No. 485 (NZ) Squadron D-Day and Normandy Combat Reports

[Dave Homewood]

Does anyone here happen to know if the pilots' combat reports for No. 485 (NZ) Squadron on D Day, 6th of June 1944, and for the following combats that claimed kills over the week after the landings, exist anywhere?

Does anyone here already have copies of them perhaps? Thanks.

[suthg]

Forms 450 and 451 exist in the UK Archives at GBPd3.75 each. One each per month. They are a bit hard to find working through their search system, but I can grab the June lot if you like, tonight.
Graeme

[Dave Homewood]

Isn't the Form 450 the ORB?

I am looking for the individual combat reports filled in, in detail, by each pilot after a combat. Is that the Form 451?

[errolmartyn]

Aug 16, 2018 15:29:06 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

Isn't the Form 450 the ORB?

I am looking for the individual combat reports filled in, in detail, by each pilot after a combat. Is that the Form 451?

No, not 451. Combat reports, those that survive, can be downloaded online from the Britain's National Archives site using the search facility found here:

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/raf-combat-reports-1939-1945/

Errol

[htbrst]

Note totally the same but all butThe IVM have been digitising a whole lot of gun camera footage recently - either the camera footage itself or the just the metadata containing date/pilot/squadron. Its not always googleable but you may find some that match the dates you are looking for to flesh some detail out.

The second video in this clip is taken by of my relations who was killed 6 months later - quite clearly a FW190: film.iwmcollections.org.uk/record/1420

[Dave Homewood]

Hmm, so the National Archive there purports to have Houlton's combat report for the 6th of June 1944 but the preview hows it to be dated 7th of June. And they don't seem to have the reports for Red Mayston, Keith Macdonald and Eddie Atkins,sadly. A dead end.

[versuch]

Interesting film htbrst, interesting aircraft being attacked at 06.35 and 06.42 !

[phasselgren]

Aug 16, 2018 19:49:28 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

Hmm, so the National Archive there purports to have Houlton's combat report for the 6th of June 1044 but the preview hows it to be dated 7th of June. And they don't seem to have the reports for Red Mayston, Keith Macdonald and Eddie Atkins,sadly. A dead end.

Dave,
You will find Houlton's Combat report from the 6th June on Images 6 and 7 of AIR 50/118/91. Red Mayston, Keith Macdonald and Eddie Atkins are mentioned in this report but no separate reports. Unfortunately has many reports from WW2 disappeared especially if you look reports from Bomber Command after mid 1944.

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks Peter.

[rodm]

Hi Everyone,

with regard to the reels of gun camera film held by the Imperial War Museum, I have a database of all the individual sequences in MS Excel format, identifying the IWM catalogue number, the Combat Film No., the date and time of combat, the pilot, his squadron and aircraft type flown, and the target. There are 9,494 individual entries, with many relating to Kiwi pilots serving with 485, 486, 488, and other RAF squadrons in the European theatre.

If anyone wants a copy, please PM me. Alternately, I have sent a copy to Dave...

Unfortunately, the IWM has only restored and digitised a few of the total number of film reels to date...

Cheers

Rod

PS - on the subject of missing Bomber Command Combat Reports, some are found in the Operations Record Book Appendices for a few of the heavy bomber Squadrons. All the No. 6 (RCAF) Group Combat Reports are preserved in Canada, while the monthly lists of individual claims accepted by Bomber Command HQ (entitled the "Supplementary Monthly Narrative of Operations") are found partly in the National Archives, Kew, and partly in Library & Archives Canada. These reports are complete for the period between January 1943 and April/May 1945.

[adamlunney]

Aug 16, 2018 20:18:39 GMT 12 versuch said:

Interesting film htbrst, interesting aircraft being attacked at 06.35 and 06.42 !

Summer in Normandy is long - about 18 hours of daylight....

Was at Pegasus Bridge a few years ago and started feeling hungry - looked at my watch and saw it was 7pm. I thought it was about 2pm judging by the amount of sunlight.