Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules
From what I understand a P47 also laid claim but Rommel stated it was a Spit so I would guess it was confirmed after they read or had intelligence on Rommels statement . What RCAF bomber sqn in the Burma I'm aware 435-437 transprt squadrons and 413 was in Ceylon and detected the japanese fleet near Ceylon by AVM Birchell VC he lived about 10 miles away from me
Sure will he's quite the character we got him to be the announcer at our airshowNeil if you are going to see him please ask how many missions flown in his sq. in the ETO. All with Spits and what marks in 44-45. Any aerial kills in the ETO and or pacific ?
E ~
There are couple of survivors of B24 maybe 360 sqn SEAC my Dad plays cards with and Ju88 radar operatorSorry, PB, my sloppy typing is really going to get me into trouble one day. I was talking about the RCAF in the Liberator Squadrons in SEAC.
I'm currently reading the first volume of "Burma Liberators: RCAF in SEAC".
Is there an emoticon for slapped wrist?
Squadron Leader J J Le Roux, Commanding Officer of No 602 Squadron RAF in the cockpit of his Supermarine Spitfire Mark IX, "Betty", at B11/Longues, Normandy.
Le Roux, a South African, joined No. 73 Squadron RAF in France in 1940. He was shot down twelve times, but enjoyed better luck with No. 91 Squadron in 1941 and 1942, shooting down 8 enemy aircraft before joining No. 111 Squadron RAF in North Africa.
He ended his second tour in command of the Squadron. Followng a rest from operations he was given command of No. 602 Squadron in July 1944.
Le Roux is generally credited as the pilot who attacked and badly wounded Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel in his staff car on the road between Livarot and Vimoutiers on 17 July 1944, the day on which he also destroyed two Messerschmitt Bf 109s and damaged two more to bring his victory score to 23.5.
On 29 August 1944, Le Roux took off in bad weather to collect some beer for his Squadron from England, but was lost en route.
During the Battle of Britain 602 Spitfire Squadron was the longest serving squadron in the front line, had the second highest total of 'kills' and it claimed the lowest pilot loss rate of all. To this can be added the awarding of over a dozen DFC's and amongst its ranks the RAF's top scorer in the battle, Archie McKellar, DSO, DFC and Bar. Throughout the rest of the war 602 became the first unit to dive-bomb in Europe and they effectively put Rommel out of the war by shooting up his staff car in Normandy. Its story contains an account of the first German aircraft to fall, the first SPITFIRE night operation and the winning of the first DFC's of the fighter war.
I have more fuel for the fire on the Rommel story. I too read the recent story about Charlie Fox and found it of interest. I don't necessarily dispute what Mr. Fox had recorded that day in his flight log but is he the only one that noted a similar event? It is entirely possible there were several German staff cars travelling in this area of France on July 17th. I expect more than one would have been targeted by Allied pilots as targets of opportunity. I think the person who wrote the newspaper article (Mr. Lavigne) should at least indicate if there were other possibilities - and there is at least one other. I submit the following official record (Mention in Dispatches) relating 4 members of 193 Squadron who were also credited for injurying Rommel:
"SWITZER, F/L William Alexander (J21618 ) Mention in Despatches - Overseas - Award effective 1 January 1946 as per London Gazette of that date and
AFRO 155/46 dated 15 February 1946. Home in Edson, Alberta; enlisted in Edmonton, 11 July 1941. Trained at No.4 ITS (graduated 2 January 1942), No.18
EFTS (graduated 13 March 1942) and No.1 SFTS (graduated 17 July 1942). Arrived in UK 19 August 1942; No.7 (P) AFU, 4 September 1942; No.56 OTU,
28 September 1942; No.193 Squadron 15 December 1942. Injured in action, 15 August 1944. Participated in attack which may have injured Rommell, 17 July
1944 (others were J17690 F/L R.W. Davidge, R132595 WO1 A.W.E. Sugden and J85756 F/L G.E. Langille, all of No.193 Squadron, a Typhoon unit). See
Wing Abroad, 26 October 1944."
Given that there are at least two official accounts linking two different Squadrons to Rommel's injuries, I think it would be prudent to acknowledge both. If Mr. Lavigne had thoroughly researched Squadron 193's official logs then he may have written a slightly differrent article.