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Re: Lancaster supply drop to Yugoslavia
I wouldn't have any confidence in any USAAF fighter pilots' recognition skills, going on the published record which to be fair does tend to stress the mistakes rather than everyday ordinary getting-it-right! Particularly when it comes to RAF night bombers which cannot have been any regular sight - and in the case of the Lancaster a never-seen sight. Being stuck on a hard seat for a long and uninspiring escort, someone might well have noticed that the fins were different, that one had a nose turret lacking on the other - so if they were different what else could they be? You certainly can't expect them to be au fait with differences between a Halifax Mk.II series 1(Special) and a Halifax Mk.II series 1a.
A bit thin perhaps, but this clearly was a recognition mistake of some kind and this does seem to be the likeliest option (and perhaps the kindest). I think it a bit early for the other type to have been a Stirling... and a US pilot probably can be relied upon to know a B-24.
OOPs, no nose turret by this time. Only out by (at least) a couple of years.
Last edited by Graham Boak; 29th October 2020 at 21:39.
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