“Returning from a Ploesti Mission on August 10th [1944] the 94th [Squadron] came upon two Re. 2001s setting up for an attack on a straggler B-17 near Nis, Yugoslavia. The attackers broke off as the P-38s turned into them. Dick Arrowsmith chased one down to the deck and damaged it at the very least.”
If Allied crews had problems telling a Macchi 202 from a 205 or a G.55, the same could not have happened with the Reggiane fighters whose elliptical (Seversky) wings and tailplanes made their shape pretty unique, thus making the possibility of a mis-identification unlikely.
I doubt the 94th’s crews had run into some captured Spitfires
, and all the publications I have checked don’t mention any Re-2001 being operational with the Luftwaffe and/or the ANR.Nor could I find any mention of the Luftwaffe’s Re-2002 being operational outside of France.
Italian Co-Belligerant Air Force’s Re-2002s flew operational missions over Yugoslavia, but I seriously doubt they would have attacked a straggler B-17!
Based on the above, I believe – mho only
– that the aircraft the Allied crews met were Re-2005.The Luftwaffe is known to have taken delivery of the MMs 96100, 96102 and 96105 thru 96110 in October 1943 and 96111 and 96112 in January 1944, to serve with the Fliegerzielstaffel 20 (formerly Luftdienst-Kommando Italien) a target-towing unit, which operated from Maniago June 1944-July 1944 and from Aviano July 1944-December 1944.
On March 18, 1944 the MMs 096100, 096106 and 096110 were extensively damaged by a US raid, while at least three more were involved in accident in Maniago (MM096108 on March 16, 1944 and 096100 on June 1, 1944) and Airasca (on April 19, 1944), requiring shipment to the factory for repair.
German records indicate that five were operational with the unit as of July 31, 1944 (source Ali d’Italia # 16).
But, were they all still with the unit on August 10?
Perhaps the story of the Saggitario being used in the defense of the oil fields in Ploesti is not a complete fabrication, after all…
) but the evidence seem to indicate the P-38 crews met some Re-2001 looking aircarft trying to shoot down a straggler B-17 over Yugoslavia and, for the reasons I have given on my first post, I'm now inclined to believe the Re-2001s were actually Re-2005.
