73 SQUADRON - Fighters, Hawker Hurricane Mk. 1
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On the outbreak of World War Two, No. 73 Sqdn. was one of the two Hurricane squadrons attached to the Advanced Air Striking Force and moved to France. After the German attack in May 1940, No 73 helped to cover Allied airfields and bases, falling back as its airfields were overrun by enemy columns. On 18 June, the squadron retired to England where it concentrated on night fighting during the Battle of Britain. Operations ceased on 20 October to allow No 73 to prepare for transfer to the Middle East.
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Operations and losses 10/05/1940 - 30/06/1940
(not all operations listed; those with fatal losses are)
10/05/1940: Interception, F. 1 a/c lost, 2 a/c damaged. 1 WIA
11/05/1940: Interception, F. 1 Plane lost
13/05/1940: Interception, F. 1 Plane lost, 1 WIA
14/05/1940: ?, F. 4 Planes lost, 3 KIA
15/05/1940:
Patrol, F. 2 Planes lost, 1 WIA
16/05/1940: Patrol, F
19/05/1940: Patrol, F
24/05/1940: Patrol Amiens, F. 1 Plane lost, 1 WIA
26/05/1940: ?, F. 1 Plane lost, 1 KIA
01/06/1940: Dunkirk, F. 1 Plane lost, 1 KIA
03/06/1940: ?, F. 1 Plane lost, 1 KIA
07/06/1940: accident, F. 1 Plane lost, 1 KIA
13/06/1940: Patrol, F.
1 Plane lost, 1 DOW
14/06/1940: Patrol, F.
1 Plane lost, 1 WIA
17/06/1940: sinking of the
RMS Lancastria. 6 KIA, 31 MIA
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Fatalities 01/01/1940 - 09/05/1940 (incomplete)
Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: N2364, TP-?
Operation: Patrol
Lost: 12/03/1940
Pilot Officer (Pilot) Lloyd G. Bishop, RAF 41657 (Canada), 73 Sqdn., age unknown, 12/03/1940, Chambieres French National Cemetery, Metz, France.
Dived into ground near St. Pivot, Moselle. Oxygen failure.
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Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: L1962, TP-?
Operation: ?
Lost: 12/03/1940
Sergeant L.J.W. Humphris - safe
Crashed near Metz
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Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: P2570, TP-?
Operation: ?
Lost: 29/03/1940
Pilot Officer (Pilot) James G. Perry, RAF 40424, 73 Sqdn., age 22, 29/03/1940, Chambieres French National Cemetery, Metz, France
Shot down by Oberlt Boenigk of 9./JG53 during attack on Do 17 of 2.(F)/22 and overturned forced-landing at Brienne-le-Château, 09.15 hrs.
Sources: CWGC; Peter D. Cornwell, The Battle of France, Then and Now, 2008; Norman L.R. Franks, Fighter Command Losses, Vol 1, 1939-1941, Second edition, Midland, 2008
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10/05/1940: Interception, F
Early in the day Flying Officer 'Cobber' Kain of No. 73 Squadron shot down one of nine Dornier 215s which he intercepted while on patrol over Metz. He dived on the enemy and singled out a Dornier for attack, but overshot. However, by turning quickly, he was able to attack and shoot down another bomber in the formation.
Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: N2318, TP-?
Operation: Patrol
Damaged: 10/05/1940
Sgt L.J.W. Humphris - unhurt
Took off from Etain-Rouvres. Believed returned damaged by return fire from Do17 of 4./KG3 engaged near base 05.00 hrs. Aircraft damaged but repairable.
Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: N2575, TP-J
Operation: Patrol
Damaged: 10/05/1940
F/O N. Orton - Safe
Took off from Etain-Rouvres. Glycol system and windscreen damaged by return fire from Do17 of 4./KG3 engaged over base 05.00 hrs. Forced-landed near Conflans-en-Jarnisy. Aircraft damaged but repairable.
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Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: N2804, TP-E
Operation: Patrol
Lost: 10/05/1940
F/L Reginald E. Lovett - Wounded - burned on face and hands.
Took off from Etain-Rouvres. Hit in glycol system by concentrated cross-fire from Do 17's of 4./KG3 attacked over base. Crash-landed in flames at Puxe and exploded 05.20 hrs. F/L Lovett was killed on 07/09/1940 in the Battle of Britain. He's buried at Hendon Cemetery, UK.
