Mosquito loss 23/24-3-43

[Brian Bines]

Hi Brian,
I am afraid the answers to the questions you are asking are what I was hoping to get from my own query. Basically my name was passed to a person interested in the incident to see if I had any info., I had some records of Essex incidents but unfortunately not this one ,hence the thread. The other person had been told by an elderly relative that the Mosquito was flown by a Viscount, who had been vectored onto the unknown Stirling on a Bullseye and was fired on and crashed, AA also opened up. According to the elderly man the wreckage had signs of .303 damage. I understand some research at the PRO did not come up with much which included the 157 Sqd, record book. It was thought the Stirling was flown by a new crew returning from a leaflet raid to the Lille area . All I could find taht night was the loss of a Wellington crew of 16 OTU from a leaflet raid to Orleans, so the storey has some factual back-up.
A former Bomber command Flight Engineer did tell me that RAF night fighters were sometimes vectored onto returning Bombers without the bomber crew being told. I do not know how accurate this is as the man has now passed away.
As regards your Friendly Fire incidents I assume you have the previous posts concerning 28/29-5-44 when two Wellingtons of 82 OTU and a Mosquito of 604 Sqd. fell to 'blue on blue' incidents,
Regards
Brian Bines