Battle of France Then and Now: Hurricane L1852 29 May 1940 Query
 

In Battle of France Then and Now under 229 Sqn for 29th May 1940 there is the following entry for Hurricane L1852

229 Sqn 29th May 1940

Hurricane L1852. Believed returned damaged following combat with Bf109s of L(J)LG2 off Dunkirk 5.30 p.m. Pilot unhurt. Aircraft damaged but repairable.

In the book "Empire of the Clouds" author James Hamilton-Paterson states that William Arthur "Bill" Waterton was flying Hurricane L1852 when he crash landed late May 1940 after a sortie to Dunkirk

However, Waterton was flying with 242 Sqn

I contacted James Hamilton-Paterson and he said that although he does not have Waterton log books to hand, he used them as source material and he believes (as do I actually) that he would have written in his book what was from source material

I have corresponded with Martin Gleeson on this and he says

The 229 Sqn ORB confirms that Hurricane L1852 was on the Sqn early May 1940 BUT the F.78 (Movement Card) for L1852 shows it was TOC by 229 Sqn on 7-3-40, then to Manston on 16-5-40 and 10 MU after that on 6-6-40.

The 229 Sqn ORB reveals that on 17-5-40 six pilots flew their L-series Hurricanes to Wittering and exchanged them for six N-series aircraft. L1852 does not appear again in their F.541 for the rest of May.

The query I have is what is the reference for L1852 being lost with 229 Sqn 29th May 1940 that appears in BoBtN as the 229 ORB does not reflect this.

What is interesting is that 242 Sqn were at Manston in May 1940 so could have access to L1852 (as per F.78 form) or was L1852 being delivered to 242 Sqn but this is not on F.78

The only issue is that most sources claim Waterton was injured on May 25th 1940 when the 242 Sqn ORB has him force-landing in L1654 due to engine trouble. This is date is on his Wiki entry

Waterton was injured as a result of some force landing incident and it was serious enough for him to be hospitalised. He did not fly again for 3 Months

There is a possibility that Waterton forced landed twice once on May 25th in L1654 and again in L1852 on May 29th 1940 and his injury was the result of the second incident

Any thoughts

Paul McMillan

. I think

Re: Battle of France Then and Now: Hurricane L1852 29 May 1940 Query
 

Error in ORB's are not uncommon, I gather. It may be that a replacement aircraft was given the code previously used by L1852 and that this change was not picked up by the writer, who sometimes was writing the ORB some time after the event, and may not have seen the need to be precise. In this case I think that I'd go with the F.78.

Pilots have been known to make errors too. If he was injured on the 29th then it may have taken him some time to write up his logbook, and this introduces the opportunity for errors. I presume that Waterton would normally be a rather precise person, given his resulting career.

Re: Battle of France Then and Now: Hurricane L1852 29 May 1940 Query
 

Hi Paul,

a small supplement only,
L1852 was really delivered from 213 Squadron at Wittering on 7-03-1940 by F/Lt Falcon Nelson Clouston - flight between 16:40-17:00 hours (AIR 27/1418/8), but later no trace about this plane in ORB until 2.04.1940 : flight Sgt. Harrison
P/O Waterton forced landed with engine trouble on L1654 on 25.05.1940 (AIR 27/1471/6) so that looks correct too
regards,
Mariusz

Re: Battle of France Then and Now: Hurricane L1852 29 May 1940 Query
 

Hello
L1852
Eventual fate was with pilot P/O. A.W.Burnett on 2nd January, 41 with 55 OTU.
Pilot safe.
Alex

Re: Battle of France Then and Now: Hurricane L1852 29 May 1940 Query
 

Alex,
I think pilot of L1852 on 2.01.1941 was P/O Adam Wilson Burnet RAFVR 88248 not Burnett, but need to confirm that
Mariusz

Re: Battle of France Then and Now: Hurricane L1852 29 May 1940 Query
 

Hello Mariusz,
You are probably correct.
My typo, yet again:(
Alex

Re: Battle of France Then and Now: Hurricane L1852 29 May 1940 Query
 

P/O Burnet was killed a little more than a month later (8 Feb 1941) in 232 Squadron Hurricane P3422 or V6754 when he collided with Sgt Poulton who was also killed.

John Engelsted