[Observer1940]

Marcel

The Operations Orders issued before the Op are very unlikely to give last minute changes and I agree with Larry on this. You sometimes find a secondary instruction or a Teleprinted Signal amending the details amongst the bomber Station, or Group, or Command paperwork, pre-op. I have found a Signal for a 1940 Op amongst the paperwork amending the previous route on the 1940 Ops Order for that night, so they might exist for loads too?

However, I think you would need to look at post-op paperwork, if it survives.

Forms E
For 1940 I have found some loads dropped in Forms E (only the aircraft MSI number is given which has to be checked to Squadron or Group ORBs / Appendices to find the RAF aircraft serial), but crashed / missing aircraft for some reason do not always seem to be pencilled in, even if the aircraft was lost on return flight.

Sometimes additional or replacement aircraft MSI numbers are given, which cannot be found in ORBs, I discovered on one Op.

Raid Forms
However, in 1940 I did find information informaton in the "Raid Forms" for the night as to whether crashed aircraft had completed their missions.

Some loadings were confirmed, but only for all the aircraft going to the same objective.

General Comments
It might be a lengthy search and again it will depend upon how diligent the Historical Branch compiler was.

I am sure that later in WW2, that some researchers have found information amongst the Intelligence Summaries, but I am not sure how much (if any) will be given in relation to your crashed aircraft, later in the war.

Mark