P-38 in german and italian markings

After Operation Torch secured French West Africa an air route was set up flying planes US-Brazil-West Africa-UK. The Brittany Peninsula extends west quite a ways. Airplanes, especially Fighters, could easily go off course and fly over Brittany. The Germans set up a fake RAF airfield there and had a number of US aircraft land there and were captured with many serving the Germans in Squadron 200.
The Italians had a captured P-38, used still in US markings, that would link up with straggling bombers. The pilot would tell the bomber they could dump their guns and ammo to lighten the load and then shoot them down. Word got back to N. Africa about what was happening. They sent a YB-40 Gunship along on a Raid and it straggled on purpose. The P-38 showed up and they dumped some ammo, but not all of it. When the P-38 attacked from close in it was shot down.
 
George said:
After Operation Torch secured French West Africa an air route was set up flying planes US-Brazil-West Africa-UK. The Brittany Peninsula extends west quite a ways. Airplanes, especially Fighters, could easily go off course and fly over Brittany. The Germans set up a fake RAF airfield there and had a number of US aircraft land there and were captured with many serving the Germans in Squadron 200.
The Italians had a captured P-38, used still in US markings, that would link up with straggling bombers. The pilot would tell the bomber they could dump their guns and ammo to lighten the load and then shoot them down. Word got back to N. Africa about what was happening. They sent a YB-40 Gunship along on a Raid and it straggled on purpose. The P-38 showed up and they dumped some ammo, but not all of it. When the P-38 attacked from close in it was shot down.
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Great bit of history George!
 
Some years ago I read an account in one of the Guinness books regarding this incident. I do not know if it is true and I have never seen it referred to until now. Supposedly a crippled U.S. medium bomber was shot down by the captured P-38 flown by an Italian pilot. The pilot of the medium survived but some crew members were killed. This so enraged the American pilot that he conducted a personal vendetta to get the Italian pilot and was allowed to do so by his superiors. This in the middle of a global war! The American learned that the Italian pilot was from a town now in Allied hands. He went there, found the pilot's wife and took a snapshot of her. He had her painted on the nose of a modified bomber in an obscene pose. He flew the heavily armed gunship hunting for the Italian pilot. When he encountered the P-38, supposedly the Italian contacted him on the radio in English and asked who the woman was. The American replied with her name and that she was an Italian ***** who he was banging. This angered the Italian into conducting a head-on attack against an aircraft bristling with guns. The Italian was shot down and captured. Is the story true? I cannot vouch for it. Perhaps someone else can. I do know that the Germans had an air force unit that specialized in operating captured allied aircraft, but I don't know about the Italians. However, the Italians are an inventive people so I wouldn't be surprised. Certainly, if the captured P-38 was shot down in the manner suggested by the previous post, it was obviously a pre-planned operation on the part of the American, so perhaps true.
 
The story I read didn't have any sordid angle, but I don't recall where I read it & if they would or wouldn't have printed such detail.
 
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