New Reconnaissance Cover - Boutteville Area

Discussion in 'American' started by Pat Curran, May 4, 2013.

  1. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
    Staff Member

    Oct 20, 2012
    2,547
    11
    Co. Kilkenny, Ireland
    Hi List,

    Advanced Researchers will know that we have recently acquired two reconnaissance photographs which were for sale recently on eBay. Both have now been scanned at high resolution and added to our resource library for future reference. I have opened this thread to show some observations of the content therein. First, the locations:

    [​IMG]
    Note the small hamlet of Boutteville at centre left. Below are two down sized versions of the master scans:
    [​IMG]
    Above: 'Glider Photograph'
    [​IMG]
    Above: 'Parachute Photograph'​

    Unfortunately, the prints do not have the black borders and accompanying captions, so I have yet to establish a sortie number and date. I do known they were taken on a USAAF reconnaissance mission as opposed to a RAF mission because of the black half arrows used as registration marks - RAF frames had black crosses for registration purposes. I have given them temporary generic titles - 'Glider Photograph' and 'Parachute Photograph' - not very inventive I'll grant you, but it does the job :D

    So, what have we got?

    Well, the Glider Photograph shows a good sized cluster of five Wacos and four Horsas (including three wrecks). The ratio of wrecks to intact gliders is a good sample of the overall Normandy glider lift, most especially because of the proportion of Horsa wrecks in the photograph.

    The Horsa wreck lying across the D424 laneway within the yellow rectangle on the Glider Photograph above is zoomed to below:
    [​IMG]
    My take on the orientation of the wreckage is shown with the white labels. Initial hopes that this might be the location of the 'Hoatson' Horsa footage and still photograph are not, in my view at least, realised - see our work to date on the 'Hoatson Horsa Wreck' thread. Below is a copy of this famous photograph taken from page 119 of Philippe Esvelin's "D-Day Gliders":
    [​IMG]
    My hope was that the Horsa fuselage seen down the lane aways in the above photograph would match the Horsa wreck site we see in the 'Glider Photograph'. This hope now does not hold up in my view. Note how the hedgerow on the left in the ground photograph is manicured and the trees thereon appear to be growing in a row just inside the hedgerow. This is not the hedgerow we see in the new aerial cover. Note also the Horsa in the aerial cover appears to have felled a tree while crashing and this again should be showing on one side or the other in the Hoatson photograph; again, this does not appear to be the case.

    Below is a Google Earth 'street view' screenshot looking eastwards along the D424 at the location of the Horsa crash site visible in the new aerial cover:
    [​IMG]
    The tail section rested on the hedgerow of the stubble field on the right on this side of the oak tree and the cockpit was embedded in a tree inside the hedgerow on the left side of the laneway. It is likely that the oak was there to witness the crash, though I cannot be sure of its exact location in the Glider Photograph.

    The overall sharpness of both photographs is excellent when compared to some of the cover currently held at the The National Collection of Aerial Photography (NCAP) archive but that may be due to these prints being first generation copies from negatives rather than copies of master prints. There is some camera shake as evidenced by the 3D-like effects seen along clearly defined edges such as fence lines. This may be the reason why we see a double star effect on the port side wing of the Waco zoomed to below from the red rectangle of the 'Glider Photograph':
    [​IMG]
    The 'Parachute Photograph' also has some interesting features. The slit trench visible in the field to the north east of Chateau Reuville shows the spoil dumped on the northern side, presumably to defend what I take to be a flak and/or searchlight battery in the same field, against attack from the south. One of the many weapons pits is seen in this zoomed extract from the red rectangle:
    [​IMG]

    Supply canisters are also clearly visible still attached to their parachutes as seen in the zoomed version of the yellow rectangle below:
    [​IMG]
    The blue rectangle shows a stables or 'haras' complex presumably part of the Chateau Reuville property. I draw the readers attention to it because it has struck me that it might be the source of the horse referred to in a passage from page 171 of "The Cow Spoke French" by William & Deryck Tufts True:

