8th Air Force
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
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MB945
Spitfire
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Supermarine Spitfire MB945 PR Mk XIT, 14PRS, 7PRG, 8AF USAAF 30-10-43. Lost, failed to return, MACR speculates pilot got lost and ran out of Gas in nothern France, possibly fell into German hands and used by Zirkus Rosarius as T9+BB, Pilot Franklyn K Van Wart POW 1-3-44. MACR 2744.
Supermarine Spitfire MB945 PR Mk XIT, Built at Chattis Hill.
FF 5-10-43, delivered to RAF Benson 7-10-43, assigned to 14PRS, 7PRG, 8AF USAAF 30-10-43. Lost, MACR speculates pilot lost and ran out of Gas in nothern France, possibly fell into German hands and used by Zirkus Rosarius as T9+BB, Pilot Franklyn K Van Wart, 14PRS 7PRG 8AF POW 1-3-44. MACR 2744.
Service
Units
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7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group
Group
Based for the majority of their service at Mount Farm, Oxfordshire, the 7th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance) took over three million intelligence photos during the course of 4,251 sorties over occupied Europe. The Group was awarded a Distinguished... -
People
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Franklin Van Wart
Military | Captain | Pilot | 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group
Pilot Spitfire MB945 PR Mk XIT 14PRS, 7PRG, 8AF USAAF. Lost, MACR 2744 speculates pilot was lost and ran out of Gas in nothern France, POW. 1-3-44. Held at Stalag Luft I Barth Vogelsang Prussia 54.
Places
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Mount Farm
Military site : airfield
Originally a grass airfield satellite for the RAF Photographic Reconnaissance Unit at nearby RAF Benson, Mount Farm was built in 1940-1941. It had three concrete runways, 49 dispersals (24 concrete pan type plus 25 PSP squares), and eight blister...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Manufactured | Chattis Hill, Spitfire Ln, Stockbridge, Hampshire SO20 6JS, UK | 5 October 1943 – 1 March 1944 |
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Built at Chattis Hill. First flew 5-10-43. |
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| Delivered | Royal Air Force, RAF Benson, Benson, Wallingford OX10 6AA, UK | 7 October 1943 |
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Delivered to RAF Benson 7-10-43. |
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| Assigned | Mt Farm Cottage, Dorchester, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 7PG, UK | 30 October 1943 |
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Assigned to 14PRS, 7PRG, 8AF USAAF 30-10-43. |
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| Crashed | Nth France | 1 March 1944 |
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Lost, MACR speculates pilot lost and ran out of Gas in nothern France, possibly fell into German hands and used by Zirkus Rosarius as T9+BB, Pilot Lt Franklyn K Van Wart, 14PRS 7PRG 8AF POW 1-3-44. MACR 2744. |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 15 September 2015 12:26:41 | Lucy May | Changes to serial number |
| Sources | ||
Changed serial number from MB-945 to MB945 as instructed. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 14 September 2015 12:32:43 | Al_Skiff | Changes to production block number, manufacturer, nicknames, description, events, unit associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
Spitfire Production List. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:42:07 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
MACR 2744 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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