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Before the end of World War II, Colonel Arthur Jeffrey
could claim fourteen kills, and three damaged, as well
as being the first Allied Pilot to shoot down an Me-163,
Germany’s small rocket-powered interceptor. Like
all our legends, Arthur Jeffrey made history, and it began
with a boy born in Brewer, Arkansas on the 17th of November,
1919.
Arthur Jeffrey enlisted in the Army on August 18th, 1939,
and two years later in September, he entered aviation cadet
training and graduated at Kelly Field, Texas in April of
1942. For the next two years, he was assigned to various
bases in California where he flew and instructed in P-38
Lightnings.
In 1939, Jeffrey was assigned to the newly-formed 479th
Fighter Group flying P-38s, and after a training period,
his group was sent to England to become a part of the 8th
Air Force. The year was 1944, and eleven days after arrival,
the group began flying operational missions.
At this point, Jeffrey was a captain in the 434th Fighter
Squadron, and scored his first aerial victory over a Fw-200K
heavy bomber downed over the Chateaubernard Airdrome near
Cognac in July. In this same year, Jeffrey saw several
other victories, one of which involved shooting down the
Me-163 previously mentioned as well as an Me-109 and a
Ju-52. At this time, Jeffrey was a major, and became an
ace on October 7th, with the destruction of an Me-109 ten
miles south of Leipzig. In a combat report, Jeffrey describes
this particular incident:
 “I was leading Newcross Yellow Section on an escort
mission to Leipzig…As we approached the target area
at 30,000 feet, Col. Zemke, Group Leader, called in E/A
approaching the bombers in a gaggle from the North…I
picked the nearest Me-109, split-essed down after him,
and closed in on him from the rear at about 24,000 feet.
Evidently sighting me, the German pulled into a sharp right
turn, enabling me to get within range and fire a deflection
shot. I observed many strikes on the fuselage from the
cockpit to the engine. Apparently, his engine quit and
the pilot must have been also been hit, for the E/A essed
down into a gentle glide and I did not see the pilot make
any attempt to bail out…I opened fire again, getting
good strikes…part of the wing flew off, and flame
poured from out of the engine. The E/A then rolled gently
over on its back and dived into a cloud bank."
Within the next four months, Jeffrey was credited with
nine more victories, including triple victories in one
mission, on both the 5th and the 23rd of December.
Arthur Jeffrey ended his tour as a lieutenant colonel
in command of the 434th Fighter Squadron, with a list of
combat awards including the Silver Star, Distinguished
Flying Cross with one Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Air Medal
with 16 Oak Leaf Clusters.
Arthur Jeffrey remained in the Air Force after the war
and retired from
the Air Force in September, 1968.
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