RE: Recon Sortie US7GR_1746 [06-JUN-1944] Two more have fallen from the tree... The location, about one mile south east of Benerville sur Mer, is one of the most easterly we have seen Captain Childress fly so far. The two frames are: 4149 4150 The GE finder chart is below: There appears to be vehicles and perhaps fixed positions visible in a field on the north east side of frame 4149; can't make out what they are but Captain Childress obviously was interested enough to fire off two frames. The area is completely build up today. Regards, Pat
RE: Recon Sortie US7GR_1746 [06-JUN-1944] Latest kmz file (15.9KBs) now available to download here. Regards, Pat
RE: Recon Sortie US7GR_1746 [06-JUN-1944] Another long run of ten frames, These latest frames form a 3½ mile run from east of the Trousseauville westwards to the River Dives, just south of Cabourg on the coast. They appear to be the paired frames we found in post #14 but from the port side camera. The frames are: 3021 (easternmost) 3022 3023 3024 3025 3026 3027 3028 3029 3030 (westernmost) The GE finder chart is below: I found this run using the last frame, 3030 which has the ever useful river bend feature, this time with a parallel canal, and then just worked back down the sequence of frame numbers, going eastwards. The first two frames in the run, 3021 and 3022, are heavily laced with cloud cover but I was able to geo-position them by means of common features with the next adjoining clear frame, 3023. We're getting there slowly but surely - 80 frames (65%) now found Regards, Pat
RE: Recon Sortie US7GR_1746 [06-JUN-1944] Hi Pat All your work on this sortie has been very impressive! I know it wont be long before your complete this one. Keep up the fantastic work! John
RE: Recon Sortie US7GR_1746 [06-JUN-1944] Thanks John, It's getting easier as I go along. I am learning how Captain Childress is operating now and what direction he is likely to turn next. Also getting to know the ground in the River Dives basin so it's easier to pick up on certain fields with unusual shaped boundaries. I find it's best to stay at the same sortie for those reasons. Regards, Pat
RE: Recon Sortie US7GR_1746 [06-JUN-1944] Hi All, Another seven found. This run seems to have widely spaced frames with a sharp turn to port at the start. I wonder if Captain Childress made the turn by choice or had the Germans gotten fed up of him snapping pictures and decided to throw some 'rocks' at him In any event, the new frames are: 3014 (easternmost) 3015 3016 3017 3018 3019 3020 (westernmost) The GE finder chart is below: Page 1 of 6 showing the 286 previews of sortie US7GR/1746 on the NCAP site is now cleared down. The 'un-locatables' thereon are still marked as such as the NCAP staff are currently busy with a site upgrade which will necessitate some down time next Thursday. Once this work is completed, they intend to batch process our new locations. More coming... Regards, Pat
RE: Recon Sortie US7GR_1746 [06-JUN-1944] I take back everything I said John about things getting easier :blush: The latest 'un-locatables' found are like the proverbial Welshmen - they just would not yield! It's taken me four hours to find them during which I have seen a lot of French railway track! However, in my defense, they are pretty lacking in detail: 3087 3088 I passed Bayeux Railway Station a number of times before I spotted the angle of the road leading from the industrial complex south of the Station. The area has totally changed, so I went looking for old IGN cover and found what I was after in a 1959 overflight: Below is the same scene today: The only good thing about this afternoon, apart from finding the two un-locatables, is I now know exactly how to layout my model railway setup Regards, Pat Edit: Page 2 is now fully cleared down.
RE: Recon Sortie US7GR_1746 [06-JUN-1944] Hi All, Despite heavy cloud cover, I was able to geo-position these latest four frames over Lisieux Marshalling Yard using the track junction and the city cemetery. These frames are paired with the four we found in post #2 and are: 4001 (northernmost) 4002 4003 4004 (southernmost) The GE finder chart is below: Almost there with page 3 clear down. Regards, Pat
RE: Recon Sortie US7GR_1746 [06-JUN-1944] OK, page 3 is done... The last 'un-locatables' thereon are: 4005 4006 4007 4008 4009 4010 These six frames are the commencement of the run which Captain Childress made just north of the D675 as shown in posts #11 and #13. He therefore exposed a total of 15 frames on this run, making it one of the longest I have seen him fly so far. The GE finder chart is below: Note the hamlets of Drubec and La Queue Devee on the D675 road for reference. These present frames cover an area just west of Pont l'Eveque westwards to the village of Beaumont en Auge. We now have 99 frames (80%) bagged. I'll bet there's one that will prevent a perfect score. Regards, Pat
RE: Recon Sortie US7GR_1746 [06-JUN-1944] Hi All, Another five stubborn frames located: 4075 4076 4077 4078 4079 I am not sure if the exposure is off on these difficult ones or they are being taken through rain or mist, but whatever the reason the lack of clarity drags down detection time enormously. These guys took several hours to locate despite the obvious shell or mortar impact craters which would be indicative of fighting at or near one of the invasion beaches. In the end, I had a flick through Roy Stanley's "Looking Down on War - The Normandy Ivasion June 1944" and eventually found the location behind Omaha Beach on page 171. The image below, reproduced with permission of author and publisher, shows a long, light toned crop strip which also appears in frame 4079 of sortie US7GR/1746. It was this feature which brought home the location: Due to the huge amount of traffic which passed through this area in the summer of 1944, the present day road and field boundaries have changed quite a bit, so I decided to overlay the frames on IGN cover flown in 1947 to give the reader a better idea of the ties used to geo-position the frames: And now the present day location: Note the four NCAP green map tacks which indicate the known locations of frames 3072, 3073, 3074 and 3075. These are obviously the other half of Captain Childress's run over Omaha Beach, but here are only four frames from the starboard camera and five from the now located port side. I wonder is there one missing? Just an observation, but I also note with interest that the layout of Colleville sur Mer American Cemetery has changed substantially since 1947. More frames to come... Regards, Pat
