pierre66 Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 Hello.. twice for today 1/ Do you have any items, such as log books or RAF form540 and 541 equivalents for the FAA (807Sq)? 4 free French (FNFL) fought on the BATTLER and the INDOMITABLE (July to October 43). I try to find the registrations of their planes (serial and code ops). And if not, do you know where we can find this information? Thank you in advance! Pilots are Roland CLAUDE 807Sq HMS Indomitable ou Battler. MIA 14.07.43 Pierre BERGEROT alias BILLART de NORBERT 807Sq HMS Indomitable ou Battler KIA 14-08-1943 Francis DELERY 807 Squadron Hms BATTLER jusqu'en OCT43 Gaston KERLAN 807 Squadron Hms BATTLER jusqu'en OCT43 Auguste Simon et Alfred Le Saint, were two mechanics assigned to French planes on the carrier. for DELERY and KERLAN they flew after 611 Squadron... and i look for their action in this squadron! There were 2/ I look for serialsand markings for Edward BRET (great french pilot)... on seafire at DDAY! (and lots of other stuff in a R-NAVY squadron) Arrived among the Free French after "TORCH" and in September 43 at Lee-on-Solent, HMS Daedalus within the 781 Southern Communications Squadron (SAR DUTIES), piloting Sea Hurricane Ib and Swordfish A great moment was the DADY, which saw Bret recognize Normandy in Seafire Ib. One of the tasks of the 781 Sq was to provide transport for Admiral Bertram Ramsey, the commander of the Allied naval forces. A special 781X Flight was created for this purpose, whose commander was the French Bret, appointed in August, probably unique in history at such a level! NOTA: BRET is 4,058 flight hours on 148 different types, for a total of 12,376 landings. If you find anything or if you know where I could go for help, you will save me! Thanks a lot! Now at the good place! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 Hello Pierre 66. HMS Battler (D18) - Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Battler_(D18) The second link mentions OPERATION TORCH. Please scroll down the article to read more. Armoured Aircraft Carriers https://www.armouredcarriers.com/seafire-operational-history Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 DELERY François... in French. http://www.cieldegloire.com/004_delery_f.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierre66 Posted November 22, 2020 Author Share Posted November 22, 2020 (edited) Thanks for the document... very interestiing! For the two aircraft carriers, I have no research problems and have found everything I need. For the operational lives of the 4 French 807 sq. Pilots too! I'm just trying to determine which are the 4 seafires they were flying on the INDOMITABLE: the serial number and the operational codes. I already know that they had the FNFL bowsprit painted under the windshield! Edited November 22, 2020 by pierre66 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 Britain's fleet air arm in world war ii schiffer's military history low res by Luis Carrasco - issuu https://issuu.com/luiscarrascovilla/docs/britain_s_fleet_air_arm_in_world_wa page 98 .... I did find photos of Seafires but I think you may have seen them. there were 3 in a group but flying from another HMS ship.. not HMS Indomitable.. MY search gas been exhausted.. gave you tried E- mailing the Imperial War Museum and asked them the question about the Seafires. I bet they will have gotten the information you need. enjoy your search Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/supermarine-seafire?mediatype=photography&phrase=supermarine seafire&sort=best 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 These are 881 Sq Seafires very early 1943. Apart from the Admiral and his Firefly model, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 Throwing an @iang on here, because he's the first one I think of for FAA matters. (Not done earlier only because of technical (aka mental) difficulties.) bob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iang Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 Sorry - I can't help. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 (edited) This is all Sturtivant's FAA Aircraft 1939-45 has to say about the pilots on your list. Lt RLA Claude: killed 14/8/43 flying u/i Seafire of 807 Sq, HMS BATTLER. Forced landing in sea embarking from North Front (Gibraltar). PMP P DELERY: flying Spitfire Ia X4336 of 759 Sq, Yeovilton 29/1/43 when undercarriage collapsed on landing. LtdV AE BRET: flew Swordfish V4483 of 739 Sq 9/6/43 while detached to RAE for TR.1460 tests. No trace on any of the others: they obviously didn't prang enough aircraft! PS Sturtivant's FAA Squadrons records that 807 Sq received new Seafire L.IIc s on 13 May 1943. The squadron operated from Indomitable during the Sicily landings, transferring to Battler after Indomitable was damaged by a torpedo on 16 July 1943. The squadron then covered the Salerno landings from Battler. Edited November 24, 2020 by Seahawk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierre66 Posted November 24, 2020 Author Share Posted November 24, 2020 2 hours ago, Seahawk said: This is all Sturtivant's FAA Aircraft 1939-45 has to say about the pilots on your list. Lt RLA Claude: killed 14/8/43 flying u/i Seafire of 807 Sq, HMS BATTLER. Forced landing in sea embarking from North Front (Gibraltar). PMP P DELERY: flying Spitfire Ia X4336 of 759 Sq, Yeovilton 29/1/43 when undercarriage collapsed on landing. LtdV AE BRET: flew Swordfish V4483 of 739 Sq 9/6/43 while detached to RAE for TR.1460 tests. No trace on any of the others: they obviously didn't prang enough aircraft! PS Sturtivant's FAA Squadrons records that 807 Sq received new Seafire L.IIc s on 13 May 1943. The squadron operated from Indomitable during the Sicily landings, transferring to Battler after Indomitable was damaged by a torpedo on 16 July 1943. The squadron then covered the Salerno landings from Battler. Thank you Seahawk. You give me elements i have no collected... But "how is possible to see document of Sicily opetation losses?" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 bump. in case you've not seen it Pierre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince29 Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Good evening Pierre, I'm doing historical research on these 4 French pilots. Would you accept to contact me about what you found on them? I'm realizing this study for the ARDHAN association. Merci Vincent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Howard Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 At some stage we have seen Bret's logbook and made a summary of the notable entries. However this won't necessarily give the precise info you're looking for as it was in the days before access to easy copying methods; also, I don't have access to it at the moment. I'll try and remember to add it to my list of things to dig out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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