so I continued firing until within
100 yards of him, observing many
strikes around the cockpit and jet
units. He skidded over several fields,
came to a stop and caught fire. The
pilot immediately hopped out and
started to run.
“The rest of my flight came over
and strafed the plane and No.4 man
[Croy] hit the pilot running away
from the plane. The E/A was burning
brightly, giving off great clouds of
black smoke. There were no propellers
on the plane or on the ground near it.
I claim one Me 262 destroyed, shared
with Lt M O Croy Jr.”
Ground or a ?
On September 22, 1944,
headquarters 8th Fighter Command
confirmed the kill. This historic
report is particularly interesting
because there is a designation of
‘Grd’ after the aircraft type to show
it as a ground victory. But someone
has pencilled out the ‘Grd’ suffix
to the kill type, thus making it
an aerial victory. The report was
submitted by Colonel Laurence K
Callahan and approved by Brig Gen
Francis H Griswold.
Did they decide it was an aerial
kill because Major Myers fired at
long range (500 yards) just as the jet
touched the ground?
Recently, the last survivor of this
event Captain Wayne Coleman,
aged 94, told the author he had not
strafed the grounded jet with the
rest of Surtax Blue flight that day,
because he had remained at a higher
altitude as a top cover.
Coleman shot down three Focke-
Wulf Fw 190s on September 9,- He joined the ranks of the
‘jet slayers’ on March 31, 1945 with
an Me 262 victory near Stendal,
Germany.
By VE-Day – May 8, 1945 – the
78th FG was among the top
Eighth Air Force Me 262
victors with claims of 13
destroyed, two ‘probable’
and three damaged. The
78th had also accounted
for two Arado Ar 234 jet
bombers destroyed.
Playing dead
Luftwaffe pilot,
Oberfeldwebel
Hieronymus ‘Rony’
Lauer was tracked down
by Fred Bolgert in July
1996 and they carried on
a correspondence until- Lauer discussed his war
service with Fred, who was fluent in
German and could translate Rony’s
letters.
Lauer was called into military
service in 1938, and after basic
military instruction, trained to be
an engine mechanic. In the late
summer of 1939 he was selected
for pilot conversion and received
operational instruction on multi-
engined Junkers Ju 52s, Heinkel He
111s and Dornier Do 17s. Upon
completion, he served as a pilot at a
school for radio operators.
In late 1941 he
was assigned to
Königsberg, on
the Baltic Sea,
flying Ju 86
By VE-Day – May 8, 1945 – the
78th FG was among the top
Eighth Air Force Me 262
victors with claims of 13 victors with claims of 13
destroyed, two ‘probable’
and three damaged. The
78th had also accounted
for two Arado Ar 234 jet
bombers destroyed.Playing dead
Luftwaffe pilot,
Oberfeldwebel
Hieronymus ‘Rony’
Lauer was tracked down
by Fred Bolgert in July
1996 and they carried on
a correspondence untilIn late 1941 he
was assigned to
Königsberg, on
the Baltic Sea, the Baltic Sea,
flying Ju 86Second Lt Wayne L Coleman, wingman to
Major Myers.Major Joseph Myers’ assigned P-47 227339 ‘MX-S’
at Bassingbourn in November 1944. Duxford was
having a pierced steel planking runway laid at this
time. USAF