[Observer1940]

Andy

Thanks for that.

You are quite correct that the files of the Air Ministry P4 Casualty Section called "Casualty files" by the AHB are held and can be retrieved by the MOD / AHB / VA and other authorised Government Departments. I already have photocopy parts released regarding my grandfather from a 'P' numbered 1940 Air Ministry file after my MP wrote to a Minister in 2003. The information is extremely scant! I have been assured that I have all the pieces relating to the crash of P5044 which they still hold (several Teleprinted Casualty Signals and a brief letter as laid down in the King's Regs for Reporting a casualty only). Not the other information required by King's Regs No.1326.

However, the missing pieces, confirmed in the 1940 AMCO as being required by the Air Ministry Casualty Section are not on the P4 'P' numbered registered Air Ministry file, according to what I and the Tribunal Judge have been told earlier this year by the AHB and the Treasury Litigation Solicitors representing the MOD in the case.

You are also quite correct in the fact that an AIR series at The National Archives, Kew has already been allocated for a while now for the files of the P4 Casulty Section.

I am not excited about the release at the moment, because the Air Ministry were running two files for most RAF air crashes (excluding the AIB file) and the Judge has been told that the Accident files which appears to be the 'A' registered number files (A.108115/40 in my case) were destroyed at 50 years of age in line with MOD Policy and I and the Judge have been told the documents I requested, which I say ought to be on the 'P' Casualty file according to the 1940 AMCO are no longer held.

In 2004 a question was raised before Parliament (I will PM you a screen print from Hansard) confirming that Aircraft Board of Inquiry reports have been separated from the Main file during the preparation of the transfer of the Hayes Archives to Swadlincote. Staff at Hayes complained that it will not be possible to marry up removed parts, or find them easily after transfer.

I did discover that 20,000 WW2 (claimed to be unindexed) accident reports are in files on 4 pallets in a Lancashire store.

What people must realise is that some RAF crashes did not always have what we consider to be usual natural aviation related causes, but were lost due to friendly experiments and war action etc., which went wrong.

Mark