Edward C Manchester
MilitaryConnections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Ninth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Ninth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Died |
in the vicinity of Lisieux, France | 20 August 1944 | y German concentration near Argentan, far behind the American lines. Then the 12-ship formation, led by Major Howard Galbreath, answered an urgent call to help out an armored column held up by heavy anti-tank guns near Verneuil, and observed a tank battle raging in the area between Liseux and the Seine. "Skin's" lead flight was low west of Rouen, pulling up out of a dive-bombing run, when the top-cover flight led by Steve Leonard, was bounced by six FW-190's. The enemy formation split up as the P-47's turned into them, and one came down on Leonard's tail, as Leonard's flight pursued two others. Steve's wingman, First Lieut. John F. Phelps, pulled over on the tail of the German, and a hectic race began at about 8,000 feet. "The FW was closing in fast on Leonard," Phelps said. I was as scared as if he had been shooting at me. I could see his 20-min guns firing past Leonard, and the FW gaining all the time. I couldn't shoot at first because the FW was right on a line with Leonard, and I was afraid of hitting my own man. Then Leonard did a split-ess, and as he went down he left me free to shoot. I gave the FW a couple of bursts and saw the second one go right into the cockpit. I think I shot the pilot. The plane caught on fire and went down." Another square-tipped wing flashed in front of Phelp's gunsight and he got off another burst with some apparent damage to the second enemy. Meanwhile as the enemy craft dove through the formation, Leonard's second element picked up an FW and followed it down. Steve Courtney was the element leader and Lew Eldredge the wingman, but Eldredge's plane gradually slid ahead in the diving pursuit. "I was firing at the FW all the time from 8,000 to 1500 feet," Eldredge said. "When I was pulling out, I caught a glimpse of another plane off my left wing. Not realizing it was Courtney, I got quite a scare and broke off my attack. The FW was still in a vertical dive below me, going at least 450 miles an hour." Courtney thought it would have been impossible for the FW to have pulled out at that altitude and speed, so the squadron ended up claiming two of the enemy destroyed and one damaged. Somewhere in the first moment of the attack, however, Manchester turned up missing. He was flying number four in the middle flight behind Lieut. Ray Donnelly, and according to Donnellv, when the flight turned and met the enemy in a head-on pass, Manchester fell slightly behind. A Fock-Wulf came directly at Donnelly and broke beneath him. When he looked around a few seconds later, Manchester was no longer with the formation. |
|
Buried |
Plot D Row 20 Grave 4 Normandy American Cemetery Colleville-sur-Mer, France | ||
|
Born |
Attleboro, Massachussets |
Revisions
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes