Originally posted by Meyer
Thanks for your educate response... but I think you need to improve your reading skills.
I'm not comparing 'anything', I'm just saying that Robert Johnson didn't have a similar record of claims/missions that the betters Lw pilots in that category (as Widewing did suggest)
If you 'can't handle the truth' it's not my problem.
~S~
Hold it there Herr Meyer. I didn't suggest anything, I reported what two of aviation's more highly regarded historians have stated from the results of their research. That's the truth and you'll just have to deal with it.
Robert Johnson flew 91 combat mission. During those missions, he saw German fighters 43 times. In 36 of the 43 encounters, Johnson fired his guns at the enemy. A result of those 36 instances where he fired on German aircraft, 37 of those aircraft were hit; with as few as 27 or as many as 32 going down, depending on which researcher you are willing to believe.
So, Johnson fired his guns in anger on 36 missions and hit 37 German aircraft, with at least 27 going down, 6 credited as "probables" and 4 others damaged. Some researchers have suggested that Johnson probably shot down 32 Luftwaffe fighters because loss records agree with Johnson's claims for probables on those dates, in the areas where Johnson was engaged. Sorry, but I forget the two gentlemen's names who wrote the piece. However, those possible kills would only be gravy. Johnson's record is remarkable as it is considering the circumstances. I am proud to have gotten to know him in the later years of his life.
At his prime, I'd match him up against any fighter pilot on the planet and take odds Johnson wins.
Oh yeah, on October 8, 1943 Johnson came to the aid of another P-47 engaged with a pair of Fw 190s. Johnson engaged and shot down one of them. Its pilot was Hans Phillip, one of the leading "Experten" with 207 kills. That other 190 was splashed by the other P-47. Phillip was Johnson's 3rd kill.
My regards,
Widewing
