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* Report: July 15th, 2023: The Belgians Parade to the London Cenotaph *

RAF aircraft's crash sites in Province of West-Vlaanderen:
Middelkerke

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Last update: 25/06/23


Elegy to
the Heroes of Silence


* To the 616 Squadron *
* To the crew of AB529 *
* To the monument erected in remembrance *
* Cemetery where rest the crew *

Crash site of Spitfire AB529
19/08/1942

aircraft
cest raf squadron
Unit: 616 Squadron
Aircraft: Spitfire
Code: AB529
Base:
Mission: Dieppe
Crew officer: Sgt Coldrey Norman William
Incident: Shot down by German fighter

Location: (Prov. West-Vlanderen)

crash

Facts

That morning, six British battalions and an armored regiment of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division land on the beaches of Dieppe, Puys and Pourville. This operation, which would end in a disastrous debacle, would go down in history as 'Operation Jubilee'.
The RAF would provide the essential air support during this operation, but the massive intervention of the Luftwaffe would turn this action into what has been called the largest air battle in history.
The Spitfires of the 616 Sqdn would provide the escort above Dieppe at about 10,000 to 14,000 feet, the 416 Sqdn below at a lower altitude. The aircraft take off from Hawkinge at 10:45 AM. Above the target area, the Spit pilots signal no fewer than fifty Fw 190s. They include the Focke-Wulfs of the Prillers III. Gruppe, which had started at Wevelgem from 8:30. At a quarter past ten Oblt Borris opens the fire on a Spit for the first time. Hptm Mietusch (7.Staffel) scored twice, at 10:34 am and 10:35 am, three kilometers northeast and ten kilometers northwest of Dieppe respectively.
Sgt Norman Coldrey of 616 Sqdn, flying his second mission that day, would not return after the encounter. He is buried in Middelkerke. Most likely he crashed on board his AB529 off the French coast, and his body was transported to the Belgian coast by the sea current.

Sources:
Rate One
The International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC)
Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)
Aircrew Remembered
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