[cheesey]

Thanks all, that has cleared up a couple of things and thrown up some questions as well!

First of all, thanks for pointing me at the Co-ordinate translator.I think i,ve cracked it (?).

I always thought that William,s claim on the 19th March for a He177 was valid but maybe it was something like a Ju188 instead. On page 31 of Osprey,s 'Beaufighter aces of WWII',there is a quote from 406 Sqns., ORB:-

"Contact was made 20 miles off Guernsey, and obtaining a visual on an enemy aircraft at 600ft, the pilot identified it as a He 177. He shot it down into the sea from close range, both engines exploding".

The combat report states:-

"......resulting in a visual at 600ft, target being immediately identified as a He177. There was no IFF response after several attempts. As Kingswear had warned to be careful, S/L Williams closed to 300ft to port of enemy aircraft to make doubly sure of positive identification, by the large square fin and rudder, terrific wing span and position of small engines".

Williams closed to 25ft before firing at starboard engine!

As for Mc Connell's claim for a He177 on the night of the 14/15 May the combat report makes no mention of the enemy a/c hitting the sea! In fact Mc Connell had to pull out of a dive sharpish because his altimeter was reading 100ft BELOW sea level! He also orbited but couldn,t find anything of the enemy a/c. Claimed as a probable 177.

I'm interested in the Luftwaffe activity around this period because I have been looking into German losses around the Channel Islands for some time. Several aircraft were lost near to the islands during these raids and I am keen to make sense of these losses. In fact Guernsey was used as a forming-up point for the raids of the 14th/15th May. Several searchlights on the island were used to form a cone of light as a navigational aid. Both Jersey & Guernsey,s little used airfields were opened during this time and there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that damaged Luftwaffe aircraft may have landed there.

Steve.