doing some pylon racing with it.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ybjc5t-Bx8[/YOUTUBE]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ybjc5t-Bx8

Were taking off now for the river. Give me a call sometime at 619-561-6781

Steve

 

[filnorm]

Lt. Blizzard's score

Dear Steve and merkman,

this is to let you know that Lt. Blizzard was credited with destroying four German Bf 109s at the Klatovy airfield, Czechoslovakia, on April 16, 1945. Could you please contact me directly at filip.vojtasek[@]aip.cz ? Unfortunately, I am not authorized to send PMs.

Thank you. Regards, Filip Vojtasek, Prague, Czech Republic