Escape or Die Questions

[James A Pratt III]

I have some questions from the book Esacpe or Die by Paul Brickhill, who also wrote the book "The Great Escape":
p69 a USAAF Lt Grover P. Parker shot down and E&E over the netherlands during operation Market garden period.
p84 Manchester OL-S L7423 83 Sqn shot down by a night fighter anyone know which one? On 11 march 1942.
p132 Wellingtone P 104 Sqn lost over North Africa fall 1942. anyone know the date and s/n. The crew includes John King navagator, Willis pilot, Jackson 2nd pilot, Bart Gunner. They managed to E&E back to Allied lines.
p158 John King was shot down and captured while flying a halifax out of England by a nightfighter. Anyone know the aircraft and who shot them down and the date it looks like the fall of 1943 time period
p161 Gpcpt John Whitney bailed out of halifax that was shot down by a nightfighter during the night of 10/11 April 1943 and E&Ed does anyone know the s/n ect of the aircraft ect and who possibly shot him down? The pilots name was hull he was KIA.
Thanks in advance.

[Col Bruggy]

Re: P/O John KING.

24/25 July 1942
No.104 Sqn
Wellington II Z8509 "R"
Op: Tobruk

Took off 2215-2230 to bomb the aerodrome at Heraklion. Hit by flak en route, and forced down S of Sollum, near Halfaya Pass. The crew spent 12 days in the desert, escaping from captivity twice, the second time after 36 hours, during which they travelled 230 miles in a commandeered German car before capture. All but Sgt Hartley later escaped from Italians by overpowering their guards and driving their truck E until meeting with a LRDG patrol.

Sgt A J Wills - Evaded
Sgt J L Joyce RNZAF - Evaded
P/O J King - Evaded
Sgt R Hartley - PoW
Sgt J C Weston - Evaded
Sgt J C Barr - Evaded

Royal Air Force Bomber Losses in the Middle East and Mediterranean Volume 1: 1939-1942.
Gunby,David & Pelham Temple
Hinckley:Midland Publishing,2006
p.166

King/Part 2:

4/5 May 1943
No.78 Sqn
Halifax II JB915:EY-
Op: Dortmund

Took off 2205 Linton-on-Ouse. Shot down by a night-fighter* and crashed near Ahaus. Sgt Legg was taken for burial at Rheine, some 36 km to the NE of the crash site. His grave is now in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery.

S/L J H B Chapple - PoW
Sgt B Legg +
P/O B A G Campbell RCAF - PoW
P/O H J King - PoW
Sgt E K Blackweall - PoW
Sgt R Hillary - PoW
F/O E W Barnes - PoW

Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War. Vol.4, 1943.
Chorley,W R.
Earl Shilton:Midland Counties Pubs.,1996.
p.134

* Theo Boiten in His Nachtjagd War Diaries, Vol. One (p.180), suggests JB915 might have been brought down at Epe, 3 km, S. Gronau i/W. (4C): 5,700 m, by Hptm Wolfgang Thimmig (Stab III./NJG1) at 00.34, for his 13th claim.

109939 Flt Lt Harry John KING RAF, was killed on 22 May, 1952, when No.203 Sqn Lancaster G.R.3 RE200 , belly-landed near Mereworth. Kent, after a flare ignited in the aircraft.

Col.

[Col Bruggy]

Re: Lt Grover P. PARKER:

19-9-1944 (Other sources mention 4-9-1944)
7th PRG/27th PRS
F-5B 42-67342 "Double Trouble"

Lost S of Breskens, Netherlands.

Lt Grover Paul PARKER USAAF - Evaded.

MACR 9168

Col.

[Jaap Woortman]

Lt Grover P.Parker USAAF 7th Photo Recce Group was shot down and escaped three times.
9 Sept. 1944 near Bordeaux.
19 Sept. 1944 in the Netherlands.
21 Feb. 1945 near Politz.
This all according "Eyes of the Eighth" page 374 by Patricia Fussell Keen.
Grover P.Parker is also mentioned at the pages: 175, 182, 184, 185, 187, 190, 247, 272, 273 and 280.

Jaap

[Col Bruggy]

Hello

JAPIII's query related directly to Parker's escape and evasion with F/O R A Carson, as mentioned in "Escape - or Die", by Paul Brickhill.

Col.

[FrankieS]

Hi all,

MACR 9168 44091 F-5 42-67342 Double Trouble 7PRG 27PRS Parker, Grover Paul EVD 1 4510 Breskens S of NL

MACR 12601 450221 F-5 44-23718 7PRG 13PRS Parker, Grover Paul 66-400 Gorzow Wielkopolski PL

but what was day, serial, place of "southern France crash in early september 1944" ?


bay,
FrankieS

[Jaap Woortman]

Originally Posted by FrankieS

but what was day, serial, place of "southern France crash in early september 1944" ?
FrankieS

Acc. to the same source as in my previous entry: F-5C 42-67124
Date and place have allready been answered.

Jaap

[FrankieS]

thank you Jaap, excellent !

[James A Pratt III]

Thanks everyone, I was surprised and really liked the information on Lt Parker being such a "bullet magnet" and evader.