[Pieter H]

To me it is not entirely clear.

These are the usual facts as I know them:
- Two Belgian Sabena DC3's escaped to England and were taken over by (probably) the RAF No.24 Sqn. These were the OO-AUH and OO-AUI.
- The OO-AUI was shot down on May 23 while over Calais and crashed near Arques (near St Omer). All reports say this was due to part of the left wing being shot away. The crash was pretty heavy since the pilot died in the accident.
- The OO-AUH ended up in Algiers around June 1940 and was given to the Italians.
- I can't find any references to other DC3's used by the RAF in May 40.

What do we see on the different pictures?
- The two pictures from Peter's 2nd mail and the one from Stig are very likely the same a/c, which seems fully intact, and abandoned on a large air field (Merville?)
- The first picture of Peter of the burnt a/c - and I have more of the same plane - shows in my view an aircraft that has been fired deliberately. It was standing on its wheels when fired, there are no bullet holes etc. Also note that the left wing seems entirely intact.

So my questions or assumptions:
- There seem to be three different aircraft:
1) the OO-AUI that crashed and from which there doesn't seem to be pictures.
2) the OO-AUH that ended up in Italian service.
3) the burnt out aircraft
- If there indeed only two and not more DC3's operated by the RAF in May 40, then the only conclusion can be that the burnt aircraft must be the OO-AUI. But then the stories about a damaged left wing, a crash etc don't seem accurate. The pictures suggest it landed properly but was then set alight.
- I assume that the captured aircraft was the OO-AUH, otherwise I can't explain how an RAF plane ended up in German hands in Algiers.
- Of course all theories change if there were more than two DC3 in use.

Regards, Pieter