Blenheim May 1940 Sedan

[arnaud]

Bonjour,

Is there any chance to identify this Blenheim shot down near Sedan in May 1940 with this item (aero-engine starter No. 1357)? : 3 missing men now buried at Choloy.

Thank you....

[Andy Saunders]

Arnaud

Component plates like this will not, unfortunately, lead you to the identity of the airframe.

Just occasionally (but not often!) an engine number can be a useful aid to confirming identity, but really you have to find a part with the aircraft serial number.

[arnaud]

Bonjour Andy,

I think so too, but I try. Is there any identity card for Mercury engine?

Thank you

[Andy Saunders]

The Mercury engines will have had their own data plates with individual engine numbers. In theory, you might be able to match these numbers against the Aircraft Movement Card (AM Form 78) but these did not always record them. When they did, this is the number (or,these are the numbers) of the engine(s) fitted on delivery. Subsequent engine changes will not usually have been noted on the AM 78, and in any case you would need to look at the record cards of all the Blenheims you suspect it to have been. If you get a match, you will be be lucky. If you do not, then it does not mean it was not that aeroplane.

Good luck, Arnaud!