John T. Godfrey

World War II

After arriving in England, he learned he had received a commission and been promoted to Pilot Officer in August. Assigned to the 57th Operational Training Unit, Godfrey would ultimately complete his training and receive his transfer to the United States Army Air Forces. Upon transferring he became a Second Lieutenant in the USAAF. Finally in September 1943, Godfrey received orders posting him to RAF Debden and the 336th Fighter Squadron of the 4th Fighter Group. He flew his first mission on September 27 as a wingman to Captain Don Gentile.^[4]

John Godfrey and Don Gentile at RAF Debden

Soon he was a regular on operations. He flew an aircraft bearing the legend "Reggie's Reply". There were several planes with this title in the 4th Fighter Group at that time. All of Godfrey's fighters – a P-47D and P-51B – bore this name. It was named in honor of his brother Reggie, who was killed when the ship he was travelling, SS Vancouver Island was torpedoed by a German U-Boat off the coast of Greenland, killing all 105 people on board. He was then part of the Civilian Technical Corps, going to help man the expanding radar network in England. ^[5]

On December 1st, he would shoot down his first enemy aircraft, an Me-109, while flying the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. On the 23rd, he would shoot down a second and share a third with Lt. Vasseure Wynn. He would not be successful in aerial combat again until after the group transitioned to the North American P-51 Mustang in February 1944.^[6][7]

Godfrey flew the first mission with on the P-51 on February 28th with a forty minutes of flight time. On March 6th, he downed his first aircraft with the Mustang. On March 8th he flew perhaps his most famous mission of the war, an escort mission to the Erkner ball bearing works on the outskirts of Berlin. Due to the high number of aborts, as the P-51B had a myriad of mechanical troubles when first introduced into combat, Godfrey was forced to team up with Gentile, the only other member of the squadron left.^[5]

P-51 Mustang of the 336th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group

The two rushed headlong into a mass of Luftwaffe fighters preparing to attack the bomber stream and combined to destroy six Me-109's. Gentile would shoot down three enemy aircraft with Godfrey providing cover, while Godfrey shot down two enemy aircraft with Gentile protecting him. A sixth was shared between the two, when Godfrey ran out of ammunition while firing at his third target. Gentile destroyed that aircraft. On their way home, the pair came across a lone 92nd Bomb Group Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress and escorted it back across the English Channel. Godfrey became a flying ace and was awarded the Silver Star for his actions, while Gentile received the Distinguished Service Cross.^[6][8]

Godfrey's score steadily increased, adding 4.33 more kills before month's end. On April 22nd, Godfrey celebrated his first flight in his new P-51 by downing three German fighters. The new P-51 bore the name Reggie's Reply. Godfrey would add another aerial victory on the 24th. Godfrey's first tour of duty with the 4th FG ended after he downed an Me-109 on May 1st. Promoted to captain, he was sent to meet up with Don Gentile at Chorley and proceed home to participate in a series of war bond rallies.

Despite the public adulation, Godfrey longed to get back into action. He managed to get another tour of duty with his 4th FG. He returned to RAF Debden in late July and resumed operations on the 31st. On August 5th, he would shoot down one Me-109 and destroy three Ju-52s on the ground. Godfrey and wingman Capt. Otey Glass shot up eight locomotives. On August 6th he would shoot down an Me-410, his last aerial victory of the war.

While strafing an airfield on the eastern outskirts of Berlin his Mustang was hit in the engine and began leaking glycol, the engine coolant. With the engine temperature climbing, Godfrey jettisoned the canopy and was preparing to bail out when his wingman Fred Glover talked him back into the plane. He instructed Godfrey to inject raw fuel into the cylinders with the primer pump; by doing this he could keep his engine temperature down and remain airborne. With an open cockpit, Godfrey flew the two additional hours back to RAF Debden depressing the primer handle every few seconds. He landed at an Advanced Landing Ground in Beccles with a fuel tank containing just a few gallons of gas. ^[6][9]

Shootdown and Capture

On August 24th, Godfrey led his section down to strafe an airfield near Nordhausen. Through four passes, Godfrey had destroyed four Ju-52s, when his P-51D Mustang was struck by fire. Despite the damage, Godfrey made an additional three passes before the engine stopped working and he belly-landed in a field beyond the airfield. ^[6][10]

Godfrey managed to evade for a day before being captured and sent to Stalag Luft III. While imprisoned, Godfrey made two unsuccessful escape attempts before escaping on his third attempt, reaching American lines just before the end of the war. Upon returning to RAF Debden, he learned through watching gun camera film of his last mission that he was downed accidentally by his wingman, who flew too close to him during their strafing runs.^[5]