Probably not often. Catching up with the V-1 in level flight was not easy for the (piston-powered) aircraft of the time. Quotes from Osprey book "Meteor I vs V-1 Flying Bomb".
[L]egendary British test pilot
Capt Eric Brown described the performance of the [Meteor] Mk I as ‘pedestrian’. Compared
with the high performance piston-engined fighters then in service with the RAF (the
Tempest V and Spitfire XIV), the Meteor offered little in the way of superior
performance. Where it excelled, however, was at low level – exactly where the V1
operated. The Meteor I was faster than any of its contemporaries at such altitudes.
This was just as well, for the V1 boasted an average speed of roughly 400mph between
1,000ft and 3,000ft. At those heights the Tempest V and Spitfire XIV could make
405mph and 396mph, respectively, using 150-octane fuel. The Meteor, on the other
hand, had a top speed of 410mph at sea level.
The few experimental Meteors were pressed into service for that reason.
Most fighter attacks on the V-1 were diving attacks, even with the Meteor.
While the first V1 to be brought down by a Meteor was
not shot down by cannon fire, the remaining 11 credited to
No. 616 Sqn were, using the Meteor I’s quartet of nose-
mounted 20mm cannons. In order to negate the missile’s
high speed, a pair of jets would climb to an altitude well
above the V1’s average height of 1,000–3,000ft. Once the
incoming weapon had survived the hail of flak from the
guns located on the coast it was the Meteor’s turn. Vectored
by radar, the pilot would then get into the right position and
altitude, open the throttles and begin scanning the terrain
below. Once the V1 was spotted, he would trade height for
speed. Diving at speeds in excess of 400mph, the pilot
would position his Meteor above and astern of the V1.
Because the Meteor’s guns were mounted in the nose
and not the wings, the pilot did not have to worry about
converging fire. Engaging the missile at long-range once he
had the V1 in his state-of-the-art Ferranti Mk II gyroscopic
gunsight, pilots routinely registered hits from 700 yards
astern, but in most cases the damage was done at the more
lethal range of 300–100 yards.
There was one tipping attack by a Meteor (too) on August 4:
This event occurred on 4 August 1944 when Flg Off T. D. Dean (flying
EE216/YQ-E) used the wingtip of his Meteor to flip a V1 on to its back, sending the
missile diving to earth.
He did it that way because his cannons had jammed, which was not an uncommon occurrence on the early Meteors.
I half expected the guns to jam because several other pilots had experienced that problem
before me. I also knew that any sudden movement would upset the V1, and so when
my guns failed I already had a good idea of what I should do. I just followed on in and
tipped it up. When I got back to base I found that there was a small dent in my wingtip
where I had hit the flying bomb. This was the only damage to the aircraft, which was
serviceable again after a few hours.
A similar attempt had been made by a Meteor on July 27, and again due to similar jamming, but on that occasion the approach was called off due to proximity of balloons.
Sqn Ldr Watts (EE213/YQ-A) was unfortunate in having trouble with his
guns as he was about to open the squadron’s Diver score near Ashford. Flg Off
Dean (EE215/YQ-C) sighted one Diver and followed in line astern at
405mph. He had closed to within 1,000 yards of the bomb, estimated to be
flying at 390mph, when he was turned back by control owing to the proximity
of balloons. Pilots are convinced that given favourable weather and good plots
nothing can prevent the Meteor knocking down the latest Axis weapon.
Given all these factors, I'd venture a guess that less than 1% of the V-1 kills were by tipping.
Over a comparable on month period in the summer of 1944, there were over 750 V-1s claimed by British fighters. Most (498) were shot down by Tempests (0.21 kills per sortie), followed by Spitfires (227 kills; 0.10 kills per sortie.) The Meteors were only credited with 12.5 kills (one shared with a Mustang), and a rather lower ratio of 0.046 kills per sortie. Some of these failures were attributed to gun malfunctions or being interrupted / targeted by allied AA or aircraft, whom mistaken them for German (jet) fighters etc.
Overall in 1944 some 1,902 V-1s were claimed by British fighters (and some 40 by Americans). So the tipping attacks, while spectacular, have to be kept in that perspective.
There's also one USAAF pilot which claimed such wingtip victory. As related in Osprey's V1 Flying Bomb Aces:
USAAF pilots also continued to play a small part in anti-‘Diver’ operations
until their units’ eventual move to France. Among them was eight-victory
ace Maj Richard E Turner, the CO of Mustang-equipped 356th FS/354th
FG. On the evening of 18 June he flew along the coast near Hastings
looking for V1s, and at 2100 hrs he found one;
‘I sighted one below and dived on it, pulling out behind it, but slightly
out of range. I tried to close the distance, but the missile was just a little
too fast. I chased the infernal machine for ten minutes, alternatively diving
to gain speed and pulling up to lob long-range bursts at it. Eventually one
of my bullets must have scored a chance hit in the engine, for suddenly
it emitted a long streamer of yellow flame and quickly lost speed. In a
curving dive, it plunged into a vacant field below, where the missile
exploded harmlessly.
‘Encouraged by my success, I proceeded back to the Channel area to pick
up another. I began to wonder how I was going to get the next V1 because
most of my ammo was expended and my gun barrels had burnt out. Soon
I saw another one and made a very steep dive in order to gain extra
overtaking speed. This bomb must have been moving more slowly than the
first one, for I almost overran it as I pulled out of my dive. As I flew
alongside the little monster, I had a new idea. I knew they were controlled
by a gyro-guidance “brain”, and perhaps this mechanism could be upset
without gunfire. I carefully edged closer to it and placed my wingtip about
a foot under its tiny fin. Rolling my aeroplane suddenly neatly flipped the
V1 upside-down, and it promptly spun into the shallows of the Channel
near the shoreline, where it blew a useless hole in the water. Jubilant with
my success, I rushed back to Maidstone and hastened to tell the other pilots
of the new pastime that I had discovered.’
