Lt. Claude C. McRaven, O-433381 Shot down France on Unknown date-Evader

[kaki3152]

Lt. Claude McRaven was a Fighter pilot with the 31st FG, 309 FS. According to the biography by his son Adm. McRaven, he was shot down over France in 1943(?) and became an Evader, returning to England. Does anyone know the date of his shot down and the identity of his outfit.?

[RSwank]

I could not find a MACR for him, nor could I find his name listed as an evader in MISX files (although the conscript heroes site does not have all WWII evaders listed)

https://web.archive.org/web/20230324...t38-MIS-X.html

His name is not in the AviationArchaeology.com database of WWII Escape and Evasion names:
https://aviationarchaeology.com/dbSearchAFEE.asp

There is a line in his obit: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries...ry?id=26319640
that makes me wonder. "Mac was the consummate story teller and he never let the truth stand in the way of a good story."

[Alex Smart]

McRaven, Claude Coy - O-433381
31 FG/309FS
1 victory 22/04/1944

See:

http://raf-112-squadron.org/

[kaki3152]

HI, Thanks for the input. In his book, "Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations" , his son Admiral William H. McRaven (Ret) mentions his fathers biography as :
"He registered two confirmed kills... but would himself be shot down over France in 1943. The saga of his escape and evasion from France back to England was told many times..., not by Dad, who rarely talked about his wartime experiences, but by the French resistance fighter who helped him back to freedom."

He also says " Dad flew the Spitfire throughout the war, going on to fight in the campaign in North Africa, Sicily, Salerno, and eventually the Normandy invasion."
At some point, he must have transferred out of the 309 FS to another unit to fly over Normandy?

BTW, his kill was claimed on April 22,1943, not 1944. In the USAF credits list, he is only credited with one kill,a Bf-109.

[Alex Smart]

Yes, seems the claim was for the 22nd April, 1943.
"In a Now Forgotten Sky" page 84.
Quote-
"Three fighter sweeps for the 308th on the April 22nd turned out to be an exercise in patience, but the 309th got to roar like a lion. Major Hill, leading the way, shared in the destruction of two enemy planes with Lts Payne and Rahn. Lt.McRaven, needing no help, took full credit for his victory as three of the enemy fell to the 309th".
It would also almost certainly have been a Spitfire Mk.IX. The Squadron having recently converted from their Mk.V's.

Also on page 11 he is in the first photograph of the 309th officers taken in New Orleans in the spring of 1942.

[Alex Smart]

Looks like the details in the 1944 section of the 31stfghonor_roll 43-44 has the details in the wrong year.

22 Apr 44 . . Hill, Frank A O-399962 309FS 31FG 15AF . Claims 1 victory
. 22 Apr 44 . . McRaven, Claude C O-433381 309FS 31FG 15AF . Claims 1 victory
. 22 Apr 44 . . Payne, Carl W O-433390 309FS 31FG 15AF . Claims 0.5 victory
. 22 Apr 44 . . Rahn, Robert O O-433396 309FS 31FG 15AF . Claims 0.5 victory