ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 227494
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| Date: | Sunday 19 May 1940 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Supermarine Spitfire PR Mk III Type C |
| Owner/operator: | PDU RAF |
| Registration: | P9308 |
| MSN: | 511 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Rue Forzeau/Rue Estafflers, Templeuve, Tournai, Hainaut -
 Belgium
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Seclin, France |
Supermarine Spitfire P9308 was built as a Spitfire Mark Ia (c/no. 511). Originally built for delivery to the Turkish Air Force, but order cancelled 4-9-39 due to outbreak of war. First Flown 23-1-40. Delivered to the Photographic Development Unit, Heston Aircraft Ltd, Heston, Middlesex 11-2-40. Converted to Spitfire PR III with Type C camera. To Vickers Armstrong Experimental Aircraft for mods (additional fuel tank in one wing, range 870 miles; wing became Supermarine Type 353 'D' Wing).
To Photographic Development Unit (PDU) RAF 1-4-40. Coded "LY-A", although photographs of Spitfire P9308 show only the "LY" code. First Photo-Recce operation against Emden, Germany, 5-4-40 by Flight Lt Le Mesurier.
Written off as destroyed when went missing from PR mission to Hamburg. Pilot Officer J Coleman posted as missing believed killed, 19-5-40. Some published sources claim that Spitfire P9308 was shot down by a
Messerschmit Bf-109 piloted by Fw Roth 4./JG. According to the official Air Ministry file on the incident (File AIR 81/421): "Pilot Officer J H Coleman, report of death; Spitfire P9308 crashed at Templeuve, Belgium, 19 May 1940". Unofficial sources give the crash site as the junction of Rue Forzeau and Rue Estafflers, in Templeuve, Tournai, Hainaut, Belgium.
Pilot:
Pilot Officer John Herbert Coleman, RAF 43692 (from New Zealand, aged 27), Photographic Development Unit, RAF posted as missing believed killed in action 19/05/1940. Buried at Templeuve Communal Cemetery, Tournai, Arrondissement de Tournai, Hainaut, Belgium. P/O Coleman had previously served as a Spitfire pilot with 19 Squadron, RAF.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 52)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File Air 81/421: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502092
3. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p008.html
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2254639/coleman,-john-herbert/
5. http://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/P9308
6. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/pru.html
7. http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showpost.php?p=56877&postcount=5
8. http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=5484
9. http://histomil.com/viewtopic.php?t=13294
10. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15081040/john-herbert-coleman
11. https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/john-herbert-coleman
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-Jul-2019 22:59 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 27-Jul-2019 10:25 | stehlik49 | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator] |
| 10-Jul-2021 21:45 | angels one five | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Narrative] |
| 10-Jul-2021 22:04 | angels one five | Updated [Narrative] |
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