Strana 43
W3518, S/Ldr Count Franz F. Colloredo-Mansfeld, CO of No. 132 Squadron,
RAF Newchurch, Kent, United Kingdom,
September 1943
EN921, F/O Jackson E. Sheppard, No. 401 Squadron RCAF, RAF Biggin Hill,
United Kingdom, October 1943
An American citizen, Harvard University
graduate, Franz Ferdinand Count of Colloredo-
Mansfeld, was born in Rome, the son of an
Austrian diplomat, Count Ferdinand Colloredo-
Mansfeld (1878-1967) and his American spouse
Eleonor, born Iselin. After 1918 the family settled
in the USA. Before the USA entry into WWII,
Franz Ferdinand volunteered for RAF where he
achieved the rank of Squadron Leader and on
August 15, 1943, he assumed the command of
No. 132 Squadron. On September 9, 1943, flying
Spitfire Mk.Vb W3518 he participated in the
mock invasion operation Starkey which purpose
was to create fear of invasion in the German
Command and lure the German troops out of
Italy and the Eastern Front to the West. On that
occasion the wing tips were painted with black
and white identification stripes, predecessors
of the later well-known invasion stripes used
during the operation Overlord. S/Ldr Franz
F. Colloredo-Mansfeld perished in his Spitfire
Mk.IX near Berck-sur-Mer on January 14, 1944.
“Jack” Sheppard, originally a dock worker,
enlisted in the RCAF in 1939 and till August 1940
served with No. 120 Squadron. In August 1941 he
completed the pilot training at No. 53 OTU and in
November 1941 was assigned to No. 43 Squadron.
In December he volunteered for the convoy
escorts. On February 10, 1942, he crashed into the
sea in Hurricane Z4569 having been catapulted
from a deck of a transport boat. In July 1943 he
became an A Flight leader with No. 401 Squadron.
In April 1944 he assumed command of a flight of
the No. 412 Squadron and led the unit till August
2 when he was shot down by German fighters
in Normandy. He managed to avoid capture
and returned to the unit. On August 22 he was
decorated with DFC and in October he returned
to Canada. In February 1946 he finally left the
military service. Jackson Sheppard flew Spitfire
serialed EN921 on regular basis from July till
October 1943. Even though he did not score any
of his five kills in its cockpit, he flew this aircraft
on many offensive sweeps including the mock
operation Starkey on September 9, 1943.
KITS 01/2026
INFO Eduard
43
January 2026