Sources: CWGC; Peter D. Cornwell, The Battle of France, Then and Now, 2008; Norman L.R. Franks, Fighter Command Losses, Vol 1, 1939-1941, Second edition, Midland, 2008; H.L. Thompson, New Zealanders with the Royal Air Force, Historical Publications Branch, Wellington (NZ), 1953
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11/05/1940: Interception, F
Shortly after 14.35 on 11 May, ten 73 Squadron Hurricanes were involved in combat with a formation of 30 He111Hs of II/KG53 plus an escort of BF110Cs of I/ZG2 near Mourmelon, together with Hurricanes from 501 Squadron. During this combat John Scoular claimed a Ju88. A little later the Bf110s were involved in combat with 1 Squadron's 'B' Flight and they claimed three of the German fighters. 73 Squadron claimed five of the raiders and 501 Squadron claimed four. II/KG53 lost three bombers and I/ZG2 lost two Bf110s.
Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: P2811, TP-?
Operation: Intercept
Lost: 11/05/1940
P/O A. McFadden - safe
Shot down by Me 110 of I/ZG2 and force-landed near Poilcourt.
Sources: Norman L.R. Franks, Fighter Command Losses, Vol 1, 1939-1941, Second edition, Midland, 2008; H.L. Thompson, New Zealanders with the Royal Air Force, Historical Publications Branch, Wellington (NZ), 1953
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13/05/1940: Interception, F
At 06.00 on 13 May a flight of Hurricanes took of from Reims-Champagne to intercept He111Ps of KG55 and Bf110Cs coming towards Reims. F/L John Scoular claimed one the Heinkels after having put both the engines of the enemy bomber out of action.
Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: L1673, TP-?
Operation: Patrol
Lost: 13/05/1940
P/O Roy A. Marchand, RAF 42070 - injured
crash-landed near Bétheniville after combat with Do 17 and Me 110's - believed abandoned. P/O Marchand was killed on 15/09/1940.
Sources: CWGC, Norman L.R. Franks, Fighter Command Losses, Vol 1, 1939-1941, Second edition, Midland, 2008; H.L. Thompson, New Zealanders with the Royal Air Force, Historical Publications Branch, Wellington (NZ), 1953
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14/05/1940: ?, F
Five Hurricanes of 73 Squadron scrambled at 11.45 on 14 May, in pursuit of bombers reported attacking a convoy on the Givet-Namur road. They however became involved in combat with German fighters and F/L Scoular claimed a Bf110 (possibly from III/ZG26) after having silenced the rear gunner and forced it to retire.
This operation is likely to be another operation than the one on which these men and planes were lost:
Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: P2689, TP-?
Operation: ?
Lost: 14/05/1940
Sergeant (Pilot) Leon G.M. Dibden, RAFVR 740433, 73 Sqdn., age 21, 73 Sqdn., 14/05/1940, Choloy War Cemetery, F
Shot down by Me 109 near Sean (Sedan?), at 15.30 hours.
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Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: P2812, TP-?
Operation: ?
Lost: 14/05/1940
Sergeant (Pilot) Thomas B.G. Pyne, RAF 565921, 73 Sqdn., age 24, 14/05/1940, Choloy War Cemetery, F
Shot down near Namur by Me 109 of JG52. Baled out but killed.
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Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: P2813, TP-?
Operation: ?
Lost: 14/05/1940
Pilot Officer (Pilot) Valcourt D.M. Roe, RAF 42530, 73 Sqdn., age 28, 14/05/1940, Choloy War Cemetery, F
Shot down in combat with Me 109's near Namur (Namen), Belgium.
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Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: PL1891, TP-?
Operation: ?
Lost: 14/05/1940
P/O A. McFadden - safe
Shot down by Do 17 of KG76. Crash-landed and lost.
Sources: CWGC, Norman L.R. Franks, Fighter Command Losses, Vol 1, 1939-1941, Second edition, Midland, 2008; H.L. Thompson, New Zealanders with the Royal Air Force, Historical Publications Branch, Wellington (NZ), 1953
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15/05/1940: Patrol, F
On a sortie at 18.20 on 15 May Squadron Leader J.W.C. More and F/L Scoular shared in the destruction of a He111. This was He111 A1+LK of 2/KG53 which crashed Grandpré, south-east of Vouziers. The pilot Oberleutant Walter Klue and one other were killed, while the remaining three members of the crew were captured.
Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: P2579, TP-?
Operation: Patrol
Lost: 15/05/1940
F/O Newell Orton, RAF 39330 - WIA
Bailed out after his aircraft was damaged in combat with Me-110's of ZG2. F/O Orton, DFM died as a S/L with 54 Squadron on 17/09/1940.
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Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: L1693, TP-?
