Bsoton BZ451

[Jan_Texel]

Hello all,

I'm looking for information on the crash of Boston-IV BZ451 [USAAF 43-21448],
What I know is the following:
Aircraft belonged to 342 "Lorraine" Squadron and came from Hartford Bridge, though I'm not sure if the base is correct.
It crashed, due to engine fire (cause unknown) on 5th November 1944 around 16:00 near Meijel in Limburg province.
Aircraft was piloted by F/S R. Leger, but I do not know the names of the other crew members and what happened to all of them.
If any one has some more information about it, please let me know, because I want to add the crash to my AirWarWW2 database.
In advance thanks!

Jan

[Bertrand H]

Jan

it is the OA-S, BZ451

Crew were : Robert LEGER/ Edouard CARROLL/Jean JOURDREN/ Louis MILLECAMPS

All were safe and I met Louis Millecamps and he let me the citation following this accident. It is in French but I am sure you will understand :

Au cours d’un bombardement à moyenne altitude sur un objectif extrêmement défendu, l’avion est gravement endommagé. Alors que le pilote ramenait l’appareil vers les lignes alliées celui ci fut atteint une deuxième fois par une salve de DCA. Toutes communications étant coupées à l’intérieur de l’avion, l’observateur attendit pour sauter en parachute d’être au dessus du territoire allié. Le pilote n’ayant pu larguer ses bombes, les commandes d’aileron bloquées, un moteur coupé conscient du danger qu’il courait mais ne pouvant savoir si son équipage avait quitté l’appareil décida de rester à bord et fit un atterrissage forcé dans un bois. Les deux mitrailleurs demeurés à leur poste se précipitèrent au secours de leur pilote évanoui et blessé et le retirèrent de sa cabine ”

Hope this helps;

Bertrand

[Jan_Texel]

Thanks for the info Bertrand... Do I understand correctly (my French is not that good) that the aircraft was hit by Flak but managed to fly back to liberated territory?
Do you perhaps also have some more info on the crew, e.g. rank, duty ,serial etc.? I presume they all belonged to the Free French Air Force?
Any information is most welcome as I want to add the data to my database as complete as possible; It also will be the first 342 sqn aircraft listed... At present I only have one FFAF crew member in my database, a Spitfire pilot with the impressive name of Francois Roland Marie Fidele Picot de Moras d'Aligny...

Jan

[Bertrand H]

Jan,


Robert LEGER Pilot
Not Edouard but Patrick CARROLL Nav
Jean JOURDREN AG/W0
Louis MILLECAMPS AG/WO

Jean Jourdren is a free french (35.551) as Carroll Patrick (35.074)

Robert Leger, Louis Millecamps and François Picot de Moras d'Aligny were not Free French but only French Air Force because they joined UK AFTER july 1943.

Laurent Rizzotti talked about Free French in a thread last 11 march :

The Free French forces were formed in Great Britain after the fall of France. All who enlisted into them were called "Free French".

Remember that in this period Free and Vichy French fought several times (Gabon in 1940, Syria in 1941, Reunion Island in 1942).

When Allied forces landed in French North Africa, after some days all the French colonies still under control of Vichy expect Indochina (where Japanese troops were based since 1940, but under nominal French control up to 9 March 1945 when Japanese attacked all French bases) rallied to the Allied, but not to De Gaulle.

The stuggle for French political primacy will last most of 1943, and end in De Gaulle favor. But up to 3 July 1943 there were still two different French military organisation fighting on Allied side, the Free French and the ex-Vichy French. By the way, the first between November 1942 and July 1943 tried actively to recruit members of the second. I don't have many example for airmen, but I know this was a major issue for the Army (in Tunisia where many men left units from North Africa to join the column Leclerc) and the Navy (for example with a good part of the crew of the battleship Richelieu "deserting" in New york to join Free French ships).

After July 1943 there was officialy only one French Air Force, but in fact former FAFL and Vichy units did not mix a lot. Few Free French airmen went to ex-Vichy units, more went the other way as ex-FAFL units will continue to take losses and need reinforcements.

But former FAFL members will keep their title of Free French, and for example the book "Aviateurs de la Liberté" that is listing all Free French airmen losses of the war will sometimes tell that an airman was part of a crew made of non FAFL-men, but not describe much them.

AFAIK there is no book listing all French airmen casualties during the war. A pity because in 1944-1945, former Free French airmen were not the bigger part of the French Air Force, either on global numbers or in casualties.