Help to confirm which 15 Sqn crew claimed a destroyed E/A on the night 22/23 Sept 43
 

Hi,

The Monthly Supplementary Narrative of Operations for September 1943 has a claim for one destroyed unidentified E/A over Hanover by Stirling “O” of 15 Squadron at 21:57 hrs on the night 22nd/23rd September 1943.

If the code letter is correct this claim was made by the rear gunner Sgt Kenneth Dunlop, RNZAF and mid-upper gunner Sgt E. Grover, RAF in Stirling EE974/O with pilot F/Sgt E. Moore, RAAF.

There is no surviving combat report (even though there are combat reports from a/c B and C on this night) and this combat is not mentioned in the ORB. It is not unusual that code letters are wrong in the Monthly Supplementary Narrative of Operations and I am therefore trying to get a confirmation from another source that it is the crew of Stirling EE974 which made the claim.

Thanks in advance,
Peter

Re: Help to confirm which 15 Sqn crew claimed a destroyed E/A on the night 22/23 Sept 43
 

Hello Peter,


This, if critical damage was achieved, was a single-engined fighter of JG 300 or JG 301 (two-engined Nachtjagd Gruppen only lost two aircraft that evening, which did not fall over Hannover).

Together they lost fourteen Fw 190A & Bf 109 G-6 that evening, with six pilots killed.


(source: losses compiled by Michael Balss)

Re: Help to confirm which 15 Sqn crew claimed a destroyed E/A on the night 22/23 Sept 43
 

Hello,

Thanks for the reply. Monthly Supplementary Narrative of Operations has no information about 1 or 2 engines just "unidentified E/A".

Total claim for destroyed E/A by Bomber Command this night was 2 Ju 88, 1 ME 109, 1 S/E E/A and 3 unidentified E/A. There are also claims for 2 Probably destroyed Ju 88 plus Damaged 5 Ju 88, 1 ME 110 and 5 ME 109.

It seems more single engine fighter were lost to other causes than being shot down by the bombers.

Peter