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Does your friend have access to her dad's log books. We might be able to find a photo of his aircraft or maybe she already has one
If you have a name, squadron and rough date of the crash the aircraft serial may be in the Operational Record Book for the squadron. Happy to look it up.Hi, first, thanks for the info...I will ask regarding the log books.. She may also have a pic of him standing along side with a tail number....
The last aircraft listed just had a landing accident on July 7 and won't be on display for a while.
Spitfire F Mk.Vc AR614 (N614VC). Owned by the Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum in Everett, Washington. It was built in 1942 by Westland Aircraft and was delivered to 312 (Czech) Squadron. In 1945 it became an instructional airframe and remained that way until sold to a Canadian Museum in 1963.[276] It became airworthy in the 1990s before joining FHCAM in 1999 in its 312 Squadron markings.
Spitfire LF Mk.IXc MK923 (N521R). On display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington following acquisition in 2000. This Spitfire was formerly owned by the late actor Cliff Robertson. From 1972 until 1994, it was flown by Jerry Billing, a Canadian Second World War Spitfire pilot, until he retired from flying Spitfires at age 75. Billing set a record for most Spitfire experience while flying this Spitfire (521⁄2 years).[304] During Robertson's ownership and Billing's pilot tenure with MK923, the aircraft was mainly based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It wears the markings and codes it wore when serving with No. 126 Squadron at RAF Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire in mid to late 1944 as 5J-Z.
Spitfire LF Mk.IXe SL633 (N633VS). Owned by John Sessions with the Historic Flight Foundation and based at Felts Field, Spokane Washington. A historic machine that has served with the Royal Air Force, the Czechoslovakian Air Force, the fledgeling Israeli Air Force, and finally the Burmese Air Force. It wears its markings of the Czechoslovakian Air Force as JT-10 of the 4th Air Regiment.[309] The Spitfire suffered a landing accident on 7 July 2023, sustaining damage to the propeller, gear and underside of the aircraft.
Ok, checked with his daughter and was granted permission to list personal info...Pilot's name was Phillip Parker. He was testing an aircraft and crashed in Malta late 1943 or early 1944. He moved to Mesa Arizona and was an instructor at Thunderbird Field which I think is now Falcon Field. His son has his log books, so more info coming.If you have a name, squadron and rough date of the crash the aircraft serial may be in the Operational Record Book for the squadron. Happy to look it up.
Greetings, can you verify he was shot down please. Daughter does not think so..Also, any pics??
Been scanning through 126 sqn ORB's but have had no luck yet as I have run out of credits with National Archives. Did a bit more digging and found the letters on the link below. Seems that he returned to the US in April 1944.
Wouldn't be easier to find out if the father had all fingers? The note there mentions he lost a finger being injured.
Just noticed that on the second letter the postmark is "Chester" which probably means that he was at 57 Operational Training Unit when the letter was written. 57OTU was at Hawarden, ChesterGood morning, and again, thank you for all of the information! The father was missing a thumb from the crash. The date of birth is wrong, he was born July 31, 1922.
Did some more digging as the Form 540 Operational Record Book and Form 541 Detail of work carried out seemed more than a bit lacking in detail and found the attached in the appendices. Seems that the records were constructed retrospectively in Feb 1944 therefore the details of the accident may not be entirely accurate. I looked back at the aircraft flown by Sgt. Parker and there seems to be large gaps in the records.I'm looking at the "crash" report. It appears it was engine failure and not enemy fire, correct??
Thank you for the update!Did some more digging as the Form 540 Operational Record Book and Form 541 Detail of work carried out seemed more than a bit lacking in detail and found the attached in the appendices. Seems that the records were constructed retrospectively in Feb 1944 therefore the details of the accident may not be entirely accurate. I looked back at the aircraft flown by Sgt. Parker and there seems to be large gaps in the records.