Fw 200 in the Battle of Britain

[John Vasco]

Bill,

You must remember that in the BoB the Luftwaffe were claiming radial engined Curtisses, and the RAF pilots were filing claims for the Heinkel 112 single engined fighter. Many times Bf 110s were mistaken for Do 17s, the Croydon raid of 15th August 1940 being one example of such misidentification. Mistakes in identity did occur. What needs to be done is to check whether the Fw 200 aircraft were assigned to operational units, and missions, over the UK in the first place, and from extant records when and where they flew. Without that base information, everything will be forever conjecture.

[bill norman]

John,
I take what you say - but would you expect a seasoned BoB pilot to confuse a four-engine enemy aircraft with a twin-engine one - especially when he sees it from very close quarters? At that time, the Fw200 was a relatively rare daylight visitor to Britain's coast, let alone over land.
We all tend to remember the unusual more than we do the commonplace - and I suspect that in that regard Bob Doe was no different from the rest of us. In this particular instance, I suggest that we should not be quite so dismissive about an artist's conversation with a veteran.

[John Vasco]

Bill,

I agree with you. That's why I put in the last two sentences of my post. If 200s were deployed over the UK at any time during the BoB, then it is likely that records will exist of the unit, etc..

But it is equally true that misidentification did occur. And at closing speeds of probably 400 mph upwards, that is understandable.

[Jon]

This question never looks like it will go away. Personally i think Bob Doe might have been mistaken, did any other 238 pilots see a FW200?
However i am also a believer that FW200's could have perhaps over flown coastal areas and perhaps dropped bombs, its just we need the evidence.