I tried to translate this from an article in a romanian magazine. It's a fragment from the book "Une sacree guerre" by P. Clostermann:

On 25 of April 1945, just before the end of the war, i was on combat patrol with another 5 Tempests along the Osnabruck-Breme highway, over the great Dummersee lake. I was flying the best RAF fighter and the war was almost over; in short, i was in a sort of state that English call overconfidence. Nevertheless, in the last few weeks 1/JG26 shot down 14 of our Tempests. An entire allied squadron!
Suddenly, a Long Nose FW190 comes out of a cloud; i see him with the corner of my eye coming like an arrow, and before i can even move, the Tempest on my right explodes...then another explosion on my right, a wing floats like a leaf and the Focke Wulf vanishes into another cloud, only to show up somewhere in front of me, just above the lake surface. I called one of my pilots on the radio and asked him to take over: "Cover me, i'm going, i'm going after him, keep your altitude". Then i said something to remember: "Leave it to me, it's a piece of cake!"

I would like to add here that RAF issued every month a confidential magazine, with advice and information considered useful for pilots, which included the most stupid mistakes we did, of course with the intention of avoiding them in the future. In one of these issues, under the "Most famous last words" headline (i could have removed the sentence of course, i had the power, it was the last wartime issue, but i didn't) my words appeared: "Leave it to me, it's a piece of cake!"

So i'm really pushing my Tempest, and while diving the speed builds up like crazy: 750, 800 Km/h...I'm now flying just above the water and i'm closing in at about 400 m behind the german. I say to myself it looks pretty good, i have the sun behind me, the FW is in the shade... I reach out to adjust my gunsight and unlock my four 20 mm cannon, then i look up... the german is not there any more! Good God, where is he?! I can't believe this, this old fox let me come close behind him, rocking his wings gently to send me to sleep and, right at the moment when i leaned over the gunsight, he sprung out vertically like a rocket! I did't really have a choice, i went up after him, pulling hard on the stick, crushed against the seat and with my head whirling, trying not to let him out of my sight. I could see the tail of that plane climbing and climbing, but suddenly i felt my Tempest shaking and buffeting. I am completely bewildered... i'll probably spin, and the spin, which is forbidden for the Tempest under 3000 m, will surely make me crash into the ground... So i panicked, breaking the seal and pushing the throttle to emergency power. Then i did a completely stupid maneuver, trying to regain control of my plane but succeeding to build up some speed though. But againg the FW disappeared! Where is he?

Bang!
The first projectile bounces off the cowling. Bang! Another one. I feel the shock. The engine suddenly stops, and so does my heart... the propeller hangs like a cross in front of me and black smoke comes out of the exhaust pipes. You can't imagine what it feels like. The whole universe crumbles in a split second! You feel like everything inside you drains off, you no longer have a heart, stomach, brain, saliva... Just a terrible fear that replaces everything else.

It was, as usual with fighter planes, a matter of centimeters: the first projectile bounced off the armor plate of the fuel tank, filled with 1000 liters of fuel... I tried to glide, well, as good as at Tempest could glide! I realised with horror that i was too low to bail out; what was i supposed to do? I completely panicked. I opened the canopy, but it jamed, i pulled the jettison handle but it wasn't working, when, completely astounded, i see flying close, very close to me, maybe less than 20 m away, the fuselage of the D9, painted brown with green spots and wearing the red and yellow bands of JG301. A fabulous machine... He didn't want to get ahead of me and closed his throttle, probably worrying i'll try to play some tricks on him before going down. I even have the time to admire him in detail! And he has more than enough time to finish me off. He doesn't... there's no point in doing it. Was he trying to teach me a lesson? He goes around me in a half-roll, i saw -i can still see- the face of the pilot looking at me, but suddenly the ground is right in front of me!