Operation: Patrol
Lost: 15/05/1940
Sgt L.J. Humphries - safe
Baled out after his aircraft was damaged in combat with Me-110's of ZG2, west of Vouzières (= Vouziers).
Sources: CWGC, Norman L.R. Franks, Fighter Command Losses, Vol 1, 1939-1941, Second edition, Midland, 2008; H.L. Thompson, New Zealanders with the Royal Air Force, Historical Publications Branch, Wellington (NZ), 1953
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16/05/1940: Patrol, F
On the morning on 16 May F/L Scoular claimed a damaged He111 near Châlons-sur-Marne before 73 Squadron moved to Villeneuve.
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19/05/1940: Patrol, F
On a sortie at 11.00 on 19 May Scoular claimed a He111 which F/L Scoular saw dive with the tail falling to pieces. He also saw black objects, tied together, strung out astern. The Heinkel crashed near Berry-au-Bac. Later he got in three good bursts at another He111. The German bomber went down out of control near Reims. One of the Heinkels were credited to him as a shared with Sergeant Alf Marshall.
The aircraft attacked by 73 Squadron were probably Ju88s of I and II/KG51 although it is possible that some of the pilots may have encountered stray Heinkels from III/KG27 previously attacked by 1 Squadron. RAF claimed four bombers and one probable in this combat, while I and II/KG51 lost three Ju88s and got one damaged.
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24/05/1940: Patrol Amiens, F
Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: ?, TP-?
Operation: Patrol Amiens, F
Lost: 24/05/1940
F/O H B Bell-Syer bailed out after his aircraft was damaged in combat with a Me 110. Burned and hospitalised
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26/05/1940: ?, F
Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: ?, TP-?
Operation: ?
Lost: 26/05/1940
Pilot Officer (Pilot) Frank Sydenham, RAF (AAF) 77793, 73 Sqdn., age 26, 26/05/1940, Chuffilly-Roche Communal Cemetery, F
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01/06/1940: Dunkirk, F
Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: ?, TP-?
Operation: ?
Lost: 01/06/1940
Sergeant (Pilot) Wilfred Millner, RAF 580106, 73 Sqdn., age unknown, 01/06/1940, Terlincthun British Cemetery, Wimille, F
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03/06/1940: ?, F
Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: ?, TP-?
Operation: ?
Lost: 03/06/1940
Pilot Officer (Pilot)
Ian D. Hawken, RAF 82165, 73 Sqdn., age 24, 03/06/1940, Terlincthun British Cemetery, Wimille, F
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07/06/1940: accident, F
It was during the last days in France, on 5 June, that Flying Officer 'Cobber' Kain, whose No. 73 Squadron was one of the few fighter units left on the Continent, engaged in what was to be his last combat and shot down a Messerschmitt near Rheims. Two days later he was killed whilst enjoying a final flight over his own airfield before proceeding to England. He was carrying out aerobatics at a low level when a wing-tip of his Hurricane touched the ground and the machine cartwheeled across the airfield and was wrecked. During the early months of the war, when there was little activity in the air, Kain's exploits received phenomenal publicity in the press and he was acclaimed as the Empire's first air ace of the Second World War. This distinction still appears well justified and there is ample evidence that Kain's fine offensive spirit, together with his outstanding ability as a fighter pilot, was an inspiration not only to his fellow pilots but also to thousands of young men in his own country and, indeed, throughout the world.
The officer of Kain's squadron who compiled the combat reports and kept a record of his squadron's successes credits Kain with the destruction of at least 14 enemy aircraft, with several more probables.
See: Ciel de gloire
- Kain, Edgar James for photo of Edgar Kain.
Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: ?, TP-?
Operation: ?
Lost: 07/06/1940
Flying Officer (Pilot) Edgar J. Kain, RAF 39534, 73 Sqdn., DFC, age 21, 07/06/1940, Choloy War Cemetery, F
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13/06/1940: Patrol, F
Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: ?, TP-?
Operation: Patrol
Lost: 13/06/1940
Pilot Officer (Pilot) David N.W. Anthony, RAF 40655, 73 Sqdn., age unknown, 14/06/1940, Chateau Renault Communal Cemetery, F
Crashed on landing at Ruaudin on June 13, 1940, and was badly injured. P/O Anthony died the following day.
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14/06/1940: Patrol, F
Type: Hurricane Mk. I
Serial number: ?, TP-D
Operation: Patrol
Lost: 14/06/1940
Sergeant (Pilot) Alex L. McNay - WIA
Shot down by Bf109 following cover patrol for Battles over Les Andelys and belly-landed north of Le Mans 6.00 a.m. Sergeant A.L. McNay wounded in shoulder.
