VIII Fighter Command FO - 34 FIGHTER SWEEPS
31 May 1943Description
110 P-47s from 4FG, 56FG and 78FG are despatched on fighter sweeps over France in the Knokke/Courtrai/Dunkirk area. 1 P-47 is MIA but due to a mechanical failure in oxygen system. Pilot killed.
Mission Details
KNOKKE / COURTRAI / DUNKIRK
Description: FIGHTER SWEEP
Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
Notes: Fighter sweep over Knokke/Courtrai/Dunkirk area. One P-47 of 56th Fighter Group rolled over in a vertical dive and crashed into the ground. Cause thought to be anoxia of the pilot.
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
Mission Statistics
- People killed in action: 1
- Aircraft sent: 110
- Aircraft missing in action: 1
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 4-Jan-2015. Added description based on "The Mighty Eighth War Diary" Roger A. Freeman.
Lee Cunningham, 8th Air Force missions research database / Stan Bishop's 'Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces', the Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces and the work of Roger Freeman including the 'Mighty Eighth War Diary'.