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Allied and Soviet Air Forces Please use this forum to discuss the Air Forces of the Western Allies and the Soviet Union. |
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#1
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Martin 167 A3
Hello,
Currently on ebay is a photo of a Vichy era Martin 167 A3 with a star and crescent marking in the vicinity of the nose. I assume this is a personal rather than a unit marking? https://www.ebay.com/itm/35546200041...UAAOSwVcBly5zZ Regards, Clint |
#2
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Re: Martin 167 A3
Clint ;this is the insignia of Aeronavale Sqn. 3B of Vichy Aviation Fleet 3F (not sure of correct translation), it's a reference to service in the Rif region of N. Morocco. The unit re-equipped with SBDs and then SB2Cs later. There were only 13 Martins in Africa in 1942 (TORCH).
The red-yellow Vichy stripes were known as "Slave's pyjamas" ie. forced work for the Nazis. Regards Nick |
#3
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Re: Martin 167 A3
Thanks for the unit id Nick.
The term of Slave Pyjamas, a term used by the Armee de l'air personnel themselves or the western Allies? Regards, Clint |
#4
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Re: Martin 167 A3
Quote:
However Esc 3B changed name to Esc 3FB when the unit re-equipped with Douglas SBD in May 1944. By the time the unit changed designation to 3F in Jan 1946 there were no 167s in use. So Esc 3B (or 3FB) was never part of 3F, it is a re-designation of the same unit. Cheers Stig |
#5
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Re: Martin 167 A3
Stig,
In the Crosnier/DuBois book on the French SBDs it states that the Martin 167F-equipped 2B and 3B were disbanded in April 1944 and reformed at Agadir as the 3rd flottille de bombardment (3FB) to fly the SBD. Similarly, the disbanded 6B and 7B (leO 451) reformed as 4FB, also with the SBD. As you are probably aware, they were known to the US Navy in Morocco as VFB-1 and VFB-2, respectively.
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George Kernahan |
#6
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Re: Martin 167 A3
Well George
By French way of seeing things, you may well be correct in stating each unit disbanded and then reformed. However with the knowledge about the importance of tradition in France all these units used the same symbol and while I am not promising to eat my hat if I use the wrong terminology here, each unit certainly traced itself back to the original 5B2 via 3B2, 3B, 3RB and finally 3F. So perhaps re-designation is not the correct word, but I can't come up with something better. Cheers Stig |
#7
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Re: Martin 167 A3
Well Stig, your French may be better than mine, so here is what our friend Jean-Pierre actually said:
"Apres la dissolution des escadrilles 2B et 3B a la mi-Avril 1944, les equipages de ces deux formations sont regroupes a....Agadir. Ils constituent alors la 3 flotilla de bombardment." "Les escadrilles 6B and 7B, dissoutes depuis Juin 1943, renaissent sur la base d'Agadir le 6 Mai 1944 au sein de la 4FB".
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George Kernahan |
#8
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Re: Martin 167 A3
Quote:
..never encountered this before. Any source? It was Vichy/Petain who first mentioned 'collaboration', nothing forced about it...
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FalkeEins- The Luftwaffe blog |
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