Belgian Airforce 1940 and the Luftwaffe

Discussion in '1940' started by nickgrace1, May 22, 2019.

  1. nickgrace1

    nickgrace1 Active Member

    Hello,
    I have been working on a unit history of the 2/5th Queens in France 1940. On 20 May 1940 Abbeville and Bellancourt were bombed. The soldiers were convinced the aircraft were marked in Belgian colours and even made an investigation which concluded this was true. The file reference is from the National Archives: WO167/3819
    I have been looking into this. I can't work out how this could be true. I have looked at images of both air forces and see not similarities and can't find any other mention of this from any other unit. Has anyone else come across this claim at all?
     
  2. Harry Ree

    Harry Ree Very Senior Member

    Prewar Fairy Aviation Co (Belgium) manufactured Battles under licence at Ghent for the Belgium Air Force.Manufacturing was ongoing at the start of the war...it could have been one of these...was the aircraft type identified?

    (A number of Fairy Aviation Co (Belgium) employees from Ghent were caught up in the Lancastria evacuation tragedy of 17 June 1940 at St Nazaire)
     
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  3. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

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  4. nickgrace1

    nickgrace1 Active Member

    Hello,
    Thank you both for the reply. Sadly no aircraft are mentioned, so it might be this.
     
  5. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    as it may have happened in France I have below the link for aircraft that 'crashed/shot down' on French soil [although its difficult to know the border lines at the time] so it could be in Belgium on the 20th May 1940

    Recherche crash avion 39-45 - France-Crashes 39-45

    TD
     
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  6. nickgrace1

    nickgrace1 Active Member

    Thank you, it is just such a strange claim from the war diary.
     
  7. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Hmm - thoguht you might see all the crashes but the details have gone from that link - if you type in the date 20/05/1940 then you have all the aircraft on that day in the various regions in NE France along the Belgium border - if thats where the soldiers were who reported the incident

    TD
     
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  8. nickgrace1

    nickgrace1 Active Member

    That is great thank you. Seems no Belgian Planes that day crashed, but there is a possibility of a French one. This will take some digging. Thank you all.
     

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