Chris Henschke Posted 7 December , 2007 Share Posted 7 December , 2007 During the morning of 12 August 1918, 43 Battalion AIF mopped up Mericourt-sur-Somme. No. 13 Platoon of D Coy found a British aircraft on the ground North of the village. The body of the airman was found nearby. The number of the aircraft was 2396. The airman appeared to have been dead about 7 days. Can anyone identify anything more from this information? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Bailey Posted 7 December , 2007 Share Posted 7 December , 2007 Chris Don't know if this is correct but here goes. B2396 was a Sopwith Camel 1F.1 Alternatively it could have been E2396 but that was a Bristol Fighter F2B. Similarly D2396 was also a Bristol Fighter in the final batch of RFC allocations. F2396 was a Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe. Bearing in mind the lateness in the war and the drawing it is likely to be the Snipe. Gunner Bailey (waiting to be shot down!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Henschke Posted 7 December , 2007 Author Share Posted 7 December , 2007 Thanks Gunner, Is the Red/White/Red identification normal for that period? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 7 December , 2007 Share Posted 7 December , 2007 B2396 was a Sopwith Camel 1F.1 Alternatively it could have been E2396 but that was a Bristol Fighter F2B. Similarly D2396 was also a Bristol Fighter in the final batch of RFC allocations. F2396 was a Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe. Bearing in mind the lateness in the war and the drawing it is likely to be the Snipe. As only one body found this would suggest a single seater. Howerever not sure why Gunner assumes a Snipe as at this date Camels were in wide scale use as ground attack fighters. Even by the end of the war threre were probably many more Camels in action than Snipes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted 7 December , 2007 Share Posted 7 December , 2007 On 8th August, Sopwith Camel B2396 flown by 2LtHE Hudson of 80 Squadron left Bray on an Offensive Patrol at 09.45 and was reported mia. The marking depicted is new to me - possibly a "flight" or a personal marking as the squadron marking at this time was supposed to be a thin white band round the fuselage just forward of the tail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex revell Posted 7 December , 2007 Share Posted 7 December , 2007 On 8th August, Sopwith Camel B2396 flown by 2LtHE Hudson of 80 Squadron left Bray on an Offensive Patrol at 09.45 and was reported mia. The marking depicted is new to me - possibly a "flight" or a personal marking as the squadron marking at this time was supposed to be a thin white band round the fuselage just forward of the tail. I agree with Mike that it was Hudson of 80 Sqdn. The marking of a white bar on a red background is certainly one for those interested in personal markings. As Mike says, the sqdn marking of 80 Sqdn was a white band just in front of the tailplane. A very interesting and moving little souvenir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Johnson Posted 7 December , 2007 Share Posted 7 December , 2007 Hudson in buried in Heath Cemetery Harbonnieres, 7.1 km (driving) from Mericourt-sur-Somme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Henschke Posted 7 December , 2007 Author Share Posted 7 December , 2007 Thanks for looking up the answer for me. I rarely wander into the air section but my questions have always been concisely answered. Another piece in the jigsaw solved. Chris Henschke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Bailey Posted 7 December , 2007 Share Posted 7 December , 2007 As only one body found this would suggest a single seater. Howerever not sure why Gunner assumes a Snipe as at this date Camels were in wide scale use as ground attack fighters. Even by the end of the war threre were probably many more Camels in action than Snipes. Hi Centurian. I assumed that the Snipe may have been more current than that Reg Camel. I was just working from the RFC/RAF registration book. At least I did find the right plane in the 4. Glad that Mike had the right information. Gunner Bailey (Partly shot down!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 7 December , 2007 Share Posted 7 December , 2007 Gunner Bailey (Partly shot down!) Merely singed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Henschke Posted 7 December , 2007 Author Share Posted 7 December , 2007 So where was 80 Sqn on 8 August, 1918? It couldn't have been Bray-sur-Somme as it would have been behind the German front line until late August. Perhaps Bray refers to the area for the offensive patrol. Or is there another Bray? Chris Henschke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted 8 December , 2007 Share Posted 8 December , 2007 So where was 80 Sqn on 8 August, 1918? Chris No 80 Sqn RAF was based at Vignacourt from 4 to 31 August 1918. I hope this helps. Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Henschke Posted 8 December , 2007 Author Share Posted 8 December , 2007 Thanks Gareth Chris Henschke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now