RAF Hurricane Pic Battle of France May 1940. Important for SoW Devs?

[Lucas_From_Hell]

Originally Posted by Crumpp

IIRC, Hurricane Mk IIa retained the original Mk I wing armament.

Yes, but the propeller had metal blades, and I think the Mk.IIa later got the slightly longer spinner.

[Crumpp]

the propeller had metal blades

Right, AFAIK all the production Hurricanes 3 bladed propellers used in service were metal.

Now for my original question...

Without taking a guess, what defines this picture as occurring during the Battle of France?

Hurricanes were definitely shot down over France after the Battle of Britain.

[SlipBall]

It seem's possible that this aircraft was in use by the axis prior to its demise. This of course is based on the lack of raf markings...just saying

[SlipBall]

(quote)
This picture of an RAF Hurricane Mk 1 shot down in the Battle of France ( probably May 1940)



I was just wondering how you reached this conclusion (battle of France), did the first photo also have writing on it's back, if so, could you post an img of it, thanks

[MB_Avro_UK]

First photo had nothing on the back. But there are similarities with the second photo.

As regards the first photo, the lack of RAF markings on the fuselage,fin and wings make it unlikely that it flew from England in 1941/2. And the countryside is very much French.

I'm sure that there is a lot that happened during the Battle of France that is not in the Text Books. And this applies to perhaps all historical periods. That is why photos such as these are so interesting.

Best Regards,
MB_Avro.

[Crumpp]

Do you know who's writing is on the back? By that, Is it the guy who took the photo or is someone who bought the photo postwar and wrote down what they thought?

I ask because I have friends who have been scammed on photos before.

As regards the first photo, the lack of RAF markings on the fuselage,fin and wings make it unlikely that it flew from England in 1941/2.

Why is it unique to the Battle of France? AFAIK, Insignia were often time taken for souvenirs by folks on the ground.

And the countryside is very much French.

I agree but cannot be certain.

I'm sure that there is a lot that happened during the Battle of France that is not in the Text Books. And this applies to perhaps all historical periods. That is why photos such as these are so interesting.

There is an unbelievable amount of lost knowledge out there from the war.

You just have to be very careful and vet your sources well.

[MB_Avro_UK]

Originally Posted by Crumpp

Do you know who's writing is on the back? By that, Is it the guy who took the photo or is someone who bought the photo postwar and wrote down what they thought?

I ask because I have friends who have been scammed on photos before.



Why is it unique to the Battle of France? AFAIK, Insignia were often time taken for souvenirs by folks on the ground.



I agree but cannot be certain.



There is an unbelievable amount of lost knowledge out there from the war.

You just have to be very careful and vet your sources well.

It would not be possible to remove the national markings without removing the fabric of the fuselage and fin. They were painted on. Souvenir hunters had to cut away the fabric.

There has been no cutting in the first photo. Therefore, in my opinion the national markings for a reason as yet unkown were not applied.

And yes, it's possible that the writing on the rear could be faked. But I don't see that either of the photos themselves are faked. Unless of course someone has rebuilt two damaged Hurricanes recently


Best Regards,
MB_Avro.

[SlipBall]

If you look very closely at the first photo, you can just make out the circle of the former national marking, it appears a lighter color compared to the rest of the nearby area. It seems to me that it was painted over for what ever reason.

[Crumpp]

It would not be possible to remove the national markings without removing the fabric of the fuselage and fin.

The fabric is removed from the fuselage and the vertical stabilizer (fin?) is not exposed in the film. I can only make out the silhouette with no details on the v. stab.

It looks like it has 6 gun bays on the right wing too. How are you ruling out that they are not outboard gun bays?