On the morning of June 26,1943, forty-eight P-47 Thunderbolts took off from from their base of operations in Eastern England.
Slated to escort returning bombers heading away from occupied France, Lieutenant Robert S Johnson was doing his best to stay with the formation, being both a novice pilot and one with a tendency to do his own thing.
Before arriving at the rendezvous point, the “T-bolts” were intercepted by 16 Fw 190s, striking from above with a hail of machine gun and cannon fire.
Scattering to avoid being ripped up by the initial ambush, many of the Thunderbolt pilots found themselves isolated from their comrades.
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