Commando (aircraft)

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Commando
Liberator II AL504 Commando, which disappeared on 27 March 1945. The picture shows the aircraft in its later single-fin and rudder configuration and lack of camouflage paint
Type
Consolidated Liberator II
Serial AL504
Owners and operators Royal Air Force
In service July 1942 – 27 March 1945
Fate Disappeared over the North Atlantic Ocean en route to the Azores

Commando (

North Atlantic Ocean, while on a flight from RAF Northolt to Lajes Field in the Azores, en route to Ottawa in Canada
. The cause of the disappearance of the aircraft remains unknown to this day.

January 1943. AL504 Commando, VIP taxying at Lyneham, Wiltshire, with Winston Churchill on board returning from Casablanca

Background

Volunteer pilot

Prestwick Airport. Vanderkloot informed Portal that the flight was possible with one stop in Gibraltar. Initially heading eastwards from Gibraltar, staying over the sea in the afternoon, and then turning sharply south after dusk, flying over Spanish and Vichy French territory in Africa in darkness, before turning east again for the Nile, approaching Cairo from the south. Thus the danger from land-based enemy aircraft in North Africa and Sicily
would be largely avoided without having to fly halfway around Africa.

Alan Brooke to Egypt in August 1942 to replace Claude Auchinleck commander of the British Army in North Africa with Bernard Montgomery and also took Churchill to high-level talks in Moscow with Joseph Stalin, to Turkey to determine that country's wartime intentions, and to the Casablanca Conference in 1943.[3][4]

interior of AL504 Commando

On delivery Commando had a regular Liberator nose and tail configuration despite the internal modifications but was later converted to have a covered nose and also the same single tail fin used on the

VIP ("Very Important Person[s]") interior had comfortable seating, an electric galley and even a bed, installed for Churchill.[5][6]
After the second extended trip,
OBEs.[7]

Interior of AL504 Commando

In September 1943 Liberator AL504 was withdrawn from VIP service and flown to a

Consolidated RY Liberator Express transport.[8] Vanderkloot and the crew continued to fly it for a time, one crew member's last logbook entry for AL504 is 24 November 1944.[4]

Commando had served as Churchill's official aircraft during a critical period and later in the war was also used on occasion by other VIP's for their business in connection with the war effort. She also served with

RAF (Senior Air Staff Officer) RAF Transport Command.[10]

Commando was the second of 139 VLR (Very Long Range) Liberator II aircraft delivered to the RAF mostly to be used by RAF Coastal Command on maritime patrol duty and anti-submarine warfare, escorting the supply convoys of merchant vessels and attacking and sinking German U-boats.

Last flight

The Under-Secretary of State for Air

RAF needed to fly to Canada with other dignitaries to attend a ceremony marking the closure of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Winston Churchill
's former personal transport Commando was assigned as the VIP aircraft.

Flown by

Wing Commander William Biddell OBE DFC, the aircraft took off from RAF Northolt at 23:00 hours GMT on Monday 26 March 1945 to fly to Ottawa, Canada, with a refueling stop at Lajes Field in the Azores
. Routine contact was established between the aircraft and its base at 05:22 hours GMT in the morning with the flight proceeding as scheduled. The flight was proceeding routinely when the last contact was made with RAF Transport Command at RAF Prestwick at 07:16 hours GMT on the morning of 27 March 1945 in position 40°30'N 20°17'W by civilian Radio Officer Frederick Williams aboard the aircraft, to advise an estimated time of arrival of 08:10 hours at Lajes Field. There were no further signals.

Loss and searches

When Commando failed to arrive at

Prime Minister Winston Churchill in his announcement in the House of Commons
on 28 March 1945. Close to the flight path which Commando would have been following over the ocean in towards Lajes Field aircrew of the searching RAF Coastal Command aircraft spotted some yellow dinghies, a small amount of wreckage and an oil patch on the surface. It was 150–200 mi (130–170 nmi; 240–320 km) north-west of the Azores, there were no traces of any survivors.[11] Little could be done and it was considered probable that Commando had crashed at sea while approaching the Azores.[12]

Possible causes

  • Radio or radio navigational aid failure was not considered an issue as the aircraft was flying in daylight and the Azores would probably have been located without difficulty.
  • Engine failure was considered. The No. 2 engine had been changed during maintenance on 15 November 1944 and had 517 flying hours, the other three engines had each accumulated 466 flying hours and had been serviced on 16 November 1944. The aircraft carried its own flight engineer. Its previous civilian flight engineer, John Affleck, testified at the court of enquiry and reported that mention was made in a radio signal of an oil leak in the No. 2 engine which he believed might have resulted in a fire beside a fuel tank.[4]
  • Fuel shortage was considered unlikely, excepting a catastrophic leak, as the aircraft carried considerably more than sufficient for its flight to the Azores.
  • Pilot error was considered unlikely as the aircraft was flown by a highly experienced RAF Transport Command transatlantic pilot who had 635 flying hours on Liberators and 3,780 flying hours in total.
  • Navigational error was discounted as the traces of wreckage were found close to the expected flight path.
  • Structural failure was considered, but was not confirmed due to lack of evidence from crash debris.