There was another USAAF pilot which claimed a similar feat:
2Lt Melvyn Paisley of the P-47D-equipped
390th FS/366th FG, shot down the last V1 to be claimed by the USAAF.
Participating in his unit’s first mission from Asch, in Belgium, Paisley had
become separated in cloud from his section. He later recalled;
‘As I broke out of the cloud cover an object caught my eye at “eight
o’clock”. It was low, maybe 2000 ft below me, steady on course and black
as night. With a brisk “phut . . . phut . . . phut”, the Jerry V1 buzz bomb
sped on its course to England or maybe Antwerp. I shoved the throttle to
the wall and went into a shallow dive, following close behind for 50 miles,
plotting its course on my kneepad map. It was on a line towards Brussels.
‘Surveying the area, I noticed there was mostly farmland ahead of the
V1. I switched on the water injection and moved up on the V1, carefully
placing my wing under its wingtip. The Doodlebug was much steadier
than my “Jug”, probably owing to the absence of a nervous pilot flying it.
With a prodding right roll of my aileron, my “Jug” tipped the V1’s right
wing into the sky. Within seconds the V1 lost its brains and tumbled
downward. Rolling back, I took a short blast at the black body as it fell,
hoping to get a little camera coverage. What a stupid move that was. My
plane lurched upwards as the V1 burst into the open field below – I barely
escaped the explosion, which sent hoards of mud spurting into the air.’
I'm not sure if any Tempest pilots managed that. There's a brief account of 3 failed attempts by Canadian Plt. Off. David Ness of No 56 Sqn (which had just converted to Tempests).
One of
No 56 Sqn’s Canadians, Plt Off David Ness, was less successful, however,
as having used up all his ammunition he then tried three times to turn
the V1 over with his wingtip.
It's not exactly spelled out why he failed.
WO Tadeusz Szymanski of the USAAF (flying a Mustang) however related in more detail that some V1 were apparently somewhat resistant to tipping:
‘The thing was jerking along and the elevator was flapping with each
vibration of the cruise jet motor’, Szymanski later recalled. ‘I noticed there
were no ailerons, and also that on the front of the bomb was a silly little
propeller. It looked ridiculous. I decided to try to tip the “Doodlebug” up
with my wingtip. As soon as I put my port wing under the “Doodlebug’s”
wing it started lifting. I let it straighten itself out, then I put enough of
the front part of my wingtip under its wingtip, taking care to keep my
aileron out of the way, and then by a sharp bank to starboard I hit it with
the port wingtip.’ However, this failed to topple the bomb.
‘I then tried a slightly different manoeuvre, hitting it very hard with my
wingtip as I went up like in a loop. To my dismay the “Doodlebug”
continued to fly on perfectly straight. Then I realised that the engine
was now underneath. I had turned it upside down! I could see that it was
gradually going into a dive, and then down it went.’
Szymanski also recounted that he only managed to catch up with the V-1 after damaging it with gunfire, which slowed it down, before his ammo ran out. From what I've read elsewhere, this seem plausible because the V1 engine could take machine gun hits and still kept operating.
Somewhat similar story by Flt Sgt Paul Leva of No 350 Sqn (not entirely sure what aircraft they flew, but it seems they were Spitfire XIV); he damaged a V-1 with gunfire, then tipped it over when his ammon ran out. He recounts that he could only catch up after damaging it, and he wondered how the thing still flew with numerous holes in its wings:
‘I climbed as quickly as possible to a nice comfortable altitude from
where, in principle, I would be able to dive on any bomb passing
underneath me. Soon after the familiar voice of the controller came on,
telling me that a flying bomb had been spotted on the radar, and he gave
me its position and heading. Soon, with my speed dropping after levelling
off, I could see that the distance separating us had not diminished. Indeed,
it had even begun to increase. Utterly disappointed, I nevertheless opened
fire, aiming high to compensate for the distance. I had the happy surprise
to see some impacts and bits flying off the wings.
‘I fired burst after burst, damaging the bomb still more. Although no vital
part was hit, its speed diminished and it entered into a shallow dive. My
hopes were soaring again. I was now approaching my target so fast that I had
to throttle back. Ready for the kill, I positioned myself at what I estimated
was the right distance. I depressed the trigger, but instead of the staccato of
firing bullets I heard only the sound of escaping compressed air.
‘It was then that I suddenly remembered the briefing we had received
about sending V1s out of control by tipping up one wing. Adjusting the
throttle, I eased myself forward until I came abreast of the bomb. What
a sight at close range! The wings were so ragged with the impacts of bullets
that I wondered how it could still fly almost straight and level. Positioning
myself slightly underneath, I placed my starboard wingtip under the port
wing of the bomb. I came up slowly, made contact with it as softly as I
could and then moved the stick violently back and to the left. This made
me enter a steep climbing turn and I lost sight of the bomb. As I continued
turning fast through 360 degrees I saw it well below me, going down
steeply, hitting the ground with a blinding flash.’
So, yeah, it seems pretty clear that the technique, despite being taught after the early couple of successes, was generally used only as a last resort. And V-1s already damaged by gunfire seem to have been a somewhat sizeable proportion of such tipping kills.
