Winfield H Brown

Military
media-29358.jpeg UPL 29358 Capt Winfield H Brown and his mount P-51D 44-72191 MX-F 'Lady Helen II' 82FS, 78FG, 8AF.

Object Number - UPL 29358 - Capt Winfield H Brown and his mount P-51D 44-72191 MX-F 'Lady Helen II' 82FS, 78FG, 8AF.

19th March 1945 is noted in the Duxford Fighter Group’s History as being a day that would never be forgotten. On that day one of the most intense and successful air battles of WW2 was fought by Duxford’s 78th Fighter Group. Consequently detailed records and combat reports are preserved. Captain W H Brown was flying with Duxford’s 82nd fighter squadron.



“The aerial battle of March 19 [45] was the toughest and at the same time most successful the group has ever fought. It lasted for an hour, with waves of German fighters joining the battle until the group, numbering 46 Mustangs, was engaging a force almost three times its size. The fighting was so confused that when the three squadrons landed at Duxford they reported they had encountered the same group of Nazis, estimated at about 50. Later they compared notes and found the total number of enemy planes involved was around 125.



First intimation of the impending action came in the form of fake attacks by three jet planes at the German border. These made shallow dives on the group, apparently hoping to force the Mustangs to drop their tanks and to draw them away from the area where other fighters were forming up for attacks on American bombers. The Mustang pilots, however, refused to bite at the bait, and after turning into the jets to force them off continued on their courses.”



Combat Report 1230 hrs. 19th March 1945 Capt. W.H. Brown 82nd FS (0563)

Leading Surtax Yellow flight we ran into 30 plus Bandits NW of Osnabruck. I bounced a Me-109 at 1,000 ft. and scored hits with my first burst and he streamed smoke and coolant. The ship crashed and I pulled up onto the tail of an Arado 234 at 1,000 ft., and saw strikes and smoke. My wingman also fired on him, getting good strikes. We closed fast and, on the next burst, I set the jet on fire and he crashed. Going back to the deck on the tail of 2 Me-109s, my sight ranging cable broke and I scored strikes on both 109s using the K-14 pipper alone. One 109 appeared to go in but I was forced to break into four approaching Bandits and didn’t witness the crash. This occurred at tree top level and, as I had scored many good hits on the fuselage and cockpit of both, I claim these two destroyed pending assessment of film. In addition, I claim the first Me-109 destroyed and the Ar-234 shared with Lt. H.H. Lamb.

Capt W.H. Brown 0-667647 82nd FS



Credited with downing a Me262.

Connections

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Units served with

Aircraft

A P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft (serial number 42-27606), converted to a two-seater aircraft. The black and white “checkerboard” cowling identifies the aircraft as being in the 78th Fighter Group, and the red tailfin marking denotes it as part of the 82nd Squadron. Handwritten on slide casing:"2-seat P-47 78FG Mount Farm R. Astrella"
  • Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
  • Unit: 78th Fighter Group 82nd Fighter Squadron 84th Fighter Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
  • Unit: 78th Fighter Group 82nd Fighter Squadron

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

Born

28 January 1917

Enlisted

Providence, RI, USA 24 March 1941

Based

Duxford 27 June 1944 Assigned to 82FS, 78FG, 8AF USAAF.

Other

End Tour of Duty (ETD)

England, UK 9 December 1944 Ended Tour of Duty (ETD).

Other

Promotion

Duxford, Cambridge CB22 4QR, UK 10 January 1945 Promoted to Captain.

Other

E/A Destroyed

Osnabrück, Germany 19 March 1945 Me-109 destroyed. Osnabrück, Germany. 19-Mar-45.

Other

E/A Shared destroyed

Osnabrück, Germany 19 March 1945 AR-234 shared. Osnabrück, Germany. 19-Mar-45.

Other

E/A Destroyed

Germany 21 March 1945 E/A Destroyed. Germany. 21-Mar-45.

Other

Base commander

Alconbury, Huntingdon PE28, UK 1 June 1953 Became the first base commander of RAF Alconbury on 1-Jun-53.

Died

1 Maguire Way, Newburgh, NY 12550, USA 5 May 1955 Killed when his F-86 Sabre crash landed at Stewart AFB in New York. 5-May-55.

Other

Promotion

Duxford, Cambridge CB22 4QR, UK Promoted to Major.

Born

Riverside, East Providence, RI 02915, USA

Revisions

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Capitalized the words in the "Role/job" field to aid readability.

Date
ContributorAnne Hughes
Changes
Sources

78th Fighter Group monthly history

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / EAGLES OF DUXFORD, The 78th Fighter Group in WW2 by Fry, p132 / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list

Winfield H Brown: Gallery (3 items)