Spitfire VI 616 Sqn question

[Mike M]

Hi,

I am trying to confirm individual letter for the Spitfire VI flown by Pilot Officer C.B. Brown of 616 Sqn during the interception of a Do217 on 25th May 1942. This was the first encounter with the Luftwaffe with a Spitfire VI. The brief encounter led to the Dornier being damaged but Pilot Officer Brown losing his eye when his canopy was shattered by return fire. Johnnie Johnson was involved in the combat but didn't engage the Dornier himself.

The Squadron ORB is no help as no serials or aircraft letters are listed. This information is also absent from the combat report. Graham Pitchfork's book on 616 Sqn has the Spitfire serial as BP250 but a brief search through some of my reference material suggests that this serial was never assigned to a Spitfire so must be an error. I believe that this is a typo as BR250 fits the bill perfectly.

 

I know that 616 Sqn aircraft letters are a bit of a black hole!

It will be YQ-?, but what letter did BR250 carry?

Cheers,

Mike

[Miggers]

Bit of a primer for you Mike:

 

BR250 VI 2804 EA M47 FF 11-4-42 8MU 13-4-42 616S 8-5-42 EA 25-5-42 AST CRD RAE 31-7-42 Marshall blower dev trials ETPS 29-1-43 SAC pumps install. VHF radio trials. Airfield defence 3-2-43 Flown to 36000ft to test Pesco pressure cabin pump. Zoomed to 45000ft after TV dive by Flt/Lt McClure MMO 8-5-44 33MU 1-11-44 ? SOC 19-10-45.

 

Yes it was with 616 from 13-4-42 to 8-5-42 buth there's no mention of a combat with a Dornier.

After 8-5-42 it was back at Eastleigh(EA)and on the date you mention with Air Service Training Civilian Repair Depot (AST CRD)

presumably to have the high alt. blower fitted.

 

As far as I can see(at the moment)BP250 certainly wasn't allocated to a service Spit/Seafire,but to be honest,

I can't find out what it was allocated to,the closest appears to be a batch of Hurricanes,and that stops at BP245

then starts again at BP259.

So you have BP246-BP258 that appear to be un-allocated,hmmmmm

Edited October 17, 2016 by Miggers

[gingerbob]

"616S 8-5-42 EA 25-5-42 AST CRD"

 

That could be read as 8 May to 616 Sqn, [damaged due to] Enemy Action 25 May, then to Air Service Training (Civilian Repair Department (or whatever D stands for))

 

bob

[Ossington 2]

Depot, i think.

[Mike M]

I am happy that BR250 is the Spitfire concerned. The combat was on May 25th 1942 and so fits with the history for that aircraft.

[Graham Boak]

There are a lot of unallocated numbers.  They were called black-out blocks, and were there to confound enemy intelligence attempts to calculate the RAF's strength from observing the serials.

 

PS  I suggest that perhaps a better place to raise the question is on the following site:  

http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?1-General-Category&s=&daysprune=

Edited October 17, 2016 by Graham Boak

[gingerbob]

Having run it through the Spitfire-O-Matic, I agree with BR250, but I'm afraid I can't help with the aircraft letter.

 

bob