Yeah, I though it was an impressive feat for a gang of sim enthusiasts.
Knoke was a very interesting guy. His biography is an excellent read. On August 25th, 1944, Knoke's leading his unit, joined a number of other Luftwaffe fighters scrambled in response to huge numbers of Allied fighters inbound. Knoke had recently returned to flight status after suffering a head injury when shot down in April. They ended up in a big fight with the 354th FG. Knoke shot down a P-51, while being shot down by another P-51 himself.
No one knows which Mustang Knoke clobbered. However, one P-51 returned to field A-31 badly shot-up (I forget the pilot's name). In the middle 1990s, during a review of the group's records, it was discovered that some German pilot may have deserved one more kill. How so, when it returned to base? A Bf 109 had shot out the Mustang's hydraulic system. When the pilot limped back to A-31, he attempted to lower his gear without hydraulic pressure. When the landing gear emergency release handle is pulled, the gear unlocks and will drop down partially under its own weight. The pilot shook the Mustang vigorously with the ailerons. The right gear locked. The left did not. After several failed attempts to lock it down, the pilot was ordered to bail out, rather than risk landing with one down, which he did. The P-51 was destroyed. Ironically, it was later discovered that the low time P-51 pilot had not actually followed emergency procedures. When shaking the gear down, one should do so while holding the emergency handle full back. This pilot failed to do so, and the one gear didn't lock. A pilot could also "crab" the aircraft to get some aerodynamic force to assist getting the recalcitrant gear to lock. The P-51, however, lacks the aileron force to maintain a "crabbed" attitude very long. Anyway, for this reason, a historian argued at the time that the P-51 was lost due to pilot error rather than being shot down. Naturally, there is much disagreement on this. I think some undetermined German pilot deserved the victory credit. I wonder how many of these types of losses never get reported as being due to enemy action?
It is also interesting to note that by late 1944, emergency policy evolved somewhat. When showing no hydraulic pressure due to damage resulting from enemy fire, a P-51 pilot was sometimes advised NOT to attempt to lower the gear, but perform a belly landing. The reason for this was that the hydraulic failure resulting from damage may be accompanied by other damage to structure and/or systems. Attempting to lower the gear may create a greater problem. Once a P-51 is on the ground and the engine shut off, the flaps and landing gear doors will gradually lower. Landing gear is retained up by mechanical locks, which can be manually unlocked with the emergency handle.
That said, August 25th was not a good day for the Luftwaffe in France. The 355th FG squadron of the 354th FG, was credited with 25 kills (Knoke being one of them), against three losses (including the one lost over field A-31). One 367th FG (flying P-38Ls and late J models) pilot, Capt. L. E. Blumer, shot down 5 Fw 190s in 7 minutes over St.-Quentin in his P-38L. All confirmed via gun camera and witnesses. The 367th claimed another 4 air to air, and 27 on the ground (some were bomber and transport types). That day, in France, a total of 77 Luftwaffe fighters were claimed as destroyed in air to air combat, and 27 on the ground that day by TAC pilots. 11 USAAF fighter losses were credited to all causes. Another 20 German fighters were claimed as destroyed on the ground by 20th FG Mustangs flying airdrome fighter sweeps. August 25th effectively ended the Luftwaffe's fighter presence in France.
Claims for August 25th by 8th AF and 9th AF fighters over France amounted to 77 claimed shot down, 7 damaged, plus 47 (all types) claimed destroyed on the ground. The primary goal of August 25th air ops was to destroy what remained of the Luftwaffe in France. It largely succeeded.
