World War 2 Trivia

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Just to keep this show on the road, the name of the world famous author who flew with Pat Pattle, Cherry Vale and Ape Cullen?
 
Sorry to everyone, they don't call me Old Drifter fur notin you know... Anywho easy one, in 3 parts, Who, When, Where, How. The first American killed in WWII
 
As the first military death I'll go for Capt. Robert Losey, 21st April 1940,Dombas, Norway, by the Luftwaffe.

I seem to remember something about an American being killed by the Russians in Finland, but not the details.

Cheers

Steve
 
What was the first German aircraft downed by the British in aerial combat during WW2? Who shot it down? What were they flying? Where did it go down? What happened next?

Cheers

Steve
 
Ok.......................................now we have pull out ALL of the history books.:lol: :scratch:


Yep! I'm not counting an alleged victory confirmed by the French for a Fairey Battle. The one I'm counting was confirmed by the Royal Navy a few days later. The RN took plenty of photographs to prove it :)

Cheers

Steve
 
It's kind of a tie depending on your terminology. I find two that might qualify taking the begining of WWII as the German invasion of Poland
Section Lt Hieronim Dudwal scored a kill on an He-111 bomber on 1 Sept 1939 while flying a PZL P.11C. Not sure if that was the first one.
Also on 1 September 1939, Stanisław Skalski,142nd Fighter Squadron, attacked a German Henschel Hs 126 reconnaissance aircraft, which was eventually shot down by Marian Pisarek, and then landed next to it and helped to bandage an injured crewman.
If we're talking BoB then the first German aircraft to be shot down in England was a He111 on the 3rd Feb 1940 from II Gruppe of the ' Lion Geshwader' (KG26). It was shot down by Hurricanes from Blue Section, 43 Sqn. Their leader being Peter Townsend, the other pilots being Folkes and Sgt Hallows. It crash landed a mile or two from Whitby Town. Oberserver Peter Leushake and flight mechanic Johann Meyer were killed. Pilot Hermann Wilms and gunner Karl Missy survived although Karl Missy lost his legs through his injuries.
 
As the first military death I'll go for Capt. Robert Losey, 21st April 1940,Dombas, Norway, by the Luftwaffe.

I seem to remember something about an American being killed by the Russians in Finland, but not the details.

Cheers

Steve
I think I saw this in a TV doc a while back, if my memory serves me right there was an American ambulance unit that operated with the Finns and at least one of it's drivers was killed by the Russians. Going back even further into my memory banks, I think this ambulance unit consisted of people who volunteered on exclusively humanitarian grounds to help the wounded etc, none were combatants.
 
Yep! I'm not counting an alleged victory confirmed by the French for a Fairey Battle. The one I'm counting was confirmed by the Royal Navy a few days later. The RN took plenty of photographs to prove it :)

Cheers

Steve
A Do 18 was shot down by 3 Blackburn Skuas of the 803 NAS from the carrier HMS Ark Royal over the North Sea on the 26th September 1939
 
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Yep! I'm not counting an alleged victory confirmed by the French for a Fairey Battle. The one I'm counting was confirmed by the Royal Navy a few days later. The RN took plenty of photographs to prove it :)

Cheers

Steve
I know the first British shooting down of German aircraft was achieved by a rather unlikely type of aircraft, but which one? Going by your mention of the Royal Navy having took plenty of photographs to confirm the kill I assume that the German aircraft must have ditched at sea and stayed afloat for a few days, which means the German aircraft must have been a flying boat and the British aircraft most probably a Blackburn Skua.
 
A Do 18 was shot down by 3 Blackburn Skuas of the 803 NAS from the carrier HMS Ark Royal over the North Sea on the 26th September 1939
Sorry, I must have been writing at the same time as you.
 
I'd go with Redcoat's answer.

If we're talking BoB then the first German aircraft to be shot down in England was a He111 on the 3rd Feb 1940 from II Gruppe of the ' Lion Geshwader' (KG26). It was shot down by Hurricanes from Blue Section, 43 Sqn. Their leader being Peter Townsend, the other pilots being Folkes and Sgt Hallows. It crash landed a mile or two from Whitby Town. Oberserver Peter Leushake and flight mechanic Johann Meyer were killed. Pilot Hermann Wilms and gunner Karl Missy survived although Karl Missy lost his legs through his injuries.

Just a wee edition to your post, Mike. The first German aircraft to be brought down over Britain was two Ju 88s of I/KG 30 shot down over the Firth of Forth by Spitfires of 602 and 603 Sqns on 16 October 1939. The aircraft shot down by George Pinkerton of 602 Sqn went down into the sea in the Forth; the other was brought down in the sands off Port Seton. I former colleague of mine did a dig many years ago and recovered a fuel tank and other small items from that one.

A couple of weeks later on 28 October 1939 the first German aircraft to be brought down and crash on British soil was shot down in the same vicinity over the Firth of Forth; the He 111 being pursued by a Spitfire of 602 Sqn. It crashed near the village of Humbie in Scotland.
 
Mike, if you are referring to the Battle of Britain, then February 1940 certainly does not count as the period for the Battle, the official dates of which are July to October 1940. In February, the BEF and some RAF Hurricane squadrons were still on the Continent, with the BoB not commencing until after the withdrawal from Dunkirk.
 
Terry that is what the text stated and you are totally correct about Battle of Britian and its dates. The only other reference I have to 3 Feb 1940 is this:
British minesweepers HMS Sphinx, Speedwell and Skipjack, sweeping the mouth of Moray Firth, are attacked by German bombers.
The He111 certainly qualifies as a fast medium bomber. Could British fighters been called to the minesweepers aid shooting down one of the He111?
 

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