RAF mission Ramrod 127 on 7/9/43

[thedrake]

Anyone know how I could find out more information on this particular RAF mission flown on 7/9/43?

What I do know:
1-bombers were RAF B25 Mitchells,@12 of them,bombing St.Omer,France.(Only 4 RAF bomber squadrons had this type in July 43)
2-one of the Spitfire squadrons on escort was 316 Squadron (Polish)
3-claims made by Wilhelm Galland of JG26 for 1 (confirmed) Spitfire and by Polish pilot Antoni Murkowski of 316 Sqdn for 1 Fw190 (probable) and awarded 1 FW190 (confirmed)

Known facts were derived from Caldwell's "JG26 War Diary:1943-1945" and from little info on the web I could find.One possible source for this may be Bowyer's "2 Group RAF" but have to get a copy to see.

Any ideas where I may be able to find some documentation of this mission? Didnt the RAF+Luftwaffe have some records of the particulars of this mission? Looking to find out what squadrons were involved,number of planes for both sides,etc.

Any help is appreciated....thanks.

Mark Drake

[John Beaman]

Mark:

I assume you are referring to July 9th and not 7-Sep? With all the various date conventions used by visitors to this board, it is usually good practice to avoid all numbers in a date and put in a month in text.

The information in Bower's 2 Group RAF is a little confusing. In Appendix 9, he confirms that your mission was Ramrod 127 on July 9th, and lists the target as St. Omer. The only squadron listed are 12 a/c of 180, which flew Mitchells. This Appendix also lists operation on 3, 4, 10 and 12 July by Mitchells of 98 and 180 squadrons.

However, in his narrative of missions, he completely skips the 9th operations, referencing only 107 Sq on undated missions early in the month, skipping to the 11th with 107. It is a very confusing narrative, especially with the constant use of phrases like "the next day" and the "next mission". It is hard to pin things down.

The Polish pilot's name you reference is not in the name index of the book.

HTP

[Bertrand H]

9 july 1943 Ramrod 127 : St Omer



One of the Spit escort : 341 sqdn : 11 A/C 0720-0840 led by Cdt Mouchotte.



HTH


Bertrand H

[thedrake]

JOHN,

Yes I did mean July 9,1943--should have realized the difference in how dates are written;thanks for calling that to my attention.

I found the reference to the Polish pilot when I Googled "Ramrod 127" and found this:
http://makeashorterlink.com/?D66A6165B

Translated as 1 probable and 1 confirmed for that pilot;I also had found a reference to Antoni Murkowski being listed officially as an RAF ace with 7 kills (as well as scoring kills in a biplane,but did not read that one too closely--will research his kills further.)

I did pretty much have the Mitchell squadron narrowed down from 4 to 2;either from 180 or 98,so appreciate your confirmation on this.

Were there any other Luftwaffe squadrons involved in intercepting Ramrod 127?

Thanks for your help.

Mark

[thedrake]

BERTRAND,

Thanks to you also for the additional info--will also look into that squadron as well.

Mark

[John Beaman]

Mark:


The only claim listed that day is 09.Jul.43, Maj. Wilhelm-F. Galland, Stab II./JG 26 for a Spitfire, 12-15 km. W. Boulogne. Given the location, this would seem unlikely to be involved.
There are no Luftwaffe losses for the Western Front for that date.

[thedrake]

John,
You are absolutely correct;Caldwell states the same thing on page 116 that RAF claims differ from actual losses.Apparently Murkowski was awarded the kill+probable by the RAF (also noticed official times of the kills for both pilots differs by only 4 minutes,but locations are different.)

Thanks again,
Mark

[Franek Grabowski]

Murkowski never achieved ace status, both against aircraft and V1s. He distinguished being the first Mustang pilot to down V1, however. He lives in Duxford area and I have had a couple of nice phone talks with him a few years ago. Apparently he had an interesting career in post-war RAF flying in an Arrows predecessing aerobatic team as well as delivering aircraft during Korean war.
I recall there was an article in Fly Past by ex-RAF chap, where Murky has been mentioned but I missed the issue.

[thedrake]

FRANEK,

Do you have info on how many kills Murkowski did get? As part of my web search I came across info crediting him with 7 kills;will try and find that webpage again.

Thanks,
Mark

[thedrake]

FRANEK,

Looks like I got some incorrect info on Murkowski as other webpages on him are showing 4 v-1 kills,or not showing up as an ace;will check to see if the listing I saw for 7 may be total including v-1 kills,or just 7 kills without a breakdown by type.

Thinking I need to start over on researching his victory totals!

Thanks,
Mark