[Chris Goss]

Thompson was not taken POW 18 Aug 43; his ac was damaged and he glided from Dunkirk to make a safe landing at Manston. S16 was 31 Aug 43 and the route was Mardyk-Cassel-Hazebrouck-Bethune then turned to port SW of Lille. Blue 1 (Flt Lt Tripe) lost Thomson in the dogfight that then followed and recrossed coast west of Ostend. Blue 3 & 4 saw a Spitfire being attacked but that is all; they with the rest of the Sqn recrossed the coast at Sangatte. Possible that Tripe got Lt Heck of 10/JG 26 and that Thomson was the victim of Goltzsch of 5/JG 2