I crash-landed. 100 meters of sliding in a thick mud - a coal quarry. That saved me, absorbing the shock in a cloud of black mud. I rushed out of the smoking plane, ignoring 2 things. The parachute harness somehow got tangled into the seat, and that stoped me for a moment. I set it free, forgetting that the mask was coupled to the oxygen bottles with a flexible tube and a fitting. The tube extended, only to come off a moment later and the fitting hit me hard in the face. Seeing black before my eyes from the hit, i jumped on the mud covered wing, slid and fell on my butt in the mud. Then i heard the specific sound of a german engine. As beautiful as their planes looked, their engines always sounded like a wreck. I can still see the black propeller hub coming towards me, with the white rotating spiral... Is he going to shoot? No, he rocks his wings gently and pulls up. I continued to lie there, dumbfounded and scared, until two americans, too stupid to recognize an allied plane, stuck their machinegun barrels under my nose...

An US Stinson brought me back to my base. I was saved! All this time, the other squadmates thought the german was the one shot down and they were congratulating me on the radio. I explained them later! That evening, at the officer's mess, all my pilots ironically applauded when i walked into the room. A bilboard, which seemed much too big, was hanging from the ceiling: "Leave it to me, it's a piece of cake!"
The check that night cost me the pay for a whole month.

Great story, thanks!

Indeed.

Great stuff Alex.

If you haven't allready, you must read "The Big Show" or in French "Le Grand Cirque" by Pierre Clostermann. Make sure you get the complete version of this book which was released in 2006.

"When The Big Show was first published, paper rationing meant that the text had to be heavily cut. Now, for the first time, this international bestseller has been returned to its complete, and breathtaking, original state. Pierre Clostermann was a Free French fighter ace who flew with the RAF during the Second World War. Over the course of five years he engaged in hundreds of dog-fights, shot down scores of Luftwaffe planes, escorted American bombers on some of the most dangerous raids of the war, and watched many of his friends falling to their deaths in the skies over the Channel. The Big Show, his incredible account of the air war over Britain and France, has become one of the most famous memoirs of the Second World War. Now in its original state, it contains everything one could wish for in a war memoir: wonderfully observed descriptions of wartime Britain, frighteningly evocative stories of in-the-cockpit action, an amazing cast of characters, and all the drama and bravery of a man fighting a desperate war thousands of feet above the ground. An undeniable classic."

Hi Slap, i have "The Big Show" and read it about 25 times Unfortunately it's not the 2006 edition. Can you tell me what extra material was included? Is the story i posted above part of the 2006 release?

Great story ! Thanks.

Cheers

Nico

The complete edition has about 340 pages and the story you posted is indeed part of Clostermann's "A lesson from an expert" chapter where he covers that particular mission with more detail and thoughts. Clostermann goes on to say that many years after the event in 1996 at a fighter pilot reunion in Cologne, it transpired that the number one candidate for shooting him down was the German ace and "Tempest killer" Dortemann...I don't want to spoil it for you; definitely a must-have book.

Another book which I really love and highly recommend is "First Light" by RAF pilot Geoffrey Wellum.


BTW, here is the Table of contents of the complete "Big Show" book:

Introduction to the 2004 Edition xi
PART ONE -- THE FREE FRENCH 1 (16)
The Fall of France 3 (3)
Arrival in England 6 (3)
An Interview 9 (3)
A Meeting with the General 12 (1)
Training at Cranwell 13 (4)
PART TWO -- PILOT WITH THE `ALSACE' SQUADRON 17 (66)
Operational Training Unit in Wales 19 (5)
The `Alsace' Squadron 24 (4)
A Touch of Panic 28 (3)
My First Big Show over France 31 (13)
First Successes 44 (7)
The Thousandth Kill 51 (2)
The Yankees Arrive 53 (4)
A Film with William Faulkner 57 (5)
`Weather Reconnaissance' 62 (8)
Commandant Mouchotte Fails to Return 70 (8)
Radar at Dawn 78 (5)
PART THREE -- ATTACHED TO THE R.A.F. 83 (86)
`City of Glasgow' Squadron 85 (4)
The Munsterland Business 89 (5)
Ball-Bearings and Flying Fortresses 94 (6)
Discovery of the V-1 100(7)
Ranger over France 107(5)
Escorts 112(5)
Departure for the Orkneys 117(6)
A Matter of Life and Death 123(3)
The Tirpitz 126(3)
Tussle in the Stratosphere 129(4)
Eventful Landings 133(5)
A Chance Meeting with the General 138(2)
Dive-Bombing 140(3)
The Entente Cordiale 143(2)
An Unsavoury Incident 145(4)
A Meeting by the River 149(3)
The Normandy Landing 152(11)
We Shoot up Saint-Andre 163(6)
PART FOUR -- FRANCE 169(30)
First Night in France 171(10)
Fight in the Fog 181(5)
A Success and the End 186(7)
Rommel 193(4)
The Boat back to Britain 197(2)
PART FIVE -- COMMANDS IN THE R.A.F. 199(121)
The Typhoon 201(5)
A New Phase of the War in the Air 206(11)
The Luftwaffe's Last Effort 217(3)
A Disappointing Return 220(4)
Volkel 224(5)
Tempest v. Focke-Wulf 229(3)
A Tragic Landing 232(4)
Tempests v. Messerschmitts 236(4)
A Day Like the Others 240(8)
`Rat Catching' 248(6)
Train-Busting 254(2)
Walter Nowotny 256(4)
The Rhine 260(6)
Clouds, Snow and Focke-Wulfs 266(6)
A New Enemy 272(4)
Flames at Dusk 276(7)
Into the Inferno of Flak 283(8)
A Lesson from an Expert 291(5)
The Last Test 296(12)
A Case of `Fraternisation' 308(5)
A Tragic Mistake 313(5)
A Final Farewell 318(2)
Appendix A Preface to the Original Edition 320(2)
Appendix B Notes on the Organisation of the 322(5)
R.A.F.
Appendix C Raids by R.A.F. Fighter Pilots on 327(2)
Ground Targets
Appendix D Captain Pierre Clostermann's 329(2)
Victories
Appendix E Combat Reports 331(4)
Appendix F Notes on the Luftwaffe 335(4)
Appendix G Some Opinions Concerning the German 339(2)
Fighters
Appendix H French Citations Concerning the 341
Author


S!ap

Thanks Slap, i'll get that new edition.
It's true, some sources say that the german pilot was Dortenmann, but i thought he was attached to JG26? Clostermann said the FW had the red and yellow bands of JG301... Another candidate would be Rudi Wurff, but he shot down only 3 planes at that time. According to my sources, he shot down a Tempest in the Dummer lake area on 21 of April 1945.

Yes he is an excellent writer. To bad he didn't write more about his time as a pilot. Slap what other books would yous suggest?

Thanks for that.. It reminded me what a fantastic read Clostermanns 'Big Show' is... and it's about time I read it again!
His accounts have been critiscised for some inaccuracies and for his comments towards the US, but that can be forgiven when you get so involved in his ability to tell a story, and reading that last account I was almost reliving it in the cockpit with him, and I could visualise the whole calamity!! Superb stuff!

From the thread over at Ubi.

from a thread http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=9151&highlight=Clostermann

French magazine LE FANA DE L´AVIATION from December 2001. There is a letter of Clostermann remembering the events of 21 APRIL 1945 ( page 21 ). Apparently he tried to discover the identity of the pilot who shot him down writing to the Gemeinschaft der Jagdflieger. This is HIS own account on the magazine ( of course translated to the English by myself ):

