https://barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/12/299/Dibble_Text0225.pdf 6b0d43c2789b05448ca4d4f1434c1042 PDF Text Text 1ST-FIGHTER GROUP JOURNAL no. (ditto and hour) 1600 hrs 29/8/43 UNIT: (data and hour) 17QQ hrs 30/8/43 PLACE: Matcur. I,7. Africa T^<CZZT Serial No Timo Dated 1st Fighter Group Incidents, Messages, Orders, etc. ("day and |Disposidate) ■ tion Ely the signal 29/8/43 Cont'd. A . green flare was apparent? for attack, as no passes were made until a green flare bursts 5 minutes a'j iftcr target time. (2) Lie 109's damaged. ENEMY LOSSES: Two “ (1) Lt. MILLIARD II. GRAILq. Gilt LOSSES: One < SORTIES: 40 WEATHER: 7/10ths cumulus overcast at 8,000 ft., CAVU above. Target area was covered with scattered cumulus iclouds from 7,000 to 11,000 ft. but otherwise CAVU. ;Scattered showers were encountered between Italy and i Sicily on return. NOTE: Lt. PHILLIPS reported missing on mission Mo. '809, ” ’ ’ at ' 28 august, 1943, has returned to basej. Hei landed Termini, Sicily with a blown out engine, Ife returned to base in another P-38. 30/8/43 48 P-38's from the 27th, 71st and 94th Squadrons , up base at 0950 hrs. to escort B-26's of 3--9th .?tl; Bomb Eoml. Gp. to Aversa h’/l, Italy. 4 P-38's returned e; rly, 2 due to r radio trouble and 2 due to engine trouble. 3q. leaders: Lfs. HURST, WILLEY and DIBBLE. Time over llargc ;et area 1200 hrs. altitude of fighters 11,500 ft. and1 bombers 11,000 ft. 60 to 75 e/a (Lie 109's, Fi7 190 s, Ma 202's, possibly a couple of enemy operated Spitfires and 1 enemy it) attackoperated P-38 identified with black crosses on i/ ed formations just as they crossed the coast over Lago di Fatria at 11,5000ft. The bombers continuer on to target while P-38's engaged e/a. Results of bombing vwas not ob- . served. 12 Lie 109's made the first attack out; of the sun from above as P-33's crossed the coast.- This was follow- • ed byr iincreasing numbers of Me 109's, F.JI I'J/O’s and Ma 3,0(|)0 fjr. and in . 3, which forced the P-38';'s down to 6, 202's, ;ta the battle ming dog fight over the IGulf of Gaet a runni iought low over the water, The P-38 formation was vias foi numbers of enemy repeated attacks5 by superior good until i flight at a time. Several, fight;ers, < which, isolated a fligl P-38'i's reported flying 300 mph. on the decli and being -rying belly tanks. The easily overtaken by Lie 109's can inated, one(group attackenemy attacks were highly coordir ing while another was reforming., The initial attack was >.0ove and be(made from a half circle formation 1500 ft.labc flak | hind P-38's. b? -38's. Aerial dive bombing occurred: black ... Rocket l like bursts irstr were ■ seen generally above P-38;s. white bursts are also believed I projectiles exploding in v.l.." I to have been used. The eng: igagement lasted from 1155 hrs. >nd wave of Me 109's carrying ' until 1235 hrs. and a secor.v 1 lies from Italy, belly tanks pursued the formation 100 mi] Six (6) P-38's were observed to go into the sea. One collided with a F,J 190 head-on and exploded in air. Cev ian, opened and oral parachutes, both American and Germar -(8) c/a. weiire dedinghies were seen in the water. Eight-' stroyed, three (3) probably destroyed and five (5)I damaged' a. �1ST FIGHTER GROUP JOURNAL • ....... (date and hour) 1700 hrs 30/8/43 UNIT: jku. 1st, Fighter Group (data and hour) 1800 hrs 3/9/43____ PLACE: Mateur, I;, Africa I Serial No Timo Dated Incidents, Messages, Orders, etc. (day and jDisposi_______________________________ date) ; ticn ' ! ; ! i i 30/8/43 Cont'd. Thirteen (13) P-38's are .-pissing. A few bursts of light inaccurate flak was observed from the ■go di Patria. No enemy ground, coastal area North of Lago naval or shipping activity Lty observed. 28 Pj-38's down One of 38's arc down in Sicily. £ , base by 1713 hrs. 3 P-38's co fbase by a returnc I to the three pilots landing; in Sicily returne transport. He suffered minor shrapnel won ds in the left shoulder. CHRONOLOGY: Time off 0950 hrs. Time over target 1200 hrs. Time down 1713 hrs. ROUTE: Base to C. Sidi Alm el Mekki, rend jzvous point with B~j36's thence to Lago di Patria to Av ;rsa, returning via Sicily where several of our planes refueled, thence to base. ENEMY LOSSES: Six (6) Me 109's, one (1) F >' 190 and one (1) Ma 202 destroyed. Three (3) Ke 109' s erobably de] stroyed. Three (3) Me 109's and two (2) M 1 202's damaged, OUR LOSSES: Thirteen (13) P-38's are miss ing: 1st Lt. m. RANDOL, itaiwuL, 22nd Lt. JEROME N. uEII! 3ERG, 2nd Lt. CLIFFORD E. DONALD B. DEISENROTil ,-2nd Lti’WALHARRY D. wARMKER, _____, F/0 , —” 2nd '’-d Lt. CLARENCE E. SOUTH iRD, 2nd Lt . ’ TER G. MORRISON, TUitttiBiXKJi, 1st Lt. JOHN S. WILLE C, 2nd Lt. RALPH F. TURRENTIKE, DAVID 0. PARLETT, 2nd Lt. HOHN T. CRAM, 2n i Lt. RALPH E. 2nd Lt. CHARLES A. WOODARD and 2nd L ;. HAROLD D. PECK, 2n. RIGNEY. WEATHER: CAVU enroute and over target are 11, with cumulus clouds building up over Sicily at 9,000 ft, 1st PRESS- DATA : Lt. FRANK J. MC INTOSH, It 1L15 Irving St., F/ 190. 