Us Official Photographs

Reconnaissance pilots on western front

Three of eight reconnaissance pilots, sent aloft in pairs to observe and not to fight, scored 17 kills in 24 hours recently on the western front when, outnumbered by the Luftwaffe, they were forced to fight their way home on two occasions. All returned safely. L to R: Capt. Victor J. Gentzler, Sonora, Texas, credited with one ME 109 destroyed; Capt. John R. Lutz, 1720 S. Harvard Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif., one destroyed; and 2nd Lt. Robert A. Perry, 909 West Broad St., Westfield, N.J., ½ destroyed, sharing this kill with his leader, Capt. William I. Williams, not pictured here.