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F R A N T I C IV
The second all fighter shuttle sweep to Russian bases was conducted by the 82nd and 52nd Fighter Groups of the Fifteenth Air Force. The 82nd Fighter Group was to strafe Focsani north and south airdromes while the 52nd Fighter Group provided top cover over the target.1 Of the 60 aircraft dispatched, seven made early returns, and seven were listed as lost or missing where the mission arrived at the Eastern Command Bases.2 Four aircraft were destroyed and seven damaged in the attacks according to evaluated claims.3 In addition, locomotives, tank cars, a troop train and several flak batteries were destroyed or damaged.4
The outstanding event of the trip over was the rescue of a pilot, whose plane crash landed, by a fellow flier. Lt. Willsie had the left engine of his P-38 shot out and the right one damaged northeast of Focsani.
F.O. Andrews detailed the rescue, “I called him on the radio and told him to pick out a good field and I would come down after him. Willsie didn’t answer but he landed on a grassy, thoroughly furrowed pasture.
I made a couple of passes and set down. I threw out my parachute and helped Willsie into the cockpit. He sat down in my lap, wiped blood from his scratch on his forehead, which he had received in his landing, and we took off. Willsie is an expert pilot with 60 combat missions behind him and he displayed coolness in pulling the Lightning off the soggy ground after a short run. I don’t think I was on the ground two minutes, all told.
Meanwhile, P-38’s in the formation were circling above to slash away enemy planes – we saw about nine ME 109’s just before I landed. Another Lightning circled low, just above the ground, to keep away any curious bystanders. He scared away three truckloads of people started toward us. 1st Lt. Nathaniel A. Pape, Austin, Texas, shot down one of the ME’s.”5
On 6 August the mission made the return trip conducting a sweep and strafing in Bucharest-Ploesti area. On this mission one HE 111 was destroyed on the ground, 11 locomotives and four tanks were destroyed, in addition to inflicting damage on 30 railway cars and other miscellaneous rolling stock.6
With the experience already gained, the shuttle missions had become almost routine.
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