Some times, you DO meet twice a life...

[Bremspropeller]

I found this post on the "WW2 Aircraft" forum , written by William Marshall (whose dad was CO of the 355th FG) who is an autor of several books about the 355th.

 

I found the story really remarkable - what are the odds?

 

Quote

While in first class on a Lufthansa flight from Rome to Paris he [his dad] struck up a conversation with a dead heading Lufthansa pilot next to him, noticing that a significant scar on his right bicep was showing under his right sleeve.

The German pilot remarked " One of your God*^$#ed American fighter pilots did this" to which my father remarked - "I was one of those, where did it happen" to which the German pilot mused "September 11 near Giessen, I led a flight of Bf 109s on an attack on B-24s and saw that a flight of White nosed Mustangs were chasing us and we dove for the deck. The leader shot down my #3, then my #2 and started shooting at me as I was low, trying to escape. He put 50 caliber into my engine, my arm and my thigh - missing bone but terribly painful.. I searched for an opening near some railroad tracks and bellied my 109 in, expecting to be strafed - nothing happened and a few soldiers got me out of the aircraft - I spent the rest of the war rehabilitating from my wounds".

My father interrupted him in the narrative by suggesting it was NE of Giessen on a track to Hannover about noon? That there were three Mustangs?

Short end to a longer story is that one of the pilots my father shot down had just been married that week, the other had three kids, the pilot telling the story recalled that most of his squadron had been KIA in that fight. Dad told him, when asked why he didn't 'finish him off' that he was driven off by heavy flak as he was closing and did not see him crash, assuming he got away.

I do not remember who the gentleman was but he became a friend that my father visited twice before passing away in 1979.

It was this encounter that was a motivating factor for me to research 'the other side' when writing about the 355th FG in my latest book.

EDIT - it was the White Nose Mustang remark that got my father's attention - signature spinner/cowl band for the 355th FG until November 1944 when the Cowl bands were Red(354), Blue(357) Yellow(358) along with rudder to match cowl - retaining white Spinner. This also was the only mission my father lost a wingman (Rafferty) KIA by the same flak barrage that caused my father to reflect on how much he really wanted #8?

 

It looks like the deadheading LH pilot was Uffz. Hubert Sommerhoff of III./JG 53 (11th Staffel, actually) in "Black 21", who bellied his G-6 close to Mölln (acc. Prien), now a part of Heskem, which is along the railroad-tracks exiting Gießen to the north east.

 

That day, three other 11th Staffel aircraft were shot down, with two pilots killed and another wounded.

Among the killed was Uffz. Herrmann Pusch (Busch?), who had bailed out and was strafed and killed in his chute.

 

I found the story remarkable - what are the odds that two people who were brought together by fate the fisrst time - trying to kill each other - are meeting again some 30-odd years later, seated next to each other in First Class on a commercial flight? It's nice to see they became friends and stayed in contact after bumping into ech other.

 

Edited September 7, 2019 by Bremspropeller

[Lusekofte]

Many pilots get to meet their foe, attacker or victim after the war, but this is the first I heard happened coincidentally. Great story , such high odd simply don't exist