Dear Editor,
In response to Matthew Claxton’s Painful Truth column of Oct. 6 [Jet lost in fight with Spitfires].
Apparently, the German Me262 (Schwalbe or ‘Swallow’ in English) that was shot down by members of RCAF Squadron 401 was flown by Luftwaffe pilot Hauptman Hans Christoff Buttmann of 3./KG (Kampfgeschwader) 51.
The Werk Nummer is listed as 170093, the aircraft code – 9K+BL.
The jet apparently crashed in a very boggy field in friendly territory five miles northeast of Nijmegen, Holland.
As to the Canadian pilots sharing the claim, this was standard practice in the RCAF, RAF and other air forces. It was not something unique to the RCAF.
Ken Johnson, Langley
