Info on 103 Fairey Battle losses on the continent during mid-May, 1940

[Peter Cornwell]

Hello Iain,

I will try to justify the QT*I attribution but admit that it is pure deduction. Among the many photos of QT*I two have emerged with notes on the reverse, one stating 'bei Reims' and another 'Montescourt-Lizerolles-Marle 6.40'. Given what we already know of the various circumstances, locations, and photos we have on their losses in the period, this unattributed No.142 Sqdn loss somewhere around Marle, 30 miles NNE of Reims, strongly suggests it was that flown by the TAYLOR crew on 19 May 1940 during a section attack west of Laon. In short, it comes down to the location from the photo captions plus PoE. Hardly evidential I know but hopefully you follow my reasoning.