My P47 Print

Johnson's P-47 had sustained 21 20mm cannon shell hits from an initial FW-190 attack, then after regaining control of the plane flew for home only to be spotted by a second FW-190. This 190 pilot was Luftwaffe ace Egon Meyer, when he found Johnson he already had 66 kills to his name and intended for Johnson's P-47 to become his 67th. He came in behind Johnson and fired with the rifle calibre machine guns on his fighter's nose. Johnson huddled behind the armor plate in the cockpit and tried some manuvering. He finally got Meyer to fly out in front of him and opened fire with the P-47's eight .50 cal machine guns. All of his shots missed and he saw Meyer's 190 circle around and pull alongside him. Meyer's face was full of surprise when he saw the damage the aircraft had endured, Meyer waved to Johnson and pulled behind again firing more bullets into the wreck yet the Thunderbolt kept flying. Meyer pulled alongside again and surveyed the situation, shaking his head he again waved and got behind the P-47 firing the last of his machine gun ammo from wingtip to wingtip. After running out of bullets(his four 20mm cannons had been exhausted already during an earlier fight.) He pulled up again and gave up then stayed with Johnson flying with him to the coast as Johnson's "wingman". After reaching the English Channel Meyer saluted Johnson, wagging his wings and flying away. Johnson flew back to England and after a rough landing got out of the fighter, surveyed the damage to the plane and himself before giving up. Johnson would go on to become America's second highest scoring ace with 27 aerial victories (Behind Francis S. Gabereski, who claimed 28.) Meyer would claim 102 victories before being killed by a P-47 Thunderbolt while trying to attack a formation of 8th Air Force bombers over France.
Both Gabreski and Johnson flew P-47 Thunderbolts exclusively on all their missions.