RE: Recon Sortie US7GR_1746 [06-JUN-1944] Pat, Nice work (again...). If you go throught he years on the Geoportail site, you can plot the "evolution" of the cemetery. Even in 1971, some of the pathways from the original Cemetery #1 are visible, in particular the circular path near the entrance. All is now thoroughly overgrown. Cheers, Sean
RE: Recon Sortie US7GR_1746 [06-JUN-1944] Thanks Sean, I had no idea of the changes to the cemetery; just assumed that this was a once off consolidation from smaller locations such as Sainte Mere Eglise #1 and #2. Regards, Pat
RE: Recon Sortie US7GR_1746 [06-JUN-1944] Hi All, With the discovery of the Omaha Beach frames in the last trawl, page 4 is now fully cleared down and I am moving onto page 5. Readers will recall we found two single frames with no overlap at Bayeux Railway Station in post #27. This struck me as strange at the time but the new discovery in this post now fills in the gaps from Captain Childress's port side camera on the same run. The unusual shaped shed with the light toned roof at bottom right in the orientated frame 4091 reminded me of where we were - the shed is still showing on GE satellite view, but has been replaced by a hotel on GE 'street view' and Bing Maps. The new frames are: 4091 (westernmost) 4092 4093 4094 (easternmost) The GE finder chart is below: We have now located 108 frames (88%) of the 123 'un-locatables' for sortie US7GR/1746. Almost there Regards, Pat
RE: Recon Sortie US7GR_1746 [06-JUN-1944] Hi All, A very successful trawl of 13 frames has brought us to the brink of success. These frames are from a run which Captain Childress made across the southern end of Carpiquet Airfield, just to the west of Caen. The hard standings at the airfield perimeter appear to have been his target, presumably to check for the presence of German aircraft. The location was not as difficult as it seems as there are other known frames showing the airfield in this sortie. The new discoveries are: 4106 (easternmost) 4107 4108 4109 4110 4111 4112 4113 4114 4115 4116 4117 4118 (westernmost) Like Omaha Beach, this location has also changed quite a bit since 1944 with new roads and industrial units associated with the airfield, so I first overlaid the frames onto IGN cover flown in 1947... ...and then onto GE: Just two to go Regards, Pat
RE: Recon Sortie US7GR_1746 [06-JUN-1944] Hi All, The two we have been waiting for: 4119 4120 I had a good idea we were in the city of Caen, but the problem was geo-positioning the frames. The entire city has been rebuilt since 1944 so I had to return to the ever fruitful IGN archive and pull out some 1947 cover. The contrast between June 6th 1944 and the 1947 cover is stark; I found myself dropping the opacity of the upper layers for the two frames from sortie US7GR/1746 and looking down to the lower layer where I had the 1947 IGN cover. Buildings bizarrely changed from very fine, centuries old architecture, to skeleton ruins before my eyes. One second you could see the roof and dormer windows, then if you just lower the opacity slider down to say 60%, you suddenly came to see down to the light toned foundations of the same building! It is quite obvious that many of the inhabitants never lived to see their liberation. Below is the IGN 1947 cover with our two final frames overlaid thereon: Below is my best shot at geo-positioning over the present day GE satellite view: Note some of the very few remaining ties from 1947 numbered 1,2 and 3 for reference. I'll put up the final kmz file later this evening after I partake from the nice bottle of red I have been saving for the occasion Regards, Pat
RE: Recon Sortie US7GR_1746 [06-JUN-1944] Pat, Very well done!!! You deserve that red wine tonight along with a little rest and relaxation !!! John
RE: Recon Sortie US7GR_1746 [06-JUN-1944] Thanks John, The complete kmz file (16.7KBs) for all 123 'un-locatables' from sortie US7GR/1746 is now downloadable from this link. Regards, Pat
RE: Recon Sortie US7GR_1746 [06-JUN-1944] Absolutely great work, Pat. I've been following your discoveries with interest for a time now. While most of the locations have not been familiar to me, the frames 4075 through 4079, located 8/20, did get my attention. The cemetery area on the eastern side of 4075 was familiar. While looking into the locations and movements of various medical units (Aid Stations, Field Hospitals, Evacuation Hospitals, etc) I had run across a discussion about the first airstrip to accommodate transport planes on the continent, opening on D+4 at Saint-Laurent sur Mer, behind Omaha Beach. I also ran across a website that contains two good pictures of the airstrip, which I understand only operated for a few months. The photos and related facts can be seen here. There is also another image of this area, dated May 31, 1944, at US30/4045 2060, see below: The same anti-tank ditch that appears in your copy of the "Looking Down on War" photo, is also visible in this frame. Enjoy your wine! Charles
RE: Recon Sortie US7GR_1746 [06-JUN-1944] Thanks Charles, There is quite a bit of 'air' for the Omaha Beach sector in the NCAP database. If you do a search with the term 'Lower Normandy', the resulting kmz file can be downloaded and used to link back to all the available frames. See the screenshot below; each marker has a link back to the NCAP site where that particular frame can be viewed (and zoomed if you have a paid account): Let me know if you need help using any of these features. There is footage of air ambulances being loaded on an ALG in Normandy. It's probable that the location is A-1 (Sainte Pierre du Mont) but I would need to track it down to see if this is so. Regards, Pat