101 Squadron Blenheim P6953

[jossleclercq]

Hello

Sometimes, Intelligence forms have the individual letters of planes lost in ops. This is how I identified Blenheim IV L8761 as VE-C, lost on 22 May 1940, for a commemorative plaque in the village where the bomber crashed.

I'm also researching the individual letter of Basil Embry's Blenheim when he was shot down near St Omer on 27 May 1940, and the intelligence forms brought letters E and F as the letters of the two Blenheims lost that day by the Squadron. I've been trying to find logbooks and any other documents in order to find which letter was painted on Embry's plane, but it's a very long process to locate families, and some don't have the logbooks anymore, and in the surviving logbooks, only the serial numbers were noted...

Intelligence forms can be found in some Squadron ORB's appendix, and also in the Station's ORB's appendix (AIR 28 series at Kew). Not digitised...

The general idea is to build up a list of missions flown by the aircraft in question, identifiying the crews, day by day, using the ORBs for this compilation work. As expressed above, these are digitised and available for free during the pandemic (AIR 27 series). Then search out the net, genealogy sites, online phonebooks, etc... in order to locate families...

Good luck

Joss

[Andy Marden]

Sometimes, Intelligence forms have the individual letters of planes lost in ops. This is how I identified Blenheim IV L8781 as VE-C, lost on 22 May 1940

Not relevant to the original poster's question, but don't you mean L8761 Joss?

[jossleclercq]

Yes, L8761. Typo of mine.