Looking for WW2 Spitfires

While I am waiting to purchase your book, can you please tell me where BL585 crashed?
Thanks

Aspull, Near Wigan.

08-10-1942: Awarded Cross of Valour. Can anyone tell me what this was for?
Polish authorities announce award of V.M. to S/Ldr Zak, and K.W. to F/Os Budzik, Paley, and P/O Mach. Accordingly slight alteration in the Mess.
http://orb.polishaf.pl/308sqn/1942/1942-10-no-308-squadron-f540

While I am waiting to purchase your book, can you please tell me where BL585 crashed?
Thanks

Thank you for this information. Unfortunately we do not have his flight log book. He spoke about his time in the Air Force very rarely. We have only odd snippets of information that we have found when clearing out old family paper-work

Is Paley the anglicised spelling of Palej? Anyway the above photograph and another of him alone with JH-Z can be found in the publication ‘Spit and Polish’. http://www.aviationbookcentre.com/__12_product_info3_asp4_5_prdID4_18317_prdName5_Spit_54__Polish._RAF_Polish_Squadrons_in_Support_of_D-Day_19440_5_usrID36_8E17762B-8C86-464D-BED3-7AF50DC801912.html

Yes it is

Is Paley the anglicised spelling of Palej? Anyway the above photograph and another of him alone with JH-Z can be found in the publication ‘Spit and Polish’. http://www.aviationbookcentre.com/__12_product_info3_asp4_5_prdID4_18317_prdName5_Spit_54__Polish._RAF_Polish_Squadrons_in_Support_of_D-Day_19440_5_usrID36_8E17762B-8C86-464D-BED3-7AF50DC801912.html

The man in question (sat on prop) 317 Squadron, MH846 JH-Z. ALG Chailey, May 1944.

My father-in-law, F/O Paley, flew for the Polish Airforce in the UK. I am trying to find out about a number of different Spitfires that he flew.
On the 8th & 15th of November 1941 we have records of him flying No: P3941, then later in 1941 P3798.
He was the pilot that bailed out of BL585 on 13-02-1942 while in the 308 squadron.
12-04-1944, flying a Spitfire Mk V; W3954, he had a forced landing due to a fuel failure and put the plane down in a field while on a flight from York to Cranfield? It may be that the field was near Market Harborough.
08-06-1944 he was shot down over Normandy and was taken as a POW near Tessy sur Vire, France
Any further information would be greatly appreciated
etsah57

On 11 July 1941 P/O Paley had a landing accident in P8579 RF-V in 303 Sqn (accident report said: “unable to retract u/c on t/o, overshot landing, flaps failed, no blame on pilot”).
In my notes I have him also flying R6773 RF-P and X4411 RF-R in the same unit.
Those 1941 ones were W3941 and W3798, respectively (P3941 and P3798 were no Spitfires).
On 20 September 1941 he was forced to land W3941 at another airfield while returning to Northolt from Circus 100.
He flew W3798 on 24 October 1941, and on 15 November this Spitfire was flown by F/Lt Poplawski when it suffered cat. B damage at Northolt upon return from Ramrod 10.
On 25 July 1943 he flew BL406 when, in the words of the ORB ‘because of a defect in the drop tanks had to land immediately after taking off’.
In 308 he also flew AB273 and BL525.
The location of his crash landing in W3954 was quoted as C0CK ABINGDON FARM, although the accident report said that he collided with some cows on the ground.
On 8 June 1944 his aircraft was ML310 JH-J.
I presume you don’t have access to his personal flying log book? His operations flying log for 308 and 317 Sqns can be assembled from ORB entries, although for 1944 these will include code letters rather than serials.
For the period he spent with 303 in 1941 a complete list of all his flights, both operational and non-operational can be found in the ORB.

Jamie Oliver wants to know if it is a battery farm or free range reared male chicken?

W3954 came down at **** Abingdon Farm, Hallaton, Market Harborough

I see the editing software has removed the first word. Anyway it is a male chicken.

regards

DaveW

08-06-1944 he was shot down over Normandy and was taken as a POW near Tessy sur Vire, France
Any further information would be greatly appreciated
etsah57

This was in Spitfire ML310

Image

F/O Palej

[QUOTE=etsah57;1216420]My father-in-law, F/O Paley, flew for the Polish Airforce in the UK. I am trying to find out about a number of different Spitfires that he flew.
He was the pilot that bailed out of BL585 on 13-02-1942 while in the 308 squadron.

Hello etsah57

We did indeed excavate the crash site of BL585 – took us nearly five years to track it down – Full account in my book North West Aircraft Wrecks & will be on our website soon as well. Display will also be placed at the Millom Museum.

In the meantime here are the largest bits we found!

My father-in-law, F/O Paley, flew for the Polish Airforce in the UK. I am trying to find out about a number of different Spitfires that he flew.
On the 8th & 15th of November 1941 we have records of him flying No: P3941, then later in 1941 P3798.
He was the pilot that bailed out of BL585 on 13-02-1942 while in the 308 squadron.
12-04-1944, flying a Spitfire Mk V; W3954, he had a forced landing due to a fuel failure and put the plane down in a field while on a flight from York to Cranfield? It may be that the field was near Market Harborough.
08-06-1944 he was shot down over Normandy and was taken as a POW near Tessy sur Vire, France
Any further information would be greatly appreciated
etsah57

We have the remains of BL585 (spent 5 years research on this one) and some information/photos of him

It also features in our book

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/lait/site/NorthWestAircraftWrecks.htm