Trying to ID photos of two (or the same) Hurricane FL on Bearch in Dunkirk & "Malo-le-Bains" area?

[Col Bruggy]

Hello,

Friday, 31 May, 1940.
No.245 Squadron, Hawkinge - Patrol Dunkirk.

Hurricane P2902.

Belly-landed on beach badly damaged by Lt Ulenberg of 2./JG26 in combat north-east of Dunkirk 1.20 p.m.

P/O K. B. McGlashan wounded in thigh

Aircraft DX-R abandoned.

Wreckage recovered in 1988 and returned to UK where registered G-ROBT and subject of major restoration project 1994-2001 and returned to flying condition as DX-X.

See:
The Battle of France Then and Now.
Cornwell,Peter.
Old Harlow:Battle of Britain Int.,2007.
p.399.

Col.

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

It certainly looks to me that one of these two could be the Leffrinckoucke a/c, DXoR. Do other views of these two FL Hurricanes exist, especially before all the fabric and thus unit codes were stripped away?

Regards,

Larry Hickey
EoE Project Coordinator

[paulmcmillan]

Re: Hurricane P2902.
G-ROBT

This has not flown yet (though I believe restoration is finishing very soon)

Photos of her post recovery are here

http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?t=86917

Paul

[markjsheppard]

Angle of the wreck, prop position and beach generally (know that is vague) all look like it could be P2902

Mark

[Larry Hickey]

Mark,

Do you know if photos exist of this a/c before all the canvas with the codes was stripped away? Why was DXoX chosen as the code for the restored a/c, when it was probably DXoR?

Larry Hickey
EoE Project Coordinator

[markjsheppard]

Hi Larry,

??

R for Robert.

http://www.hawker-restorations-ltd.c...rent/robt.html

regards

Mark

Have not seen any other photos of P2902 though you would have thought there would be.

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

So how does the location at "Leffrinckoucke" for the recovery of P2902 square with a location of "Malo-les-Bains." Would this likely be the same place or are they different? I agree that the photo of the "Malo" wreck looks like a good candidate for P2902. If this plane really did come down at Dunkirk on May 31st, I can see how any fabric areas containing markings would have been well stripped off for souvenirs by the evacuating troops, so that an intact condition for the plane would have no longer existed by the time that any German soldiers would have reached the site to photograph it. Still, this doesn't explain the absence of any other photos of the stripped down wreck on eBay during recent years.

I think that in my EoE DB I've found another photo of the other wreck that I posted at the beginning of this message. I'll see if I can post it. We still need a candidate loss for that one, assuming that the other is P2902. Based upon these photos there must have been two different Hurricanes that FL in the general Dunkirk area, probably during the late-May, early June, 1940 period.

Regards,

Larry Hickey
EoE Project Coordinator

[Larry Hickey]

Hello,

Another image of the 2nd Hurricane FL at "Dunkirk."

http://ihra.smugmug.com/Airplanes/Po...MCN38698-S.jpg

This image has appeared twice in eBay auctions over the past couple of years, most recently in June. Interestingly, it shows the same Hurricane after someone had hacked away the fin flash area carrying the British insignia. Since a German took the other picture showing that the tail was intact, it must have been in that condition when the Germans reached Dunkirk, and after that some German troops must have hacked away the fin area for a souvenir. This and the fact that the photos apparently came from the same collection suggests that it too FL during the Dunkirk evacuation period, which should help in identifying the possible candidates for this wreck.

Have the remains of this a/c, with the fin area hacked away, ever been recovered from a Dunkirk beach?

Who can help with this?

Regards,

Larry Hickey
EoE Project Coordinator

[Andy Saunders]

Having had some involvement with P2902 DX-R I'd say that the first Hurricane is very likely that aeroplane. If so, an exciting find!

I somewhere have photos of the aircraft in situ which, I think, has some background showing the shoreline. It may help. But it may take a while to locate them!

[Thierry K]

On one of the pics showing P2902's recovery we have in the background the buildings of the Zuydcoote maritime Hospital.
Regards, Thierry