Quote:
Originally Posted by RSwank
It looks like the full serial number would start out 42-35 with some more digits after the 5. The tail seems to show a Triangle K, which would be the 379th BG.
42-3559 was from the 379th BG and according to the fortlog it crash landed at Ambrieres-Les-Vallees, 25 miles N of Laval, France on 1 December, 1943.
That might be a possibility. Ambrieres-Les-Vallees is just north of Mayenne and "Mayenne" may be what is written on the 2nd line on the back of the photo.
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Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces vol 1 by Bishop and Hey states the following, citing MACR 1333
T/O Kimbolton, assigned target Solingen, Germany. All navigation instruments were knocked out by Flak, so pilot attempted to reach England by using his compass. Due to weather conditions he never reached the English coast, and when his compass failed he let down through the undercast and made a wide turn to the southwest. He flew over the North Sea, English Channel and Normandy on the French mainland. Continuing in a southerly direction the pilot was forced to make a crash landing in a meadow at Ambrieres-Les-Vallees, about 25 miles north of Laval in France. The fuselage remained intact and all crew escaped safely. 6 POW and 4 Evaded
...Happy to provide crew details if you need them
Nick