MOSQUITO MONDAY

Today we feature PR.XVI RF993 taken most likely at Melsbroek. The aircraft served with 140 Sqn before passing to the French Air Force in July 1946.

SPITFIRE SUNDAY

Today we feature Spitfire PR.XI MB953 taken when part of 16 Sqn. First flown in October 1943, the aircraft flew operationally on D-Day, survived the war and was scrapped in January 1949.

photographing Russian oilfields in Baku, arriving back at Heston on the 15th April. It would spend the rest of its service life operating in the Mediterranean before being destroyed in an air raid on Crete in the 22nd March 1941.

TODAY IN 1940

The Lockheed Hudson official becomes operational with the RAF, however unofficially, examples had already been operational for some weeks with the Photographic Development Unit at Heston.

G-AGAR shown here joined the PDU on the 4th March, by today in 1940 it had already been

my life.”

We hoped to interview Sybil early in 2025 as we believed her to be the last living Second World War PI but unfortunately her health prohibited a visit.

Rest in Peace Sybil.

at Medmenham, so it was all top secret and very demanding, an exacting job. It was my role to coordinate maps for the plotters, we had to work together, but it was like stepping into another world, the discipline and demands of it. But it stood me in good stead for the rest of

SYBIL PIPER 1925 - 2026

The project was saddened to learn yesterday of the passing of former WAAF PI Sybil who died peacefully on Sunday. Sybil joined the WAAF and aged 19 was posted to RAF Medmenham for PI duties.

Interviewed in 2025 Sybil said: “We specialised in photographic intelligence

morning took this photo showing that more than 1000 buildings were completely destroyed with the bombing impacting some 98% of the city infrastructure.

TODAY IN 1945

The RAF bombed Potsdam Old Town, a deliberate act to unsettle the civilian population as the Allies drew nearer to Berlin. Some 490 Lancasters dropped 1,700 tonnes of bombs, killing 1,593 residents and leaving another 60,000 homeless.

RAF PR the next

MOSQUITO MONDAY

Today it’s PR.IX LR435 of 540 Sqn which had an unexpected arrival in Sweden on the 9th Aug 44 after an engine fire in flight during a recon of Koeningsberg, Gdynia, & Danzig. F/Lt John Richards & nav P/o Rodney Barents were interred but later returned to the UK.

SPITFIRE SUNDAY

Today’s aircraft is Spitfire PR.XI PM133 of 400 Squadron. Reputedly taken at RAF Benson, this aircraft would survive the war ultimately becoming an instructional airframe in 1947

Jan 1941 was one of the few escapers not to be shot by the Gestapo.

GREAT ESCAPE PR AIRMEN

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In the next of the episodes on those men from PR in the great escape, For You The War Is Over covered Henry 'Johnny' Marshall, the 2nd man out of tunnel Harry. Marshall served with 3PRU and was shot down in

SANDY’S ESCAPE PARTNER

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As part of Sandy’s Great Escape story, today we focus on his escape partner Mike Casey. A deeply religious man, Mike would be one of the earliest airmen to be taken prisoner and would be a major part of the escape organisation.

who held these images of the Breslau Crematorium.

BRESLAU CREMATION

We don’t know where Sandy and his colleagues were murdered, however when his urn was returned to the camp it indicated that he had been cremated at Breslau.

The Crematorium no longer exists, the site now being a park, however we are grateful to Richard Maily

A LIFE CUT SHORT 6TH APRIL 1944

AA810’s last pilot Sandy Gunn. Murdered 82 years ago today for his part in the #GreatEscape alongside William Grisman, Tony Hayter, Clement McGarr, Harold Milford, Denys Street, and John Williams.

He was 24 years old.

SPITFIRE SUNDAY

F/Sgt Garratt & LAC "Taffy" Williams fit an F8 camera into Spitfire PR.XI PL781 'F' of 681 Sqn at RAF Kuala Lumpur, Malaya. PL781 arrived in the east in October 1944, survived the war and was SOC in October 1946.

TODAY IN 1944

Auschwitz was photographed by a PR Mosquito of 60 Sqn SAAF flying from Italy. The Allies decided the best intervention was a swift defeat of the Axis powers rather than any military action. A tough decision - what would you have done?

searching for some time, he was never found.

He is commemorated on the RAF Memorial at Runnymede.

He previously became a household name when he won the 1940 Grand National as a rookie riding Bogskar, coming in with odds of 25-1.

Germans to launch a high speed rescue boat to collect him. However, with the distance to cover, Mervyn descended into the water between Frosta and Tømmerdalen whilst the boat was still making for his location. By the time the launch reached the area, Mervyn was nowhere to be seen and despite

Mervyn and shot him down. Segatz was an ace already, having had extensive combat experience in the Battle of Britain.

Mervyn managed to jump to safety and was seen to descend by parachute over Tromsfjord, whilst his Spitfire plummeted into the water. A radio communication was sent out by the

REMEMBERING AA810 PILOT MERVYN JONES

Today we remember Mervyn Jones who 84 years ago on this day was dispatched on his 11th PR mission in Spitfire AA797 to establish the situation with the ships in Trondheim bay. Waiting for him in an ME109 was Staffelkäpitan Hermann Segatz of 8./JG 5 who attacked

And Denis Pellerin to talk about RAF Benson pilot Sydney Dowse. Listen for free at the link in the previous post.

GREAT ESCAPE PR MEN

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As we continue to commemorate the Great escape anniversary, we look at our podcast partner For You The War Is Over who have run a series covering the biographies of these particular men. Last year they were joined by rock legend Sir Brian May

felt that we all belonged to the same unit.”

Lest we forget

With image thanks from our friends at the Spitfire AA804 project - give them a follow.

A podcast episode on Charles life is due out this coming June with the For You The War Is Over podcast

Spangenberg Castle, Charles spoke of escape with fellow No.1 PRU pilots Antony Barber and Thomas D. Calnan, whose memoirs read:

“It was natural that Charles Hall, Tony Barber and I should plot escape together. We had known one another at RAF Benson before being shot down and we still

poignantly, it was Sandy who delivered Spitfire PR.IV AA804 to RAF Mount Farm in 1941, prior to Charles flying it when he suffered engine failure on 28th December 1941.

Charles bailed out, earning him Caterpillar Club membership, but was taken prisoner near Bergen op Zoom. Whilst held at

PRU PILOT CHARLES HALL - MURDERED TODAY IN 1944

The camaraderie and comradeship in the PRU grew even closer when PRU pilots became prisoners of war. Today, we remember Charles Hall, who tunnelled out during the Great Escape, only to be executed on March 31st, several days before Sandy Gunn.

Quite

when a failure during take off led to a wheels up landing (pictured) which wrote off the 4 month old aircraft.