    [​IMG]
    This incident happened close to Sainte Marie du Mont which is less than 2 Kms to the south east from Chateau Reuville. I know of no other 'Haras' in the Sainte Marie du Mont area on this scale. The building on the right in the Google Earth screenshot below is 100 ft in length and the entire complex measures 400 feet across the roof lines. Mario, though obviously from a ranching background and therefore used to large barns, is clearly impressed by the size of this complex:
    [​IMG]

    I wonder if there is a missing branch in the pedigree of the animal we see in the paddock above :D

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  2. davegooner

    davegooner Guest
    Guest

    Hi all

    Please excuse my ignorance but is it possible to identify the airfield of departure of the gliders which landed "at the bottom of our garden".

    Also just to say if I can be of any assistance to researchers in regard to the Boutteville area then I will be pleased to help


    David
     
  3. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
    Staff Member

    Oct 20, 2012
    2,547
    11
    Co. Kilkenny, Ireland
    Hi David,

    The answer to your question is based on a computer programming 'if...then...else' statement:

    ...IF the glider serial number (not the 'chalk' number) is known

    ......AND IF the glider was part of an 82nd (not 101st) reinforcement mission

    ......AND IF the serial number was recorded in 82nd records (not all were)

    ...THEN yes,

    ...ELSE no.

    :D

    Do you have such a number?

    BTW, never feel your need to ask for a lack of knowledge to be excused here; we all started out as you are now, just learning the ropes and personally I hope I never know it all...and we only shoot down Don's theories :D

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  4. MikeB

    MikeB Guest
    Guest

    Hi Pat,

    I am lucky enough to be the new owner of Chateau de Reuville and am keen to discover as much as possible about its history, especially during WW2. I know that it was used as a post office by the Germans and later the Americans (US APO 53) - in fact, the previous owner has given me a copy of a photo taken from the main chateau door by his father showing the rear garden covered in mail sacks along with a jeep and a DUKW. There's also a couple of huts in the background built by the Germans which served as billets. Any other information or photo's would be great if any members have any or know where I could find more.
    On the subject of photo's, would it be possible to buy a copy of the hi-res photo you have of the chateau/ "parachute photo" - I'd love to have it blown up and mounted in a frame !

    Kind regards,
    Mike
     
  5. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
    Staff Member

    Oct 20, 2012
    2,547
    11
    Co. Kilkenny, Ireland
    Hi Mike,

    Delighted to hear you are the owner of this beautiful property.

    I'll get you a download link to a high resolution copy of both photos tonight and keep an eye out for more wartime info on the Chateau. In exchange, would you allow me to post watermarked copies of any photos you may have?

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  6. MikeB

    MikeB Guest
    Guest

    Hi Pat,

    Thanks for your reply - I look forward to seeing the hi-res photos. You're welcome to post a copy of the photo I have (it's actually a photo of the photo which I'll uploaded with this reply - I'll ask the previous owner if he could send me the original (or at least a more detailed scan of it) which if he's willing to, I'll let you have a copy of.

    Rgds
    Mike Reuville June 44.jpg
     
  7. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
    Staff Member

    Oct 20, 2012
    2,547
    11
    Co. Kilkenny, Ireland
    Thanks Mike,

    Download links sent to you via PM. I am running the above photo through PS just now, but a higher resolution scan would be great if you can gain permission from your source.

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  8. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
    Staff Member

    Oct 20, 2012
    2,547
    11
    Co. Kilkenny, Ireland
    Mike,

    Can you tell us which building in the 1947 IGN extract below is showing its gable in your photo?
    chateau_reuville_ign_1947.png
     
  9. Hello Mike I live in Sainte Marie du Mont and my familly is from Boutteville ,my door is open if you would like to come and speak about that with me !!
    I'm the owner of the Holdy military shop in sainte marie du mont
     
  10. MikeB

    MikeB Guest
    Guest

    Hi Philippe - thanks for your note. The next time I'm passing your shop I'll come in to say hello.
    Kind regards,
    Mike
     

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