218 Squadron - HA-R - FRANCE - 1940

[Martin Gleeson]

Hallo all,

I hope this is HA-B, and logic suggests it could be. Maybe more photos will come to light to prove it.
However no matter what way I look at it I cannot see anything other than 'R'. The trailing leg of the 'R' is where it should begin and at the correct angle.

One question I would like to ask is does anyone else think that the HA-R in the trees is on fire ?
Also could Peter tell us the original source of that photo. Was it from a German, French or Belgian source ?

On the very small possibility that it might be P2360 lost on May 14th. I don't think so because P2360 joined the squadron on May 13th. Whatever about an individual letter I doubt if the squadron personnel had enough time to paint on properly the full code.

Regards,

Martin.

[Iain Torrance]

Looked through some old scans. See attached for a Battle in a wood, could be the same plane, no identification visible, but has a location written on the back. Leave interpretation of the writing to the readers!!

[Peter Cornwell]

I hoped that the photos on p272 of BoFrT&N would provoke this sort of response from readers for I was puzzled by the anomaly of two machines apparently bearing the same HA*R codes when, as Iain has clearly explained, there seems to be no logical explanation accepting, as he obviously does, that the primary sources available to us are, at best, somewhat unreliable.

Examining the photo of the aircraft smouldering away in the thicket from every angle, I remain convinced that the individual code letter carried is an R. But, of course, I must accept (though at a stretch) the possibility that it could be a B for the very plausible reasons proposed by Ex-Shack - amongst others.

Unfortunately, the history of HA*R K9273 is not fully recorded beyond its being ‘Lost in France’ while allocated to No.218 Squadron. We know when it arrived on unit (11.10.38) but other than that its subsequent movements are subject to speculation. So is it possible that it suffered damage sufficient to render it un-airworthy sometime immediately prior to the German offensive, and its replacement ended up in that thicket ? The original source of the photo was German eBay and , apparently, the reverse of the photo carried the hand-written caption ‘Sedan’. Iain’s other photo could well be the same machine after it had finished ‘brewing-up’ but offers us no further evidence. The caption seems to read ‘French aircraft near Niergnies (?)’ but I defer to those better-versed in Sutterlin.

I won’t fuel speculation over this seeming mystery, it is my experience that an answer (usually relatively simple) will eventually turn up. Meantime, I will keep an open mind – though not so wide open that my brains fall out. Thanks to you all for your most useful input.