William B Spengler

Military
media-6791.jpeg UPL 6791 Bill Spengler (center), pilot of P-51 Buzzin' Cuzzin, crew chief Staff Sergeant Deltner D Suess (Left) and armorer Cpl. Vernon C Nelson (Right).

Added crew names to caption

Object Number - UPL 6791 - Bill Spengler (center), pilot of P-51 Buzzin' Cuzzin, crew chief Staff Sergeant Deltner D Suess (Left) and armorer Cpl. Vernon C Nelson (Right).

78th FG 83rd FS. 1st Lt William B Spengler Duxford based from March 1945



In March 1945 1st Lt W.B. Spengler, Chicago, Illinois, flew 20 missions with 83rd FS. On 19th March 1945 he claimed 2 Me 109’s damaged in the vicinity of Osnabruck. His combat report states: “I was flying wing on Lt.Col. Landers at the time of the fight. He dived on an Me 109, called that he was going to over run him and for somebody to get on the “Jerry”. I was behind and slightly to the right of the e/a, and in position to fire. The 109 was turning left and I managed to get a few strikes at 20 degrees deflection before over running him. He was on fire before I opened fire.



I climbed to about 12,000 feet, joined up with White 3 & 4. We broke into two 109’s who were slightly above and to our right. Both split S’d and White four and I followed them down. I got quite a few strikes on him from astern and black smoke began to pour out of his engine. There was a flash of flame and it went out in a few seconds. The smoke continued to pour out and I continued my attack at sea level altitude until I was out of ammunition. He was smoking but I did not see him crash. As I could not catch him, I broke off and joined up with another flight.”



In April the Group flew 17 combat missions, Lt Spengler flew in 13 of them. On 16th April 1945 he claimed 1 FW 190 destroyed and 3 Junkers damaged on a raid north of Prague. He wrote: “I made about seven passes at the field, firing on each pass. On the second or third pass I blew up one FW190. I also hit three other Ju 87’s.”

Connections

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Units served with

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
  • Nicknames: Buzzin Cuzzin

Places

Line up of P-47 Thunderbolts of the 82nd Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group, at Duxford air base. September 1944. Printed caption on reverse of print: '55432 AC - War Birds Home To Rest - Republic P-47 Thunderbolts lined up on an 8th Air Force field in England after a daylight sweep over Germany. Crews have finished inspections and refueling.'
  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: "Duckpond"

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Promoted

Duxford, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB22, UK 20 April 1945 Promoted to First Lieutenant.

Based

End of War

Duxford Second Lieutenant Spengler assigned to 83rd Fighter Squadron.

Revisions

Date
Contributordecwriter
Changes
Sources

NARA file verified AM w/3 oak leaf clusters. He earned at least one bronze star on the EAME Campaign Medal.

Date
ContributorAnne Hughes
Changes
Sources

78th Fighter Monthly Histories for 83rd FS March/April 1945

Date
ContributorLucy May
Changes
Sources

Combined two entries for Spengler. This one now included information from the following sources:
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Unit roster on page 134 in 'Eagles of Duxford' book by Fry

Date
ContributorPyker
Changes
Sources

Added additional data from my and Ted Damick databases.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list

William B Spengler: Gallery (1 items)