Eiffel Tower

[Aozora]

One suspect that old boy is thinking about Commander A. K. Gatward of No. 404 Squadron.....
It was on the 12th of June '42, when he flew (Sgt. G. F. Fern was his navigator) Beaufighter T4800, ND-C, at deck height through Paris, dropped the French tricolour over the Arc de Triomphe, then cannon blast the Gestapo HQ, which was located in the Ministry of Marine building....

Aeroplane Monthly March 2010:

Gatward and Fern:

 

[mhuxt]

I see the inevitable cries of "Photoshop!" have appeared on another board re: the pic I posted. If it is a fake, both the photo and the pamphlet it was taken from pre-date Photoshop by some decades.

 

[GrauGeist]

The term "photoshop" has become the catchword for people who don't understand what they are looking at or won't take the time to learn/verify an image.

 

[Capt. Vick]

And there in lies the crux of the matter. Maybe...just maybe...we shouldn't let the truth get in the way of a good story.

 

[GrauGeist]

Robert Moriarty did it a few years ago in a few years ago in a Bonanza...

Plenty of room under there.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_txdqnVP3-c

 

[Lucky13]

Now, do it in a '51 or Mosquito at twice the speed.....simples!

 

[Airframes]

Well, a certain RAF Officer took a Hunter under Tower Bridge, 'JAS' Storrar took a Hurricane under a very narrow, and low bridge over the River Dee, near his home near Chester during WW2, which inspired the scene in 'Piece of Cake', where 'The Master', the late Ray Hannah, flew a Spitfire under a bridge over a narrow river gorge. So that massive arch of the Eifel Tower, in comparison, would have been relatively straight forward to a competent, experienced combat pilot of WW2 - although the flak would have been a d*mned nuisance, what!

 

[Lucky13]

Next time, a fully loaded Typhoon, Tempest or Beaufighter, if they throw stuff at you, you'll throw stuff, ie 60 lbs rockets, back at them when done, fair enough?

 

[Aozora]

I see the inevitable cries of "Photoshop!" have appeared on another board re: the pic I posted. If it is a fake, both the photo and the pamphlet it was taken from pre-date Photoshop by some decades.

Take a look at these postings: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/aviation/rcaf-409-nfs-3639.html#post218628
http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/aviation/rcaf-409-nfs-3639.html#post219465
http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/aviation/rcaf-409-nfs-3639-2.html#post497621

seems that the photo appeared in an official 409 Sqn book that was given to all squadron members just after the war; so if it was Photoshopped, it was done by Dr Who.

 

[mhuxt]

Yes indeed, first I heard of the pic was on ^that thread.

The whole 409 Sqn book forms part of this open archive doc here:

https://archive.org/details/Flt.lt.J.DeryckHore-KennardRcafJ.93091941-1945Records

The book is toward the end of the archive.

 

[drgondog]

Just for the record, Overstreet's sole credit for a 109 destroyed was at Merseberg July 29, 1944. For the Paris discussion I'm not sure when the Paris encounter took place but he either didn't make a claim or the damaged claim was disallowed.

On April 11 he was credited with three damaged Bf 109s near Hannover.

 

[Njaco]

Some pics of the tower at ground level taken during the war to give some scale...

.

 

[Mike Williams]

Fwiw, the 357th Fighter Group engaged in combat low over Paris on 25 July 1944:
Capt. John F. Pugh, Encounter Report - 25 July 1944
Capt. Robert W. Foy, Encounter Report - 25 July 1944
Capt. Donald W. Bochkay, Encounter Report - 25 July 1944
Capt. Leonard K. Carson, Encounter Report - 25 July 1944
Carson, Leonard K., Pursue Destroy, page 66

 

[swampyankee]

Well, since it seems it did happen, I am suitably chastised and quite surprised.

 

[stona]

Well, since it seems it did happen, I am suitably chastised and quite surprised.

I don't think that it's proven either way.
I don't know the origin of Overstreet's story. If it came from him I find it hard to believe that he didn't file a claim.
I am open minded about the story. It doesn't take much to go from a race 'past the Eiffel tower', as in one of the links given above, to a race through it. Things often alter for the better in the telling.
Cheers
Steve

 

[bobbysocks]

i had the honor to meet Mr. Overstreet once and converse with his on only a couple occasions. he had a very colorful career which included blacking out at 25,000 feet for 90 minutes...landing a plane with his eyes swollen shut...shooting down a 109 with vodka...and yes, flying under the tower. for the life of me i cannot recall the details of that episode but do know the camera footage was loaned to the navy for some reason and never returned. i posted below the first installment of a 5 part video interview...he may tell that story in its entirety there. (he tells the story in part 4 ). he will be missed.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hphm6a24eMU

 

[Njaco]

Thanks for the post Bobbysocks. I want to be as respectful as I can : Can you recall the story about blacking out for 90 minutes?

 

[GrauGeist]

A bullet severed his O2 and he regained consciousness before disaster got the better of him.

Being one of the first to survive a P-39's flat spin early in his career, you get the idea this man had angels on his shoulder.

 

[Njaco]

Well, my question is: does it take 90 minutes to flat spin down from 25,000 ft? That just doesn't seem right to me. But I may be wrong and again, no disrespect.

 

[GrauGeist]

Here's a good interview with him: WWII Veteran Aviator Bill Overstreet and His P-51 Mustang, "Berlin Express"

One thing I found out about the missing Bf109 claim, is that he never filed claims for victories. The ones that were to his credit, had been filed by others. The encounter with the Bf109 over Paris happened in spring. Still not sure of the date. Perhaps digging through Luftwaffe losses that occurred in Paris proper for that time period might yeild some results?

Also a neat fact, was that his aircraft always had whitewall tires and red wheels