Flying Officer Vladimir Zaoral* 81903

[alanatabz]

This Airman was killed at RAF Dyce during a training attached on a Glider.

310 (Czech) Squadron RAF ORB states Spitfire, other accounts Hurricane.

d.o.d. 19 November 1941 at RAF Dyce.

Can anybody confirm which Aircraft it was?

Could be :-

June 1941
November 1941
Hawker Hurricane
IIb

October 1941
December 1941
Supermarine Spitfire
IIa

November 1941
March 1944
Supermarine Spitfire
Vb

[MW Giles]

Spitfire IIa P7837 stalled and spun into ground 12m SE of Dyce on that date

Regards

Martin

[Tom Semenza]

The book No.310 (Czechoslovak) Squadron, 1940-1945 by Tomas Polak confirms that it was P7837 coded NN-A.

Tom

[alanatabz]

Thanks Guys

It's suggested in several areas, the aircraft crashed 1/2 Mile from RAF Dyce. Could 12M mean 1/2m?

"he got his engine going again and hit the ground just outside the aerodrome on the east side of the railway line in what was practically a nose dive with the engine full on"

"Moments later the Spitfire emerged from the cloud in a spin. The spin was stopped, but the Spitfire was still diving steeply when it hit the ground just east of the railway line adjacent to Dyce airfield. "

[Col Bruggy]

Hello,

An eyewitness account:

On 19 November (1941), S/L McHardy attacked and damaged the 699-ton Norwegian merchant vessel M/V Mars off the Norge coast. S/L McHardy also claimed hits on a direction finding station at Stadtlandet. This was possibly the squadron's (No.404 Sqn RCAF), first operational success against enemy shipping.

The same day at the aerodrome (Dyce), an allied pilot was killed in view of the personnel of the squadron; "We had our pictures taken again today for the CO's scrap book as we are the basis of our squadron in the making. As we were waiting for the photographer, a Czech went over us in a dive at approximately 350 M.P.H. He then zoomed upwards and nosed over in a dive and came down in a spin. He partially righted his plane and it plunged to earth, the engine being buried six feet down and the remainder of the plane flying a hundred feet away."

http://404squadron.com/nov1941.html

Col.