Alex McNay's own account dates this event June 13 although surviving squadron records and Squadron Leader More's report of operations in France both indicate otherwise.
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17/06/1940: Sinking of the Lancastria
The RMS Lancastria had embarked an unknown number (estimates range from 4,000 up to 9,000) of civilian refugees and RAF personnel. The ship's official capacity was 2,200. She was sunk off the French port of St. Nazaire while taking part in Operation Ariel, the evacuation of British nationals and troops from France, two weeks after the Dunkirk evacuation.
The sheer size of the Lancastria disaster and the fact that the troopship sank in the estuary of the River Loire, trapping many people inside the hull, means that a great many of the bodies were never recovered.
Buried in France:
Corporal Alfred Ashley, RAF 350089, 73 Sqdn., age 38, 17/06/1940, Pornic War Cemetery, F
Leading Aircraftman Lionel J. Crane, RAF 408226, 73 Sqdn., age 43, 17/06/1940, La Plaine-sur-Mer Communal Cemetery, F
Aircraftman 1st Class James E. Kent, RAF 624350, 73 Sqdn., age 34, 17/06/1940, Pornic War Cemetery, F
Corporal Ralph Moore, RAF 508119, 73 Sqdn, age 30, 17/06/1940, Pornic War Cemetery, F
Leading Aircraftman Henry C. Trahearn, RAF (AAF) 805215, 73 Sqdn, age 30, 17/06/1940, Escoublac-la-Baule War Cemetery, F
Aircraftman 1st Class Edward Tredgett, RAF 614428, 73 Sqdn, age 21, 17/06/1940, Pornic War Cemetery, F
Missing (commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial):
Aircraftman 1st Class Joseph E. Bardgett, RAF 542802, 73 Sqdn, age 20, 17/06/1940, missing
Leading Aircraftman George W. Bassam, RAF 510961, 73 Sqdn., age 30, 17/06/1940, missing
Corporal John R. Baxter, RAF 505311, 73 Sqdn., age 32, 17/06/1940, missing
Aircraftman 1st Class Thomas G. Booth, RAF 624402, 73 Sqdn., age 20, 17/06/1940, missing
Aircraftman 1st Class Arnold Boumphrey, RAF 624815, 73 Sqdn., age 22, 17/06/1940, missing
Aircraftman 1st Class Basil R. Cannar, RAFVR 940077, 73 Sqdn., age unknown, 17/06/1940, missing
Leading Aircraftman Harry D. Derwin, RAF 509271, 73 Sqdn., age 33, 17/06/1940, missing
Aircraftman 1st Class James E. Fothergill, RAF 212009, 73 Sqdn., age 46, 17/06/1940, missing
Corporal John Frost, RAF 505130, 73 Sqdn., age 34, 17/06/1940, missing
Corporal Charles A. Golding, RAF 509633, 73 Sqdn., age 31, 17/06/1940, missing
Corporal Reginald G.B. Grove, RAF 505901, 73 Sqdn., age 31, 17/06/1940, missing
Corporal Andrew G. Hamilton, RAF 561175, 73 Sqdn., age 29, 17/06/1940, missing
Leading Aircraftman William Hardisty, RAF 544667, 73 Sqdn., age 23, 17/06/1940, missing
Aircraftman 1st Class Thomas A. Hayes, RAF 624731, 73 Sqdn., age 34, 17/06/1940, missing
Leading Aircraftman Reginald A. Holland, RAF 253638, 73 Sqdn., age 40, 17/06/1940, missing
Leading Aircraftman William S. Honderwood, RAF 569469, 73 Sqdn., age 20, 17/06/1940, missing
Aircraftman 1st Class Owen Humphreys, RAF 639529, 73 Sqdn., age 21, 17/06/1940, missing
Leading Aircraftman James Hutchinson, RAF 357304, 73 Sqdn., age 34, 17/06/1940, missing
Corporal Fred Joy, RAF 347116,
73 Sqdn., age 38, 17/06/1940, missing Aircraftman 1st Class Marcus M. Lansdowne, RAF 278360, 73 Sqdn., age 40, 17/06/1940, missing
Aircraftman 1st Class Trevor D.S. Lloyd, RAF 613179, 73 Sqdn., age 19, 17/06/1940, missing
Leading Aircraftman Stephen J. Marron, RAF 536654, 73 Sqdn., age 25, 17/06/1940, missing
Aircraftman 2nd Class John H. Mawson, RAF 334379, 73 Sqdn., age 38, 17/06/1940, missing
Corporal Edward Petrie, RAF 358147, 73 Sqdn., age 36, 17/06/1940, missing
Aircraftman 1st Class Dennis J. Ramsey, RAF 551305, 73 Sqdn., age unknown, 17/06/1940, missing
Leading Aircraftman Ernest E. Rayner, RAF 354527, 73 Sqdn., age unknown, 17/06/1940, missing
Corporal George H. Rigby, RAF 354586, 73 Sqdn., age unknown, 17/06/1940, missing
