485 Squadron, Channel Dash, 12 February 1942

[Smithy]

Originally Posted by Alex Smart

Hello Smithy,
My copy of "Aces High" has on page 195, a/c serial number W3747.
He is also noted as flying in this a/c on the 26th March.
On the 28th March he is listed as using W3774.

In volume 2 on page 67 there is a correction . But this concerns the a/c he flew on the 13th October 1941. Spitfire VB P8786 has been corrected from previous P87886.

Stig,
Thanks for the confirmation of W3747 as being a ( black out ) serial number. I did not check that earlier as accepted what was in the book.

Alex

Hi Alex,

W3747 is incorrect. A Spitfire with this serial never existed. 15 ops were incorrectly attributed to this airframe with 485 but it was a simple case of the correct code (W3774) being incorrectly recorded.

W3774 (coded OU-R) was "Auckland I" and had this painted on the port side cowling with "Waiuku" underneath (Crawford-Compton was born in Invercargill but grew up in Waiuku). Underneath the port side windshield it had a cartoon of Hitler in a frying pan being roasted over a burning swastika. On the starboard side it also carried the name "Samson". Crawford-Compton scored 4 destroyed, 1 probable and 1 damaged whilst flying W3774.

Tim