The Hawker Tempest Page

Martin · Joined: 09 Jan 2005 Posts: 52 Location: Caen (France)

Does anybody know what became colonel Pierre Clostermann's NV724 aka Le Grand Charles ?

destroyed or messing in an haguar somewhere ? Rolling Eyes

edit : I have just noticed that I forgot the verb in my original sentence... Very Happy

_________________

ChristerL · Joined: 03 Jan 2005 Posts: 166 Location: Stockholm, Sweden

According to "The Typhoon & Tempest Story" NV724 was involved in a crash on November 10 1945 at Fassberg, Germany. NV724 was still marked JF-E and the pilot was F/L C.E. Hall. The cause of the crash was an undercarriage collapse.
But I'm not sure if this was the very end of NV724's life or if it was repaired, but probably "Le Grand Charles" ended it's career in Germany.
_________________
/Christer Landberg
Webmaster

"What a magnificent aeroplane! They could have all their Spitfires and Mustangs!"
Roland "Bee" Beamont, Tempest Wing Commander

Martin · Joined: 09 Jan 2005 Posts: 52 Location: Caen (France)

I thought it was a deliberately destruction but isn'it better for a plane to crash ( without consequence for the pilot of course) ? Wink

_________________

drpoff · Joined: 08 Jan 2005 Posts: 17 Location: Dickinson, Texas

Christer has done it again! He has set the record straight for us! I have read Pierre Clostermann's The Big Show 4 times mainly because I gain inspiration from his writings, but I have always thought that his Le Grande Charles was destroyed in a crash with him in it during an air show on July 1, 1945, at Kastrup, Denmark (page 253); however, upon re-reading more carefully Pierre clearly states that his Le Grande Charles had developed an oil leak and that he had borrowed a Tempest for this airshow of liberation. Thank you Christer. Now you have provided the complete story for NV 724.

For the serious modeler one should note that the Bentley drawings of Clostermann's Le Grande Charles depicts the serial number as NV 784. This is probably an error; it should read NV 724. drpoff

Juan G. · Joined: 20 Jan 2007 Posts: 7 Location: Argentine

Hello, Im new here but I have also read "The BiG Show" in Spanish and I also Loved it. Were is "Le Grand Charles"?. I mean, is it in a Museum or Something like that?. it should be.

Chris Thomas · Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 29

NV724, the last of four JF-E's flown by Pierre Clostermann, was damaged when the undercarriage collapsed on landing at Fassberg on 10 November 1945. The pilot was Flt Lt C.E.Hall. The damage was assessed as 'Category Ac' which meant light damge that could be repaired by a local repair unit. However, many new Tempes Vs were available so NV724 was not worth repairing - and was declared 'Category E' - a 'write-off'. Reuseable spares would have been removed and the hulk dumped at Fassberg - no doubt to be melted down by some enterprising scrap dealer.

Incidentally - this was not any great loss - it was not the JF-E flown during the war.
CT

Juan G. · Joined: 20 Jan 2007 Posts: 7 Location: Argentine

Hello!, sorry for my extreamly late reply!. butr, what do you mean with "it was not the aircraft that flown in the war"?. So if that aircraft wasent JF-E, were is "Le Grand Charles" Now?. Or that one was "Le Grand Charles"?. Yeah im asking many questions, sounds like silly I know. If that one was "Le Grand Charles" im really surprised that the french gobverment didnt asked for it, it was the plane of their top scoring ace. What a pitty!.

-Cheers!