" Dontermann leading seven Fw 190 D-9 from I/JG 26 surprised six Tempest V. He attacked alone with Soffing covering. He immediately shot down Filmstar Red 2 ( F/L Mackenzie-Intyre ) and Red 4 ( F/Sgt Staines - who was a pilot on loan from 33 Squadron ) and dived on the deck. I ( Clostermann describing ) dived down behind him on the limit of the VNE, but he got me in 2"tempo" and 3 mouvements. Too low to bail out I landed my plane with the wheels down. A part the propellers and flaps the Tempest was intact. It was my 2nd Tempest from 3 I have flown and it had only 23 flying hours. It was sent to AMU at B-58 Bruxelles on the 17th May 1945, then transferred to Bristol Aero Co. of Banwell, stocked and sold to the Egyptians. Clostermann says he saw the same airplane at B-58 on the 20th May. It was hit by two 20mm shells. One of those shells had hit the spark plug link for the 6 upper cylinders on the left side of the engine and the other hit the oil reservoir.
Werner Molge confirmed to Clostermann that on his report, Dontermann wrote that his 3rd victim had landed near the Dummersee and that it had the letters JF-L and that his propeller hub was RED. My ( Clostermann saying ) aircraft indeed had a propeller hub red and the letters JF-L could have been misdjuged with a JF-E with mud on its sides.
It seems that Clostermann advised the other pilots on his formation to let the D-9 to him, saying: "Let it to me, it is a piece of cake". This sentence was later put on the Mess, when he returned home and it was a case of much fun to everybody...
I also read that the D-9 pilot dived on the Tempest while he was getting out. Clostermann believed he was going to be machine gunned, but the Dora 9 pilot waved his wings in a GENTLEMAN act and went home. This is on an interview Clostermann gave to some Brazilian people ( it is in Portuguese ). It was his last interview before he passed away.

The problem here is Clostermann crash landed on Apr 20 1945. His a/c NV994, JF-E was a CatB and ended up being converted to a 2 seat trainer.

As for the combat reported in the Le Fana letter - it seems to have more in common with that on 12 April when Dortenmann claimed 2 Tempests and Soffing claimed another. The RAF unit involved was 33 Sqn and they lost two Tempests and had a third badly damaged (it was eventually scrapped). One of the two downed Tempests was flown by Sgt J.Staines, who was killed (so he can hardly have been loaned to 3 Sqn on 21 April!).

F/L MacKenzie-Intyre" seems to be a bizarre mix of Flt Lt B.C.McKenzie who was killed on 21 April leading a 3 Sqn formation (Clostermann was not with him) and Flt Lt A.G.McIntyre who had flown with Clostermann on the 20 April sortie.

G'day Alex

On the strength of the exert that you have provided in this thread, I went and checked to see if my favourite military book shop had the "The Big Show" listed on their inventory and have now reserved a copy for myself which I hope to pick up next weekend.

Over the past few weeks I have almost exclusively been flying your Tempest and with the aid of your recently released skins/templates was able to make a few more 3 Sqn ships to fly with. I look very much forward to the your SOW Typhoon and I hope that there are plans for another excellent Tempest down the track as well. Keep up the great work!

Many thanks David

Yah, I got the latest edition of The Big Show and that story is in it :yes: A great read! Oddly enough, the newest printing was cheaper than the older versions :uh:

Anyone know where to get this book on Europe at good price? Will love to have something more like this ( pilot biography ) , any recommendation?? Maybe something for the Luftwaffe?

Hello stratos!

Amazon sells the new edition of "The big Show" in the Cassell´s Classic series for 10 Euros
and if you want a great bio about or from a LW pilot, I suggest you look for Hajo Herrmann´s bio, easily one of the best LW related biographies available.

cheers
BL

Amazon where? UK or US?

Would also suggest the bio of Lipfert.

The War Diary of Hauptmann Helmut Lipfert: JG 52 on the Russian Front 1943-45

Any BoB account? Both sides if possible Spit for the RAF

he was in fact with JG26 at that time and according to this, quite precise source, he'd shot down a Spit that day

http://www.luftwaffe.cz/dortenmann.html


excellent piece of reading, thanks

Do you have any link where is possible to buy this new edition?

Regards, Amateur4Ever