First Encounter With The Enemy

I was flying number two to Buzz Beurling when he got his twenty-eighth. We were high cover, we were flying as a wing, the wing was escorting B17s, and we were the top squadron, the highest squadron. And we were attacked by 190s and Beurling culled them out above us and off to one side. And we climbed up towards them and he fired a couple of bursts. At first I didn't see what he was firing at but, because I was busy watching him and making sure there was no one attacking us, when the next...as we completed the turn I noticed an aircraft going down and smoking. I didn't realize that it was an enemy aircraft but, I didn't know what it was, other than it was an aircraft. When we got back to base he claimed a 190 destroyed and I confirmed that there was an aircraft on fire going down so he got the confirmation out of it. But I didn't actually see him hit the aeroplane because as I say, I was busy watching for other aircraft, that might be attacking us.

Interviewer: How long was Buzz Beurling with 403 squadron?

He had come back, he was back about a month before I got to the squadron I guess and he was there for oh...four or five months. And then they posted him as a flight commander over to another, to the other wing. Another Canadian wing.

Interviewer: So did you fly as his wing man often?

On several occasions. I was with him when he got his twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth.