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Re: ID of two Hurricanes down in France in 1940
So, let me sum up where we are in the identification of the two Hurricane's in question. The 3 SQ machine, really no progress.
Is my assumption that only 1 SQ and 73 SQ marked their Hurricanes with only the individual letter during the French Campaign? If this is true, the plane with only the letter "F" on the starboard side in front of the roundel has to be from one of these two squadrons. Correct? Mark Sheppard has separately sent me a communication that tends to eliminate a 73 SQ machine, although this is far from certain. This leaves a 1 SQ a/c as the strongest candidate, of which Clisby's JX*F seems to be the likely culprit. The aircraft in question is entirely intact, but the plane wouldn't have carried the "JX" part of the code, only the "F," right?
It appears from the photo in question that the highest prop blade has the tip broken off, the lower one is almost compltetely broken away, and the other is seemingly completely intact. This could fit the description of Clisby's aircraft, although it is not sitting on its gear but is on its belly, which doesn't seem consistent with Clisby's circumstances, unless the propellor damage was caused by a gear collapse. Also, wouldn't he have destroyed the aircraft rather than abandoning it completely intact except for a damaged propellor? Anyone else got any insights into this situation? The airplane does carry a SN, which would solve the issue, but it isn't clearly visible from the angle of the photo.
On a related subject, does anyone have photos of other Hurricanes or Spits down in France during the May-June 1940 period, from which identification evidence can be gleaned: unit codes, serial numbers, locations, etc? As those who've worked the photos know, the Hurricanes in particular often had the fabric stripped away by souvenier hunters who rendered identification or the wreckage impossible, after the aircraft had been in place for a while. I'd be willing to exchange photos with anyone else who can help resolve the identities of the skeletons of all the wrecked Hurricanes photographed by the Germans as their troops encountered these crashed or crash-landed aircraft. This is for a major project on the subject that will eventually be published.
Thanx for the help,
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