Forced Plane Down With Pistol In 1945
(NJL.B.A. -Reuter—Copyright J ST. PAUL (Minnesota), March 12. A pilot, who forced down a German plane with pistol fire in 1945 and captured the two enemy aviators, was today awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for the feat. Mr Merritt Frandes, a captain in the army reserve, was presented with the nation's second highest military award by Major-General Walter Jensen, 14th Army Corps commander.
Mr Francies was assigned to the sth Armour Division as
an artillery liaison pilot and was on a flight on April 11, 1945, when he spotted the enemy plane. “I manoeuvred my plane above the enemy plane and surprised the enemy by diving and swinging my plane into a tight circle above him,” Mr Francies recalled. “The pilot did not realise we were on his tail until bullets from our pistols started hitting his plane. My observer opened the side door of our single-engined observation craft and we emptied our.pistols into the enemy aircraft”
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31318, 14 March 1967, Page 15
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164Forced Plane Down With Pistol In 1945 Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31318, 14 March 1967, Page 15
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