RE: Possible Typhoon Brucheville Hi Pat, Actually, 2nd TAF HQ had 26 and 63 Squadrons and, ADGB had 64, 130, 234, 303, 345, 350, 402, 501, and 611 Squadrons equipped with the V LF. Stephen
RE: Possible Typhoon Brucheville Hi John, Yes, a couple of photos actually. One Spitfire is from No. 602 Squadron and the other (belly landed) is marked '4G' from the Air Spotting Pool: Sean marked up another photo with a possible third (also belly landed) Spitfire on the south side of the strip which might well be the 403 Squadron one: [img=900x711]http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e122/SeanClaxton/602%20Sqn/7836527830_7fbb1c34b9_o-Copy_zps4339db8b.jpg[/img] Regards, Pat
RE: Possible Typhoon Brucheville Hi Stephen, 26 and 63...Ken Delve has those two with the Air Spotting Pool on D-Day, so was the ASP under Air Defence of Great Britian control? Thanks, Pat
RE: Possible Typhoon Brucheville Sorry Stephen, I see now that the ASP was under direct 2TAF control. Regards, Pat
Hello Pat and all, I've changed the title to "Spitfire" as I reckon it's now much more likely. I think it will aid searches and the like in the future. Feel free to swap it back if you like. Nice story, Pat, BTW... Be nice if we could confirm whether or not the third Spitfire at la Londe was MacKenzie's. Cheers for now, Sean
Hi Sean, I reckon A-6 La Londe is the only strip which fits the bill for the 403 Spitfire. The only other option might be ELG-1 but as far as I know they just bulldozed gaps through hedgerows to create a short grass strip for landing only. ELG-1 was completed in a matter of hours on D or D+1 if I recall correctly. Regards, Pat
Hello Pat, I thnk you're right. What I meant was confirm the Spitfire in the photo was MacKenzie's. I think it probably is but it would be nice to know for sure. Anyhow, that's for another thread.... Cheers Sean
I met Andy several times at Canadian Fighter Pilot reunions. Interesting man. The entry in the 540 of the Squadron's ORB is this: "F/L Andy MacKenzie was hit by flak near the American landing strip in the Utah area, but managed to get his kite down safely making a successful belly landing on the strip." And, the 541: "Patrol Western Assault Area: 403 Squadron Casualties. F/L A.R. MacKenzie crashed landed on strip T.4299 uninjured." I suspect the map reference should narrow down what ELG was used. Stephen
Back to our Spitfire I have to wonder if we are not seeing a Spitfire V from VCS-7, considering the location of the crash site, which is in the American sector. I am not sure if VCS-7 was used exclusively for spotting over the American beaches, but if that is the case then according to this article, we have a window of June 6th to the 25th. http://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/browse-by-topic/commemorations/commemorations-toolkits/wwii/articles-on-world-war-ii-naval-aviation/pdf/ww2-30.pdf Markings for these USN operated Spitfires consisted of a numeral and letter forward of the cockpit and looking at the original image again, I am wondering if the image was not taken right after the crash-landing and we are seeing the pilot on the starboard wing? If so, then along with the shadow he's probably blocking the number and letter. Stephen
Hi Stephen, It would make sense for American ASP pilots, whom as I understand matters, came from individual USN ships, to be assigned to spot for their own vessels - not sure off hand if any USN ships had been assigned to bombardment duties at GOLD, JUNO or SWORD. However, it may also have been the case, as the name suggests, that the ASP would have been a flexible unit, with pairs of pilots on call as required by any ship at any of the five beaches. We really need to get a look at the original photo, or a high resolution scan thereof. Unfortunately, the version posted on the WW2 Radio FB site seems to have been cropped, with the white archive number being lost in the process. Does anyone have contact details for the WW2 Radio FB site owner(s)? Thanks, Pat
Would the USN have flown aircraft marked with RAF roundels and tail markings? I only ask as they are clearly visable in the photos, despite the low resoluiton of the image.
Thanks Sean, I'll see if that's possible over the weekend. Hi Jon, In this rare instance, yes, VCS-7 Spitfires carried RAF markings. This was a matter of unit cohesion in the Air Spotting Pool. The American pilots had been using the sea planes off the USN warships prior to Normandy, but it was felt that these old birds were too slow and prone to ground fire. Mustangs were on standby at RNAS Lee-on-Solent but were not used by either British or American naval pilots of the ASP as they had only been 'checked out' on Seafires and Spitfires. Regards, Pat
Yes they did, Jon. Stephen [hr] I understand the logic and it did cross my mind, but...I was thinking of the off chance this might have fit the bill. A date the image was taken would be most helpful. Stephen
Hi All, I found these Spitfire/Seafire wreck photos in the Belgian CEGESOMA Archive: Anyone able to tell if its one or the other? I take it that Normandy ASP Seafire IIIs did not have clipped wings - am I correct? The reason I am wondering about the Seafire for this wreck is that there appears to be squadron code letters in front of the cockpit on both sides - perhaps the numeral '1' on the starboard side and possibly '_Y' on the port side...so, '1Y'? Interestingly, I note 'Y1' (or '1Y' for that matter) is not listed in the RAF squadron codes on this Wiki page. Does anyone know the code letters for the FAA squadrons 808, 885, 886 and 897, which as I understand matters, were the four FAA Seafire equipped squadrons in the Air Spotting Pool for Normandy? Thanks, Pat
...just found this diagram. So if its correct, No. 885 NAS Seafires were coded '2D' during the Normandy Invasion. So, one numeral and one letter, forward of the cockpit for FAA ASP squadrons...perhaps :dodgy: More digging needed please Thanks, Pat
So, it looks as though we might have an answer. On the Photos Normandie flickr page they posted the same picture the other day as identified it as a Typhoon. I posted a comment that it was not but a Spitfire V and low and behold, my comment has been deleted and we now have a proper caption, though, I am not sure of their source. https://www.flickr.com/photos/photosnormandie/32282488350/in/dateposted/
The photos above show the prop totaly absent, however the original photos appear to indicate that there is a single blade pointing sykward, so possibly came in with the prop feathered?