[Peter Cornwell]

Gentlemen,

Interesting thread. The origins of the '10 (of 11) aircraft lost' by No.218 Squadron can be found in the ORB of No.75 Wing [NA(PRO) Documents: AIR 26/112 & 115] which also reports 7 (of 8) aircraft lost by No.103 and one (of 10) by No.88 Squadron during the attack on Meuse bridges & enemy columns near Sedan on May 14, 1940.

This account had long troubled me and Martin Gleeson & Iain Torrance provide a most persuasive explanation as to how the discrepancy between these totals and actual losses arose. Clearly, only five aircraft, as documented in BoFrT&N, were lost by No.218 Squadron on that sortie but with five more returning damaged and later being abandoned. The No.75 Wing scribe certainly cannot be accused of putting any positive spin on events.

I would be most grateful to Iain if he would share with us the 'errors on aircraft attribution and photos' he has noted in BoFrT&N. Like most other members of this forum I am committed to trying to get things right.