A rough way to start a war.
Robert S. Johnson, USAAF, (28 Victories). Ergon Mayers, LW, (102 Victories).
One of the 56th's worst setbacks occurred on June 26, 1943, when 48 P-47Cs left a forward operating base at RAF Manston late in the afternoon to provide escort for B-17 Flying Fortress bombers returning from a mission against Villacoublay airfield in the Paris suburbs. As the P-47s approached the rendezvous point near Forges-les-Eaux, they were jumped from above and behind by 16 Focke-Wulf FW 190s of II Gruppe, JG 26. The first pass scattered the Thunderbolts, and Johnson's aircraft, flying at the rear of the 61st Squadron's formation, was seriously damaged by a 20mm shell that exploded in his cockpit and ruptured his hydraulic system. Burned and blinded by hydraulic fluid, Johnson elected to bail out but could not open his shattered canopy.
After disengaging from the fight and re-orienting himself, Johnson dove for the Channel but was intercepted by a single Fw 190. Unable to fight back, he maneuvered while under a series of attacks, and although sustaining further heavy damage, managed to survive until the German ran out of ammunition, at which point it turned back. This latter opponent has never been identified, but Johnson could have been one of three victories claimed that day by the commander of III/JG 2, Oberst Ergon Mayer. After landing, Johnson tried to count the bullet holes in his airplane, but when he passed 200, including twenty-one 20-mm cannon shell impacts, without even moving around the plane, he stopped.
While Johnson made it back to crashland at Manston, damaging his fighter beyond economical repair, four other pilots of the 56th FG were killed in action. A fifth, able to extend only one of his plane's landing gear struts, had to bail out over the English Channel and was rescued north of Yarmouth. Five other Thunderbolts suffered battle damage. Johnson suffered shrapnel wounds and minor burns to his face, hands, and legs, and was awarded the Purple Heart. He resumed flying missions on July 1.
I read Johnson's Book Thunderbolt, good stuff. This is a Wikipedia excert on this incident that occured early in Johnson's tour. Johnson ended his tour with 28 confirmed aerial victories and returned home.
Ergon Mayers' final score stood at 102, when he was shot down by a P-47 Thunderbolt and killed near Montmedy in a Focke-Wolfe FW 190 A-6 (W.Nr. 470 468). He was posthumously decorated with the Swords to the Knight's Cross.
In An Ace of the Eighth by Norman "Bud" Fortier, the author states that Mayer was shot down by Walter Gresham of the 358th FS. This claim was made based on gun camera footage and recollections of Mayer's wingman, who was forced to bail out during the action.
