Rota vs FW190s

[Brian]

Hi guys

The older generation may remember an article in an RAF Flying Review concerning an Avro Rota (C.30a Autogiro) from 1448 Flight based at Halton, and two FW190s, which occurred on 14 July 1943.


The Rota escaped unscathed though with a frightened pilot. Who was he? And who were the FW190 pilots? It was believed at the time that one of the latter may have flown into the sea during the action.


Cheers


Brian

[Chris Goss]

Not (yet) being of the older generation, are you saying that this ac was operating forward from Halton (which is, as you know, quite a distance from the sea)? If operating over the sea, this would have been very risky without some degree of fighter escort even though the daylight Jabo attacks had finished the previous month. However, I do have a record of a strafing attack by 2/JG 1 against Ludham 8 days before so there were occasional 190s still about

[Nick Beale]

My Dad remembers seeing an Autogiro based at Exeter during the war, which would have put it more in the line of fire from tip-and-run raiders.

(Dad had a job doing admin for the ATC which came with a pass for the airfield, so he used to spend as much time there as he could, being about 15 at the time).

[Chris Goss]

There was that strafing run along the south coast by Prym & Cadenbach of 4/JG 26 on 30 Nov 42 which took them over Exeter and they almost got Hurricane AE979-see pages 152 & 153 of my T&R book

[Larry]

The Avro Rota (C.30a Autogiro) was used occasionally to calibrate Chain Home radar stations, so I wonder if this was why the aircraft was near the south coast when the FW190s were in the same area. I don't have my records at hand to know if the Flight from Halton was involved in such work