"So now it was two against two as the ground-level dogfight began. We knew the tempest to be a very fast fighter, used by the British to chase and shoot down our V-1s. But here, in a fight which was never to climb above 50 metres, speed would not play a big part. The machines' ability to turn would be all important. Both pilots realized from the start that it would be a fight to the finish and used every flying trick and tactical ploy possible to try to gain the upper hand. At this altitude neither could afford to make the slightest mistake. And for the first time since flying the Ta 152 I began fully to appreciate exactly what this aircraft could do.
Pulling ever tighter turns I got closer and closer to the tempest, never once feeling I was even approaching the limit of the Ta's capabilities. And in order to keep out of my sights, the tempest pilot was being forced to take increasingly dangerous evasive action. When he flicked over onto the opposite wing I knew his last attempt to turn inside me had failed.
The first burst of fire from my Ta152 caught the tempest in the tail and rear fuselage. The enemy aircraft shuddered noticeably and yoked into a starboard turn, giving me an even greater advantage.
Now there was no escape for the tempest. I pressed my gun buttons a second time, but after a few rounds my weapons fell silent, and despite all my efforts to clear them, refused to fire another shot. I can no longer remember just who and what I didn't curse. But fortunately the tempest pilot didn't realize my predicament as he'd already taken hits .
Instead he continued desperately to twist and turn and I positioned myself so that I was always just within his field of vision. Eventually - inevitably - he stalled. The tempest's left wing dropped and he crashed into the woods immediately below us ."
Oberfeldwebel Willi Reschke
