The wing section was at the Tangmere Museum before it was sold to America.
SB

A lot of the original negatives held at the IWM are still on glass. I am sure if you asked them they would tell you how they do it. I am thinking that probably the best approach is to have a paper print made first from the glass.

Steve

Thanks Jerry we will need to see what we can find…

Watch out for the giant halibut!

Steve

Hi VoyTech

I did not intend to ignore SR419 I definitely think the serial looks more like a ‘9’ than a ‘5’. My feeling is, given the appearance of the Fw190, that the photo is more likely to be taken after the end of the War. According to the movement card SR419 was CatAC/hit by flak on 4/4/45 and then CatE on 31/5/45.

Steve

I am not sure it is going to be easy to nail this for sure. The Mustang appears to have reduced type-identity markings with just a white spinner which suggests that it was operating later in the War after Autumn 1944. I can’t interpet the info on the Czech website and don’t know where it comes from.

In the published history of 315Sqn by VoyTech and Co there are four Mustangs identified as possibly coded PK*D FB170, FB162, FB369 and FB385 three of these a/c survived the War FB369 was CatB in UK in Mar45 and subsequently SOC. VoyTech and Co list FB225 as a 315Sqn a/c but they do not identify a code letter for it. The recording of the 315 Sqn ORB is not very helpful to us modern day nerds mostly the a/c are listed only by code letter but from the beginning of Feb45 the a/c are listed by the numerals of the RAF serial.

On 21/2/45 133 Wing, including 315 Sqn, engaged the GAF over Osnabruck and the ORB records that two pilots were missing F/Sgt J Donocik flying ‘369’ and Sgt T Kostuch flying ‘846’. FB369 and HB846 are both recorded on charge to 315Sqn but neither a/c is recorded as lost on 21/2/45. On the Polish Squadrons Remembered website Donocik is listed as KIA and Kostuch as PoW. Unhelpfully the two 315Sqn Mustangs listed as missing on 21/2/45 on aircraft movement cards are FX939 and FB225. It seems to me that the appearance of PK*D suggests that it was an a/c that was force-landed and the pilot taken PoW rather than an a/c in which the pilot was killed.

Steve

There are several photos of 56OTU in the new Vol 4 of “2ndTAF” by Shores and Thomas.

Steve

“Farmer” Lawson

I think you will find that there are quite a few published sources that cover this period of 19Sqn operations and the Battle of Britain in particular:

“Spitfire Squadron” by Dilip Sarkar ISBN 1-871187-09-5 also
“Fighter Squadron” by Derek Palmer ISBN 1-85421-075-0

If you are going to publish a book then clearly you need to check out the 19Sqn Operations Record Book at the National Archives, Kew.

Steve