Focke Wulf vs P47 4th June 1943

[Susie Scott]

I noticed that there were some discussions regarding the captured Focke Wulf and a P-47. My husband's grandfather, Herbert Scott 'Susie' Sewell AFC DFC, was assigned testing of the captured Focke Wulf when he worked for the AFDU at Duxford and took it up on 4th June 1943 for a 'dogfight' with a P47 - twice! His log book doesn't tell me any more than that.

Some posts have noted that there are notes (AFDU records? - please tell me how to find them) concerning the Focke Wulf being flown by a pilot with 17 months of combat experience. This sounds about right for Scott.

Scott went on to work with Fighter Command and it looks like he may have been training pilots at Ouston. He left the RAF in 1946 as a Squadron Leader. However, we do not know what he was doing around either D-Day or VE Day and his war record doesn't give much away. Can anyone help?

 

[SaparotRob]

Great post! I'm sure there are a few here who can help you.

 

[Susie Scott]

Great post! I'm sure there are a few here who can help you.

Thank you! It would be lovely to piece together a little more about Scott post-AFDU. Given that he had done so much surveillance (there's some aerial photographs of him taken from an aircraft flying above his), and him being able to fly a Lysander, I've often wondered if he had something to do with SOE. At the very least, his aircraft knowledge and flying experience (is there anything he didn't fly?!) would put him in a very good position to offer advice for D-Day.

Scott went on to become a much-loved headteacher in Darlington. He died in 1975 on my husband's 5th birthday, an early death ascribed to smoking - and 8G!

He is referenced a number of times in Len Thorne's book 'A Very Unusual Air War' who documents their time together at AFDU (although it wasn't Len flying the P-47 on June 4th 1943).

 

[Andy Fletcher]

I noticed that there were some discussions regarding the captured Focke Wulf and a P-47. My husband's grandfather, Herbert Scott 'Susie' Sewell AFC DFC, was assigned testing of the captured Focke Wulf when he worked for the AFDU at Duxford and took it up on 4th June 1943 for a 'dogfight' with a P47 - twice! His log book doesn't tell me any more than that.

Some posts have noted that there are notes (AFDU records? - please tell me how to find them) concerning the Focke Wulf being flown by a pilot with 17 months of combat experience. This sounds about right for Scott.

Scott went on to work with Fighter Command and it looks like he may have been training pilots at Ouston. He left the RAF in 1946 as a Squadron Leader. However, we do not know what he was doing around either D-Day or VE Day and his war record doesn't give much away. Can anyone help?

Hi Susie,

I can't help with your request for info on the AFDU but note with interest that he was at 8(C) OTU at Dyce between Feb44 and May44. This unit was responsible for the operational training of photo recce and met recce pilots/crews prior to posting to front line units. I believe he was he doing a conversion course rather than being an instructor and I have come across a few mentions of F/L Sewell with 'C' Flt which would mean he was converting to Mosquitos. Can you confirm this from his log book please? The ORB lists him as being posted to HQ ADGB on 19May44 which ties in with the Record of Service page above. The main focus of my research is on RAF photo recce operations and aircrew during WWII so when I saw he was at 8(C) OTU it peeked my interest.

Best regards

Andy Fletcher

 

[Susie Scott]

Hi Susie,

I can't help with your request for info on the AFDU but note with interest that he was at 8(C) OTU at Dyce between Feb44 and May44. This unit was responsible for the operational training of photo recce and met recce pilots/crews prior to posting to front line units. I believe he was he doing a conversion course rather than being an instructor and I have come across a few mentions of F/L Sewell with 'C' Flt which would mean he was converting to Mosquitos. Can you confirm this from his log book please? The ORB lists him as being posted to HQ ADGB on 19May44 which ties in with the Record of Service page above. The main focus of my research is on RAF photo recce operations and aircrew during WWII so when I saw he was at 8(C) OTU it peeked my interest.

Best regards

Andy Fletcher

Hi Andy,

Sorry I missed this! Thank you for your interest in Scott. He did indeed fly reconnaissance missions and we have a couple of photos, taken from a plane flying closely above him, that seem to confirm this from 'The Aeroplane'. Unfortunately, I don't think they are dated and there's no information in his log book. There's some research attached, kindly undertaken by the Public Record Office, that might confirm the date. I've also attached some photos. You'll see Al Deere in one of them who I think may have trained Scott when they were both at Catterick and the other (now quite 'famous' in its colourised form on the interweb, which shows 54 Squadron. The dog was called Crash!

Best regards,

Susie

 

[Gnomey]

Good stuff!