[WFS]

All:

I'll try to sum up the basics of why I credit Sgt. Cedric Popkin, 24th Machine Gun Company, 4th Australian Division, with downng MvR.

*The medical evidence shows that the fatal bullet hit MvR in the RIGHT side. *There were also reports from the first to arrive at the crash that there was a single hole in fabric to the right rear of the cockpit. *The bullet exited through the left chest about 3" higher than the entrance. *

The medical examiners' use of the term posterior axillary was misunderstood by some to mean that the bullet entered MvR's back. *Posterior axillary means to the rear of the side of the body.

*Because the Bullet did not have a steep upward path original findngs eliminated ground fire. *However MvR was flying very low and may have been turning when he was hit. *The bullet was found (and unfortunately removed by an orderly) inside the Baron's flght suit.

*Eyewitnesses reported that MvR's plane crashed after Brown's attack from the LEFT, after Buie and Evans Lewis gun fired and just before the same witness heard a Vickers gun fire. *

Brown attacked in a steep dive from above and to the left then veered off to avoid collision. *When he looked back he saw the triplane fall and assumed that he hit it. *Honest mistake, nothing more. He was in the wrong position.

The witness heard the Lewis gun BEFORE the triplane showed any effect. *The fact that he heard the Vickers AFTER the plane made a steep climb (immediately before it crashed) was because the sound was slower than the bullet. *

Sgt. Popkin was firing a Vickers from a hillside at the time MvR went down. *This placed him at the correct position to have inflicted the fatal wound. *He reported that he saw his shots take effect. *He was also firing from several hundred yards away which explains why the bullet didn't have enough energy left to pierce MvR's flight suit. *

It is possible that some lucky digger got MvR with his Enfield. *However, it's much more likely that a trained anti-aircraft machine gunner made the fatal shot. *Popkin got him boys and girls.

Regards,
Wayne * * * *