Battle of Britain victoria cross

[Rocketeer]

LF363 of the BBMF was coded GN-A in the 1990 display season in recognition of Nicolson VC's aircraft (note correct spelling of his name) I have a few fragments of his aircraft somewhere! I arranged for a memorial at Boscombe Down (where he was based at the time) to be unveiled in 1990 and LF flew over exactly 50years to the hour!!

[jamierd]

i was in Winterbourne gunner for four years during the 90s right next door to boscombe down.
ITs good that people go out of their way to remember these guys and i hope it will continue for many years to come . many thanks to all you guys who are helping me with this i think it would have taken me years to do it on my own

[John Vasco]

Originally Posted by vikingBerserker

So his plane was on fire, was about to jump out, saw an enemy fighter and shot him down> Holy Crap! That's fricken amazing!

The slight problem being that every Bf 110 brought down on that day has been accounted for, and nothing came down anywhere near the location, nor at the time, the combat was stated to take place. Nicolson's combat report was completed by the IO the next day at his bedside, when Nicolson was heavily sedated due to his wounds, and it is likely the IO attributed a victory when none actually took place (a not uncommon occurrence during the Battle of Britain).

Apologies if this bursts anyone's 'bubble' about this particular incident, but years and years of meticulous research into the Bf 110 leads to the conclusion given above.

[jamierd]

not at all john my interest was in the VC given not what he shot down or didnt as the case may be .and any information about the incident is very well recieved .

[buffnut453]

Originally Posted by John Vasco

The slight problem being that every Bf 110 brought down on that day has been accounted for, and nothing came down anywhere near the location, nor at the time, the combat was stated to take place. Nicolson's combat report was completed by the IO the next day at his bedside, when Nicolson was heavily sedated due to his wounds, and it is likely the IO attributed a victory when none actually took place (a not uncommon occurrence during the Battle of Britain).

Apologies if this bursts anyone's 'bubble' about this particular incident, but years and years of meticulous research into the Bf 110 leads to the conclusion given above.

John,

Your comments certainly don't burst my bubble. Nicolson was awarded the VC for gallantry in climbing back into the cockpit to re-engage the enemy and not for actually shooting down a single Me110. IIRC, Nicolson was somewhat of a reluctant hero - he didn't believe he should have been singled out for the VC when others were fighting just as hard and many didn't survive to tell the tale.

Kind regards,
Mark H (LKBS)