Which fighters did pilots feel safest in for crash landing?

[my point of interest]

Hello to everyone! :P I 've been reading your forum for a while now and find it very very very interesting. I' have a few things to say about this subject.

You all know Pierre Closterman for sure so I'm not going to write about him. Lets just say I read his book »The big show« and in it I found his testimony about the danger of crash-landing a Tempest V. The plane had a landing speed of 300km/h and cought fire very fast on crash landing, especially on bricked surfaces. He tells the story of a pilot named Alex and one named Golding who both perished in the flames. Alex's wheel leg was shattered due to 37mm and it just wouldn't fully retract back inside before the landing.

And now about this photo below. This web site: http://www.flyandrive.com/story.htm and the book both state that the picture of the crashed Dora is showing one of the 2 FW's he shot down on 20th April 1945 after he was transferred to No 3 Squadron as "A" Flight commander. There is a 20mm hole in the engine cowling. The color plate of the book says that the German pilot was seriously injured and died later in the hospital, but the author himself states (see below) that the German pilot limped away?!?

Four Focke-Wulfs were flitting around like big moths, occasionally spitting a stream of bullet in the inferno. I daren't attack them - I could feel the other prowling round in the shadows. Aha ! I spotted a lone plane skimming over the tree tops in the direction of Bremen, whose tall chimneys stacks look positively medieval outlined against the dying sky. Engine temperature 125°, oil pressure down to the fifty five. Regretfully I opened the radiator and closed the throttle to 3500 revs. Even then I went on gaining on the Focke-Wulf, who was probably making for home, his magazines empty. We were now over Bremen, and he was still a thousand yards ahead. This businness might take me rather far; I closed the radiator again and opened the throttle flet out. My "Grand Charles" responded at once. We were now over the first docks of the Weser. We roared between the shattered remains of the big transporter bridge. On either side rose the charred hulks of the ware-houses; the few cranes and derricks still erect rose uo like black skelettons. Suddenly a salvo of Flak shelles blossomed beetween theFocke-Wulf and me - brief white flashes, mingled with brown balls which passed by either side of me. More kept appearing miracously out of the void. The automatic flak now chimed in and the orange glow of the tracers was reflected in the black oily water, from wich overturned hulk emerged, like enormous stranded whales. I concentrated on not losing sight of my Focke-Wulf - lukely he was silhouetted against the dying glow of the sky. For a moment the Flak redoubled in intensity. There was a sudden Clang behind my back - then suddenly the tracers were snuffed out and diseappeared... A bit suspicious ! A glance behind me explained this curious phenomenon : on my tail six Focke-Wulfs in perfect close echelon formation - exhaust white hot -pursuing me at full throttle. With one movement I broke the metal thread to enable me to go to "emergency" and shoved the throttle lever right forward. It was the first time I had occasion to use it on Tempest. The effect was extraordinaire and immediate. The aircraft litteraly bounded forward with a roar like a furnace under pressure. Within a few seconds I was doing 490 m.p.h by the air speed indicator and I simultaneously caught up my quarry and left my pursuers standing. I had soon reduced the distance to less than 200 yards. Although in this darkness my gun sight rather dazzled me, I had him plumb in the middle and I fired two long, deliberate bursts. The Focke-Wulf oscillated and crashed on its belly in a marshy field, thowing up a shower of mud. He miracously did not overturn. Whithout losing anytime I climbed vertically toward the clouds and righted myself to face the others. They had vanished in the shadows. They must have turned about and left their comrade to this fate. I flew back over the Focke-Wulf I shot down. The pilot was limpimg off, dragging his parachutte an dquite dazed by the shock. I besparred the remains of his machine with shells and they caught fire at once.
That made two !

That's all!

[FLYBOYJ]

Welcome, and apprecite your post. The only thing I have to disagree with is your comment on the Tempest landing speed of 300km/h (189 mph) This doesn't sound right. A Mustang is on final at about 120 mph (200 km/h).

[my point of interest]

Thank you sir!

Yeah I know, that's the numbers Pierre wrote down, but I read somewhere he had the tendency to exaggerate.

About that picture above, now I find it funny, because Pierre says that Dora caught fire but the plane on the picture does't look like burned remains to mee. Maybe it really is from the Bodenplatte op...

[FLYBOYJ]

Originally Posted by my point of interest

Thank you sir!

Yeah I know, that's the numbers Pierre wrote down, but I read somewhere he had the tendency to exaggerate.

About that picture above, now I find it funny, because Pierre says that Dora caught fire but the plane on the picture does't look like burned remains to mee. Maybe it really is from the Bodenplatte op...

You know there is a possibility that as he was shooting at it, the rupturing fluid lines gave the appearance of smoke or fire.

[Erich]

6 Focke-wulfs in Echelon formation............yeah right. if so Pierre would of been vaporized. More fantasy from the Frenchman in both of his books. Note the story behind JG 301 pilot Rudi Wurff as Pierre claims he zoomed into the clouds to take out I believe 4 Tempests of his squadron.
Reality : Rudi scored all of two kills in the war including Pierre's wingman.

another story during the last weeks of 1945 when Pierre says he was hit by 2cm Fla, his wingman was literally disintegrated and Pierre's Grand Charles piece of crap turned to a sieve when he crashed landed it......

surprise but that is not what brought him down as well as killed his wingman and that my friends will possibly amaze you when you read it in our book........

zum Wohl ! another Bier bitte

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

From everythign I have ever read about Pierre, I find it very hard to believe anything he says.

[FLYBOYJ]

Originally Posted by DerAdlerIstGelandet

From everythign I have ever read about Pierre, I find it very hard to believe anything he says.

Very true, but he sure is entertaining! Would of loved to be able to sit at a pub an listen to his BS, oh, I mean stories

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Might even ensue into a bar fight after too many Guiness.

[FLYBOYJ]

It'll be fun though!

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Yes that it would be. Sometimes it is good to get roughed up a bit, so you dont forget that you are not invincible!

[FLYBOYJ]

[cheddar cheese]

Having never been in a fight before, I still have every reason to believe that I am invincible!

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Your time will come my friend, Remember Rome did not fall in one night!

[cheddar cheese]

No it didnt, because the Italians but up a brave and determined fight for their homeland.


(Oh come on, it was wide open for that comment )

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Yeah but what do you mean wide open. That I do not get.