I received this query from Jaap Woortman, a member of the Study Group Airwar 1939-1945
http://www.airwar39-45.nl
At October 29th, 1944, when No.4 RAF Sqn. was stationed at B.70 Deurne-Antwerp(Belgium), F/L D.C.Wilkins RAF 101007, had to do a recce to Hengelo(Netherlands) area in his Spitfire IX PL953. During this sortie he was attacked by a Me 262 of Kdo.Nowotny. The Me 262 was flown by Ltn. Alfred Schreiber. The attack took place over the Nordhorn (Germany) area. During the attack the Me 262 hit (rammed) the Spitfire. The Me 262 pilot had to bail out and the Me 262 made a crash at Tubbergen (Netherlands). F/Lt Wilkins flew back home. It is not possible to learn from his communication with Deurne a/f that he knew that he was hit by the Me 262. Information from ORB No.4 Sqn. form 540. He made a forced-landing over enemy territory north of Tilburg (Netherlands). He was taken POW by the Germans.
My questions are:
- Does someone know the take-off time of F/L D.C.Wilkins from B.70 Deurne? The information should be at the ORB of No.4 Sqn. Form 541 of that day.
- Does someone know where and at what time F/Lt Wilkins made his landing?
- Is Mr. D.C.Wilkins still alive and a member of the No.4 Sqn. Ass.?
(No, he's not a member - Chris)
Does anybody have any knowledge of this incident or suggestions as to where Jaap should look?