Hi All, In an effort to isolate possible Typhoon squadrons who had aircraft down in the Utah Beach area in June, does anyone have the ORBs from the following RAF Wings? 121 123 124 129 136 143 146 150 (2 Tempest squadrons) 10 (ADGB) - 263 Squadron The list is taken from the RAF Order of Battle for D-Day and so may not be complete for later in June of 1944. I want to avoid going through individual squadron ORBs - unless the Wing ORBs fail to bring forward any candidates. Any help or suggestions appreciated. Regards, Pat
Hi Chuck, The location is looking eastwards along the marshes as shown below: Note the village of Boutteville at lower right above. As to whether your father landed in these marshes, my thought would be that there was probably not enough dept of water there for this location to tie with his account. Note the main drain running through the centre of the marshes. This feature is known as 'La Grande Cricque' and drains the whole area out to the coast at the mouth of the Carentan Canal. While the flooding behind Utah Beach in 1944, undoubtedly backed up this drain, I have never seen any of the gliders under water in the many other photos and aerial footage shot at what was and still is, reclaimed pastureland. Looking at this new photo, I note with interest the Horsa which appears to have been pushed into the hedgerow backwards and the tents on the other side. I wonder if the footage in the PhotosNormandie film #f000076, showing the guy in the Horsa cockpit, might be a match for this 'camp'? Just a thought and the footage may better suit a location like the A-6 ALG. Regards, Pat
Hello Pat and all I don't know whether it's worth opening a new thread in the Commonwealth section for the "Typhoon"? Here's a list of some potential candidates... eliminate and add as you see fit... 10th June, 193 Sqn MN522 F/Sgt G A Gough Hit by flak, force landed on ELG* in beachhead 12th June, 247 Sqn JR524 P/O W J L S Lowes Hit by flak, aircraft Cat B but not repaired 13th June, 183 Sqn MN240 F/O R W Prosser Flak, force landed in beachhead pm 14th June, 198 Sqn JR512 F/Sgt C E Stratford Armed recce. Flak, force landed north of Carentan and hit a house** 15th June, 193 Sqn ????? W/O S F G Walker Damaged by flak and force landed on ELG*. Aircraft later written off 24th June, 197 Sqn MN629 P/O R H Jones Encountered flak, force landed in Allied territory. Aircraft SoC 28th June, 181 Sqn JR34 F/O W H B Short Encountered flak, crash landed in beachhead area * Could fields full of gliders be interpreted as an ELG? ** I think the house thing eliminates this one All the above from Norman Franks "Royal Air Force Fighter Command Losses Vol 3" Cheers Sean [hr] By the way, Pat, if you're correct about the spot of light reflecting on frame 8010, which does indeed seem to be in about the right place, then that narrows it down quite a bit Cheers Sean
Thanks Sean, Good idea for a dedicated thread. The references to the ELG is interesting - see the A-16 map on this page from the forgottenairfields.com site. The Typhoon (if that's what it is) appears to be on a good line of approach to ELG-1. Regards, Pat
Further discussion on the fighter wreck is directed to the new dedicated thread 'Possible Typhoon Brucheville' opened by Sean. Regards, Pat
Chalk numbers fascinate me and I'm trying to identify various gliders to known Troop Carrier Groups by the numbers painted on them. The photograph that Pat identified as being at Boutteville has Horsa gliders where the chalk numbers are quite visible. Do you think they match Horsa gliders from the 438th TCG taken at Greenham Common just before their launch? [IMG=850x599]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/jonesy1275/Bouteville_zpsbkjbdgys.jpg[/IMG] Edited by Pat to reduce top image width to 850 pixels.
Hi Neil, What fascinates me about the numbers is the purpose of the white tick marks. I now wonder if they are identification marks to allow fighter escorts to pick up their charges from one of the bigger glider missions such as 'Elmira'. Can't see your two images from my work PC just now, but I do know that the #2 Waco, with no tick mark under the numeral '2' on the starboard side in the Greenham Common footage, is one and the same as the well known photo showing the intact Waco with the cows in Normandy. Will post some screenshots tonight from home. Regards, Pat
Hi Neil, I have opened a dedicated thread on the Greenham Common footage titled 'Greenham Common Glider Footage (Serial 31)'. Regards, Pat