[mhuxt]

Hi Brian,

I suppose this may also have been along the lines of:

"Where the hell did he go?"

"Dunno, must have hit the sea."





Anwyay, loss information from Shores & Thomas excellent 2nd TAF series is: Mosquito FB.VI NS979 EG-E of 487 Squadron, time around 0130, ftr from the Schelde. F/L G.W. Brown and F/O R.A. Fuller both killed.

Foreman's Fighter Command War Diaries Volume 5 provides the information that the aircraft was lost strafing barges in the Schelde.

"A History of 410 Squadron" (available on the net in pdf format) says: "Edinger and Vaessen destroyed an unidentified aircraft in a most unusual manner over Walcheren Island. While patrolling west of Antwerp, they were vectored to the north to intercept some "trade". A contact was picked up and, as the Mosquito closed in at 330 m.p.h., the target began very violent evasion, warned possibly by a rearward looking radar. Despite its antics, Edinger continued to close in, but could get no nearer than 1200 feet due to the hard turns to one side and the other. This desperate effort to escape was the enemy pilot's undoing. In his turns he lost height to 600 feet at which point he began another hard turn to port, followed by an abrupt reverse turn in the other direction. Either he lost control or his aircraft did a high-speed stall, for it suddenly passed under the Mossie's wing and crashed into the sea."

An earlier book on 2nd TAF gives the time of this encounter as 01.50. Mosquito NF.30 MM743 of 410 Squadron, F/L Charles Emanuel "Pop" Edinger RCAF and F/O Charles Leo Vaessen RCAF.