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Re: 23rd May 1940
Part 2b,
A verbatim account by Strange of his very eventful flight to England (Manston) is included in the article. The obituary referred to earlier is incorrect in stating that Strange sparred with the German fighters in order to shake them off. By his own account he was merely - and very wisely - trying to flee from them.
The date of these events is not recorded in the article. However a letter from Lord Balfour to Strange congratulating the latter on his achievement is reproduced in full. It too does not identify the date of the incident but the letter is dated May 29th. This means there can be no confusion with Linneys bale-out over Dunkirk on the 29th.
I presume the Manston, Hawkinge and 229 Sqn. ORBs have been well checked for any information on this incident. A possible scenario exists for Linney in that he took off in one Hurricane and came back in a different one. This may not have been noticed as he apparently was not overdue because of the quick turnaround at Merville. Almost certainly the Hurricane he came back in would need to have been sent elsewhere for full repair. Does anyone have a list of all the sorties flown by Linney in the period May 20th - 29th ? That is assuming the 229 Sqn. ORB was well maintained.
The end. Regards for now,
Martin.
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