Morlaix river : spitfire or hurricane crashed ?

[gilles collaveri]

During WWII, an aircraft belly landed in the river of Morlaix (Northern Brittany), in the mud, and its vertical fin could still be seen years later.

Ever heard of this ??

GC

[Andy Saunders]

I am sure there are a few possible candidates, but by any chance one of the Morlaix Raid casualties? From memory, 26 September 1942??

[gilles collaveri]

yes, probably: there were in fact several raids over Morlaix;

I have found a witness who saw the crashes of a Typhoon, a whirlwind, an A36;

There is also a -sadly- famous raid against the railway bridge ("viaduc") performed by Bostons (raid quoted by J.Andrieux in his book) where a school was unfortunately hit, killing many kids;

I'll try to go to the villages around the river looking for witnesses remembering the date.

touch wood !

best regards.

GC

[Graham Boak]

One minor point: not an A-36, as these were not used over Western Europe. An Allison-engined Mustang: the Mk.1 did not have a USAAF equivalent, Mk.IA was the P-51, Mk.II was the P-51A.

[gilles collaveri]

a local witness told me today that:

(i) he saw two corpses on the shore, before the german soldiers took them away; so it was not a spitfire or a hurricane

(ii) it was during the summer 1942.

Can this help trace the aircraft ?

Blenheim ? boston ?

Thanks to you all

GC