Re: Do217 loss - Chartres 07 July 1942

[Danny152]

Thanks all,

Chris, if you could thanks. I have included the specific pilots combat report which might help as a clue to the area location of the claim. Being early morning could it then be the earlier hours on the 08 July?

Thanks, Danny


‘I took off from Ford with W/O Potter, at 0100Hrs to patrol Avord. As we approached Chartres we saw a cone of about 10 searchlights up over the aerodrome. These doused, then came on again, the doused and came on vertically upwards. Then they doused. Immediately afterwards, Potter saw an e/a with navigation lights coming on towards us from the direction of Chartres at the same height as us, 2000 feet. I did a wide orbit and stalked the e/a, approaching from astern and 200-300 feet below. As we approached we suddenly realised we were much nearer to the E/A than we thought, I throttled back but could not avoid overshooting slightly. I turned away to the side and made another approach. As I turned away I recognised it as an Do.217’.

‘I opened fire with cannons only from astern and slightly below at about 100 yards and the first burst set the starboard engine on fire. I gave two bursts and the fuselage caught fire. During the last burst there was a dull thud on the windscreen, and from the mess it left it is thought to have been a “piece of the rear gunner”.

‘I broke off the attack and the E/A which was burning furiously, glided down and crashed just short of the aerodrome, whose lights had come on, when the e/a flashed his head light just before my attack’.

‘Just after the E/A hit the ground there was a large explosion and it remained burning on the ground until we were out of sight on our way to AVORD. There was no apparent activity at Avord, se we set a course for base and landed at 0310Hrs’.