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Old February 28th 07, 03:52 PM posted to alt.binaries.pictures.aviation
Blume, Alf
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Posts: 30
Default Hellcat Mk I - NICE ! ! !


"Enzo Matrix" skrev i en meddelelse
...
http://www.faqs.org/docs/air/avf6f.html#m4


From http://www.navsource.org/archives/03/034.htm comes this quote:

HMS Emperor was outfitted as a strike/CAP carrier. Provided fighter
cover for a strike on German battleship Tirpitz;


served as an ASW patrol ship at Normandy and supported invasion of
southern France before transferring to the Pacific.


which does support Enzo's statement that the ship was at Normandy on
D-Day.


Steven's link http://www.faqs.org/docs/air/avf6f.html#m4 states "The
Hellcat Is did not participate in the Normandy invasion in June 1944".

It seems most unlikely that a valuable resource such as a squadron of very
potent fighters would have sat out the biggest operation of the war. It
may be splitting hairs, but there is a way that we can *both* be right. It
is possible that Emperor's Hellcats were directly involved in fighter
cover for the ASW screen, either in the Western Approaches or in the
English Channel itself, and so did not actually make an appearance over
the Normandy beach head. Therefore, they didn't actually *participate* in
the invasion, but they did *support* it.


Grasping at straws now? ;-)

It did participate, as did all other that served on that day in any
capacity; and the original question was whether the paintscheme was
correct - It was!