1st Lt. :o, Calif., destroyed one (1) F; San Francisco 3T, 921 JOHN D. HURST, y-. B. East Garfield Ave., pplendale, Calif. destroyed two(2)) Me ; 109's. 2nd Lt. LARRY |l . REYNOLDS, red one (1) 322 7/. Culver St.,, Phoenix, Arizona, destrbye I. HUSDY. 712 Allen jives., Rapid City Lie 109. 1st Lt. JOHN . ikota, destroyed one (1) He 109. 2pd ILt. STANLEY South Dakota. E. STUDER, ' ’ 3R, Monona, Iowa, destroyed two (2); Mes 109!s. li . , destroyed 2nd Lt. ROBERT A. VRILAKAS, Proberta, Cali-f.. j'ptroyed one (1) one (1) Ma 202. F/C STUKKARD, probably det ’oyed one (1) Lie Ke 109. 2nd Lt. BERREHS, probably destre onb (1) Me 109 .st Lt. OPDAIIL, probably destroyed < 109. Isi (1) Ma 202. Lt. VRILAKAS damaged one (1) and damaged one 1 Na 202. Lt.. SOKOL damaged one (1) Me 109< )9.i Lt. SCHAPER one (1) damaged one (1) Me 109 and Lt. ANDERSON daJnaged d Me 109. 31/8/43 1/9/43 No missions this date. Ho missions this date. .1 2/9/43 Ko missions this date. Note; 2nd Lt. CLARENCE E. SOUTHARD, reported as- missing on 30 August, mission No. 811, returned to base 2306 hrs. 1 September, 1943. He landed at Trapani, Sicily with a damaged aircraft. 3/9/43 Ho missions this date. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource James P. Dibble: The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943 Description An account of the resource From Jim Dibble's account titled "The Day of Armegeddon" included in this collection: "Following the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the missions flown out of North Africa by the 1st Fighter Group pilots in their P-38 Lightnings had a common objective of preparing for the invasion at Salerno, Italy by the United States Fifth Army." A mission on August 25th was highly successful, with a loss of only 8 P-38's. The 1st Fighter Group earned a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation for their efforts, but the August 30 mission, for which they would earn a second citation, was not so easy. See mission reports, photos, first hand accounts and more information about this infamous air battle known as The Day of Armageddon. Jump to other sections of the collection: <ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/5">James P. Dibble: World War II P-38 Fighter Pilot</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/6">His Early Life</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/7">High School into the Army Air Corps</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/8">Flight Training</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/17">We Got Married!</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/9">Combat!</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/10">Mission Reports</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/11">Letters Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/16">Flying with Eisenhower</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/12">The Day of Armageddon - August 30, 1943</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/13">Killed in Action</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/14">The Search for Answers</a><ul><li><a href="https://www.barrycountyhistoryportal.org/collections/show/15">The Monument in Padula, Italy</a></li> </ul></li> </ul></li> </ul> <ul><li> <ul><li><a href="http://omeka/collections/show/15"></a></li> </ul></li> </ul> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Typed document Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1st Fighter Group Journal including August 30, 1943 Subject The topic of the resource World War II. August 30, 1943. Description An account of the resource 1st Fighter Group Journal for August 30, 1943. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Mission report Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource unknown Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 9/1/1943 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jim Dibble Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1/18/2022