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Re: EY-F wreck
Hello,
The Operational Record Books confirm the loan of Whitleys from 78 Squadron to 58 Squadron for several nights during this time in May 1940. 78 Squadron was still a training unit in May 1940 but shared the airfield of Linton-on-Ouse with 58 Squadron, so it was relatively easy for them to loan aircraft to 58 Squadron. For the night of 23/24 May 1940 78 Squadron loaned two aircraft; one was used as a reserve aircraft while the other flew on operations. The latter was N1361 and it failed to return. The letter 'F' was recorded beside the serial number in the 58 Squadron ORB, but not the unit code. This was normal practice for 58 Squadron at the time.
Their previous 'EY-F', N1436, had been damaged during a mission on 19/20 May 1940.
The reference to '51' Squadron in the revised edition of BCL1 must be a (rare) typo in an otherwise excellent work.
Regards,
Martin Gleeson.
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