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. 1st Lt William Degain was flying with Duxford’s 84th 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.”



“One of the pilots who states that he was lucky to get away is 1st Lt. William J. Degain, 27, of Detroit, Mich.

“Above an airdrome northeast of Osnabruck was a flight of P-51’s at 5’000 feet and above them at 11,000 feet were eight FW 190’s flying our type formation, “ Lt. DeGain related. “The enemy planes had belly tanks, which they dropped, then maneuvoured for a bounce. I was below them and was not seen, so was wide of the rest. He went into a clouds and I followed, firing when I reached 400 yards, and saw strikes.

“I stopped firing to close a little more, and looked behind. My wingman was not in sight, and three FW 190’s were closing on me, firing from 600 yards. I glanced at the enemy aircraft ahead and saw he had jettisoned his canopy to bail out. I turned into the three enemy aircraft behind, and one spun out of the turn. Two more FW 190’s joined the fight and while I turned with two or three the others took passes. I had difficulty turning inside them and when I’d ease up to shoot the ones behind would fire at me. I got one 90 degree shot at one enemy aircraft but saw no strikes. After about five or ten minutes one of the Nazi fighters shot out my right aileron control. They eased up on the fight then, so I ducked into a cloud and flew home.”

1st Lt W J Degain, 84th Fighter Squadron, shot down one FW 190.