The latest posts from our Facebook page:
SATURDAY SPECIAL
- The story of Finn Thorsager
To sum up the events of 9 April 1940 in a Facebook post is not easy. Finn Thorsager was based at Fornebu during these tense pre-war days flying Gloster Gladiators. During the early morning of 9 April 1940 there were reports of unknown forces moving North, and unknown aircraft were heard over the airfield. Finn Thorsager was ordered to take off in one of the Gladiators to investigate further. South of the airfield, he encountered an unknown aircraft with black crosses on its wings - most likely a Dornier 17. He went in to attack the Dornier. It dove into the clouds. This event repeated itself a few times before it disappeared for good. Back at Fornebu, the ground crew noticed bullet holes in his Gladiator.
As the morning of 9 April came to be, all operational Gladiators took off for what would become the first aerial battle over Norway. Finn attacked a few German aircraft - a mix of Me110's and He111's before his guns jammed up. He landed at a frozen lake as Fornebu was under attack. He left his Gladiator there, and found his way back to Oslo. He then came down with a very serious case of pnemonia, and mostly stayed in bed for the summer.
SATURDAY SPECIAL
- The story of Finn Thorsager
Finn was accepted to Hærens Flyskole as the very last person to be taken into the course in 1936. Alongside him was Henning Leifseth and Wilhelm Mohr - both later to fly alongside him in England.
In 1937, the students were to fly to Sola (Stavanger) for the opening of the airfield. The students ran into bad weather over Telemark, and were scattered "all over the place". Finn and Wilhelm Mohr landed on a field in Bamble, Telemark. Today this field is very close to todays E-18. If anyone know the exact spot, do write a comment.
The local population were in awe over this event, and the headmaster of a local school declared the day off for all students!
Standing between Wilhelm Mohr and Finn Thorsager is Mohrs passenger - Hørlock.
Photo: via Finn Thorsager
No 187 was one of the Norwegian Tiger Moth aircraft which was modified to be used for shooting training. A 0,303 Colt machine gun was installed in the front cockpit.. A Norwegian developed synchronization gear had to be installed to provide that the propeller was not hit during shooting.
SATURDAY SPECIAL
- The story of Finn Thorsager
Like many other young men in Norway during the 1930's, Finn Thorsager found work on at seas. Here he is onboard "Arne Kjøde" as a radio operator. He journeyed as far as the Antarctic waters onboard whaling ships.
Photo: Finn Thorsager.
MB882 flown by Leif Lundsten in 1943.Spitfire F Mark XII, MB882 �EB-B� of No. 41 Squadron RAF, on the ground at Friston, Sussex, April 1944. Note the slipper fuel tank fitted between the undercarriage. This aircraft was the personal mount of two consecutive Flight Commanders, Flt. Lt. Don Smith RAAF and Flt. Lt. Terry Spencer.
41 Squadron provided air support in the lead-up to, and throughout the D-Day landings. On D-Day itself, 6th June 1944, three pilots were hit by Flak over the bridgehead and one was killed. On 19th June, however, the squadron was pulled off air support for the bridgehead in France and was deployed solely in the destruction of Germany's newest weapon, the V-1 flying bomb. On 28 August 1944, the squadron claimed its last of 53 V1s destroyed during the war. Several pilots succeeded in bringing them down after expending all their ammunition, by flying alongside them and placing their own wingtips underneath that of the V1. The wind movement between both wingtips was sufficient to upset the V1's gyroscope and send crashing it to the ground.
The squadron was re-equipped with the Spitfire XIV in September 1944 and during the ensuing three months participated in 'Big Ben' operations against V2 launch sites, in Operation Market Garden at Arnhem and Nijmegen, in operations in the Walcheren campaign, and in the Allied Oil Campaign over Germany.
The squadron moved to the continent in early December 1944, making its base at Diest in Belgium. Ground targets were the squadron's chief prey as a member of 125 Wing, and the unit attacked anything moving on road, rail or canal in Germany. Operating so close to the ground, Flak also took its toll on pilots and aircraft. One pilot was killed, three wounded and two shot down and taken prisoner.
In April 1945, the squadron moved forward with the advancing front and made its first base in Germany, just southwest of the town of Celle, 140 miles (225 km) due west of Berlin, and only a short distance southeast of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. During April and early May 1945, German resistance crumbled. 41 Squadron claimed 33 enemy aircraft destroyed, two probably destroyed and three damaged in the air and 21 damaged on the ground, in the 23 days preceding 3 May 1945 (the date of the squadron's final claim). Their own casualties for the same period were no pilots killed or wounded in action, and no aircraft lost to enemy action, although some did sustain combat damage.
After the cessation of hostilities, the squadron was based a short time at Kastrup (Copenhagen) but then returned to Germany, where it became a part of the Allied occupying forces, 'BAFO'. By the end of the war, 41 Squadron had claimed 200 aircraft destroyed, 61 probably destroyed, 109 damaged and 53 V-1s destroyed. A magnificent record!
Photographer: B. J. Daventry.
WikiCommons Ref: CH12726A.
Minor Image Repair & Colourisation - Nathan Howland @HowdiColourWorks.
And the clipped ving tip.
En C C C ?
Ragnar Dogger of 331 Sqd with the squadron mascot Varg. Dogger survived the war. Photo: via Wilhelm Mohr.
I was led to believe Varg came to the Squadron as a pup when Stationed at Skeabrae in Orkney! Do you know if this is true?
Did Varg survive the war as well?
A german shepherd dog became a spitfire squadrons mascot 😂
Hes in an interview in "hunters in the sky" video about 92 ish on youtube
