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On this day Oblt. Rolf Klippgen would file his 15th confirmed victory. His victim was a USAAF P-38 Lightning, downed south of Capri in low level dogfight. His next and final abschusse would fell befor his guns on 27 November when he managed to shot down a B-17 4-engine bomber southeast of Florenz. Klippgen would fly his last combat mission on 19 February 1944 as the Staffelkapitän of 9./JG 53, after his Bf 109 G-6 (White 9+I) was damaged by Spitfire in the Anzio-Nettuno area, he was killed when trying to make an emergency landing 5 km South West of Onano. Rolf Klippgen was by then a long serving member, "an old hare" of the III Gruppe, joining already during the Battle of Britain where he manage to claim his first victories, A Spitfire North of Dungerness on 14 September and a second, Blenheim was downed on 15 Km East of Dover on 4 November 1940. Thereafter he participated in the Invasion of Soviet Union where he score his first VVS machine, a "I-17" on the first day of the campaign. Another six Soviet machine would follow until he found himself on the receiving end on 17 August, being shot down in air-combat over Solowjewo, Klippgen managed to save himself by parachute. After this ordeal he manage to increase his score in the East to 11 confirmed victories and a promotion to the rank of Leutnant followed, This his last abschusse was filed on 15 September, an RZ. Then followed a posting
to the "Schwarzer Kontinent" and the African Desert
where he on 9 October 1942 managed to downed two P-40s from the
RAF No. 250 Sqn. His first victory over Italy then followed,
a B-17 on shot down on 19 August when flying in the Stab of the
III./JG 53. |
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