Corporal John B. Rodgers, RAF 347547, 73 Sqdn., age 41, 17/06/1940, missing
Leading Aircraftman Andrew G. Roe, RAF 348238, 73 Sqdn., age 43, 17/06/1940, missing
Aircraftman 1st Class Harold W. Sellick, RAF 701311, 73 Sqdn., age 22, 17/06/1940, missing
Aircraftman 1st Class Keith M. Walker, RAF 570036, 73 Sqdn., age 18, 17/06/1940, missing
Source: Lancastria Victim List
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Sources
Bail-outs for 1940
Biplane Fighter Aces from the Second World War
Ciel de gloire - Squadron 73
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Fighter Command Air Combat Claims 1939-1945
Lancastria Victim List
H.L. Thompson, New Zealanders with the Royal Air Force, Historical Publications Branch, Wellington (NZ), 1953
Royal Air Force - 73 Squadron
RAF Museum: British Military Aviation in 1940
RAF Order of Battle, France, 10th May 1940
The Royal Air Force, 1939-1945
War over Holland
Books
Peter D. Cornwell, The Battle of France, Then and Now, 2008
Brian Cull 'Hurricanes over Tobruk' (Jan-June 1941) (Grub St 1999)
Norman L.R. Franks, RAF Fighter Command losses: Volume 1, 2nd edition, Midland, 2008
Errol Martyn, For Your Tomorrow - A record of New Zealanders who have died while serving with the RNZAF and Allied Air Services Since 1915 (Vol One: Fates 1915-1942)
D Minterne 'History of 73 Squadron' 3 vols 1917-69 (Tutor 1994-2000)
N Monks 'Squadrons Up' (1940)
N Monks 'Fighter Squadrons, the epic story of two Hurricane Squadrons in France' (1939-40) (Angus & Robertson 1942)
Links
Discussion Groups
Luftwaffe and Allied Air Forces Discussion Forum
RAF Commands Forum
RAF Commands Forum until November 2007
Other
Abbreviations used in the Royal Air Force
Air Aces
Airwar over Denmark
Allied World War II Casualties in the Netherlands
Armée de l'Air - Order of Battle, 10th May 1940
Australian Wargraves
Axis History Factbook
Battle-of-Britain.com
De Belgen in Engeland 1940-1945 (in Dutch)
Belgian Aviation History Association Archaeological Team
British Aircraft Directory
British Aviation Archaeological Council - Books and research links
Canada's Air Force History
HMS Cavalier
Ciel de Gloire (in French) RAF Squadrons
CWGC Cemeteries Germany
CWGC Cemeteries Netherlands
Czechoslovak airmen in the RAF 1940-1945
Danish WW2 Pilots
Dutch Pilots in RAF Squadrons
Eagles Squadrons (American pilots in the RAF)
Foreign Aircraft Landings in Ireland 1939-1946
Håkans aviation page (from Sweden, in English)
'High flight', poem by John Gillespie Magee
An Irish Airman Foresees His Death, poem by W.B. Yeats
Jagdgeschwader 27 (in German)
Luchtoorlog ('Arial War', in Dutch, with many photos)
Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth
The Luftwaffe, 1933-1945
Luftwaffe and Allied Air Forces Discussion Forum
The National Ex-Prisoners of War Association
Naval History.net
Nordic Aviation during WW2
Pilotfriend.com: aircraft of WW2
Polish Air Force 1940-1947 Operations Record Books
RAF Battle of Britain
RAF Upwood
De Slag om de Grebbeberg (Dutch)
Warbird Alley
War over Holland
World War II Aircraft wrecksites in Norway
www.bomber-command.de
Aircraft crashes on the North Yorkshire Moors, England
Bills-Bunker.de
The Lancastershire Aircraft Investigation Team
Luftfahrt-Archäologie in Schleswig Holstein (in German)
North East Diary 1939-1945
Wartime Leicester and Leicestershire
The Aerodrome - Aces and Aircraft of World War 1
WW1 Cemeteries
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This page is dedicated to the men of 73 Squadron.
© Bart FM Droog / Rottend Staal Online 2008. Permission granted for use of the data gathered here for non commercial purposes, if this source is mentioned with a link to http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/index.html
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