Crash in a little french village
 

Hello, I am french and a great fan of WWII airplanes. My grand father remembers that a allied plane (he thinks it was British) crashed near his village in Auvergne, France. The name of the village is Dompierre s/Besbre. The pilot survived and bailed out. Some farmers helped him hide from the Germans and link with the Resistance, He escaped into the Zone Libre, the non-occupied zone. He went to Gibraltar and then back to England. Does anyone know where (maybe an internet site) I could find what kind on plane is was, when it crashed and what the name of the pilot? My grand father and other people I asked can't remember. Thank You very much,
Leo

Re: Crash in a little french village
 

Hello Keral,

I think you will need to try and find a date for your question to have much chance of finding out any history?

Mervyn.

Re: Crash in a little french village
 

Well, that is the problem, none of the people I asked seem to remember when... :(

Re: Crash in a little french village
 

Probably too far North East for you but take a look.

http://www.histavia21.net/

Re: Crash in a little french village
 

Tank you very much Tony Kabmic. That is a very nice page but it is a listing of crashes in Côtes d'Or and the crash I am looking for was in Auvergne. It is too far North East. The nearest big towns (if it can help) are Moulins, 30 minutes away from the village and Clermont Ferrand (a big town), 2 hours away.
I have a piece of the plane, a 3 kilo metal debri with rivets.

Re: Crash in a little french village
 

Quite possibly, an image of that debris item may help to pin down an aircraft type. That would be a start! Does it have any part numbers or stampings?

Re: Crash in a little french village
 

Hello Keral,

For a date you could check the local air raid precautions reports or police reports as far as these has survived the war (and the years after that).

The date is always the best starting point for further research.

Best regards,
Hans Nauta

Re: Crash in a little french village
 

Here are some photos:
http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/4638/cimg1380dn1.jpg
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/3415/cimg1388sv6.jpg
http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/3609/cimg1391pi0.jpg
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/5811/cimg1385na2.jpg

The numbers are 102-31911 on the biggest rivet, there is a cross in a shape of a big "X" in between the bars there are letters on top on the "X" there is a "S"; on the right on the "X" there is a "M"; on the left a "N" and on the bottom a "x". There is also a pentagon printed on with "MAG 10" on it.
I do not live in Dompierre so I can't go look at the records, I doubt they have survived.

Leo

Re: Crash in a little french village
 

Hello Leo,

Some informations to help you :

- As it was written before, you need to find a date, ask local peoples about the year (just after invasion ? After air raid ? near liberation's time ? ...) . What about the season ? Try to find any information about datation !

- Who took the pilot ? Wich Underground Group ? Most of the time, books were written about underground actions and reports were made after the war. Try to see them at Archives Départementales (but it is not easy !)

- Very difficult to see Gendarmerie reports. They are closed for simple searchers !

- Try to look on local newspapers for articles about the crash. See 1994 for 50 years birthday of liberation !

- If it's a RAF plane, you might look for Shorley's book (Fighter Command Losses) ... But it's a long data list !

Good luck !
Stéphane

Re: Crash in a little french village
 

Thank you for the tips Stéphane Muret (est-tu français?) I will try to find out some more information.

Leo