[Russell]

Hi All.

I just dropped a reply just as I finished it, so here goes again. On 7 April 1944 the form 540 notes Flt Lt Watson leading a section of six Spitfires destroyed an SM 82 2m West of Maina di Pisa. The next sentence details ten Spits were on a bomber escort to B-26s with four being IX's and six being V's from 1515 to 1645. The form 540 does not mention an early armed recce to Leghorn of six Spitfires from 0710 to 0830. Watson led both missions. The morning mission was by Spit Vs only. The five names,listed as sharing the claim in the previous posts including Stenning, are all on the bomber mission and only Watson and Wilkes were on both missions. The deduction I am coming to is the shooting down of the SM 82 (it was 6./TG 1 #60321 1Z+LP, the crew being killed) was by six Spitfires on the afternoon mission. The problem is Watson was leading three Spit IXs, the fourth having as noted above crash landed. The six Spitfire Vs were the five named above plus Flt Sgt Tufnell. I would thus have expected the six Spit Vs to do the shooting, leaving the IXs as top cover. However what is the basis for either six or five sharing in the claim? The form 540 implies it by stating Watson was leading six Spitfires, when there were nine on the patrol! Why the previous posts mentions five and not Watson I do not know. The claim could well be any combination of Watson by himself, up to six sharing, all possible even all nine! I have no idea where the names came from as to who shared in the claim. I assume it was from Stenning's records. Any thoughts, welcome as I would like to fix up this matter as a probably correction is needed to the cited entry in MAW Vol 4, where I now am of the view we at least have the wrong times shown.

Russell