The crew

Pilot
Wing Commander on 1 June 1942,[16] and decorated as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire Military Division on 8 June 1944 for his work with RAF Transport Command.[17][18]
Second Pilot
Flying Officer in June 1944 and then acting flight lieutenant.[20][21]
Navigator
Flight Lieutenant David Buchanan RCAF aged 29, a married man from
Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was a highly experienced Navigator with RAF Ferry Command who had flown on many trans-atlantic flights.[22]
Second Navigator
Flight Lieutenant Kenneth George Shea RAAF aged 27 born at
King’s Commendation for Valuable Services in the Air on 1 September 1944.[23][24][25][26]
Radio Officer
Mr. Frederick Walter Williams, a civilian, employed by RAF Transport Command aged 32 from Gloucester, Gloucestershire.[27]
Flight Engineer
RCAF flight engineer with 17 years service who had flown the trans-atlantic route many times. He was posthumously commissioned.[28][29]
Flight Steward & Clerk
Mr. Victor Ian Claud James Bannister, a civilian employed by RAF Transport Command aged 29, a married man from London.[30][31]
Air Marshal Sir Peter Drummond

The VIPs

Commander Rupert Arnold Brabner DSO DSC Royal Navy
(
Member of Parliament from July 1939.[34] He was decorated for his success as a Fleet Air Arm fighter pilot for actions over Malta. Brabner was "Technical Assistant" to the Fifth Sea Lord at the Admiralty 1943–44 and then "Assistant Government Parliamentary Whip" before being appointed Under Secreaty of State for Air in November 1944.[35][36]
Air Marshal
Sir Peter Roy Maxwell Drummond KCB DSO & Bar OBE MC RAF
(Air Member for Training)
Sir John Bradley Abraham KBE CB
(Deputy Under Secretary of State (Air Ministry)) A 63-year-old married man from
Most Honourable Order of the Bath in January 1933 as Assistant Secretary of State at the Air Ministry.[40] He was Knighted on 1 January 1942.[41][42][43][44]
Mr. Henry Albert Jones CMG MC Croix de Guerre with Palm
(Air Delegation (Washington) and United Kingdom Air Liaison Mission (Ottawa)) A 51-year-old married man from
Croix de Guerre 1914-1918 with Palm.[46][47][48] After military service he was Gazetted to the Department of Overseas Trade as an "Intelligence Officer".[49] Jones was British government official air historian and author of 31 published works documenting the official story of the war in the air 1914–18.[50] He was seconded to the Cabinet Office in the 1930s and then to the Air Staff Secretariat in 1939, becoming Director of Public Relations (Air Ministry) in 1944.[51] He was appointed a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George on 1 January 1943.[52][53]
Mr. Edward Twentyman
(Civil Service) A 57-year-old married man from
London University. Worked in the India Office from 1910 and as "Principal Assistant" at the Treasury in 1920.[54][55][56]
Mr. Eric Robinson
(Civil Service) A 35-year-old married man from
Bromley, Kent.[57]
Squadron Leader
Elisha Gaddis Plum RAFVR
(UK Air Liaison Mission) A 47-year-old married man resident in
Squadron Leader[60]

References

  1. ^ Davies, Ian. RAF Ferry Command : Liberator AL504, "Commando" : Winston Churchill's flights : August 1942, Cairo and Moscow : January – February 1943, Casablanca and Turkey. Imperial War Museum. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-1591141037
    .
  3. ^ "Obituaries: William J. Vanderkloot". The Times. London. 19 April 2000. p. 25.
  4. ^ a b c Graham Chandler (July 2009). "Travels with Churchill. A World War II flight engineer dishes on the most "I" of the VIPs he flew with". Air & Space Magazine.
  5. ^ "AMERICAN AIRCRAFT IN ROYAL AIR FORCE SERVICE 1939–1945: CONSOLIDATED LIBERATOR". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Liberator II for the RAF/LB-30". joebaugher.com. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  7. ^ Document Air 2/6699. London: National Archives.
  8. ISBN 978-1312961975
    .
  9. ISBN 978-1-84037-086-7
    .
  10. ISBN 978-1563114328
    .
  11. ^ Storr, Alan. "RAAF WW2 fatalities by categories" (PDF). static.awm.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  12. ^ "Accident record". ASN. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  13. ^ Radley College Obituary – WH Biddell
  14. ^ "No. 34219". The London Gazette. 12 November 1935. p. 7168.
  15. ^ "No. 34873". The London Gazette. 14 June 1940. p. 3622.
  16. ^ "No. 35618". The London Gazette. 3 July 1942. p. 2927.
  17. ^ "No. 36544". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 June 1944. p. 2583.
  18. ^ "BIDDELL, WILLIAM HUGH". cwgc.org. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  19. ^ "No. 36399". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 February 1944. p. 997.
  20. ^ "BRODIE, AUBREY NORMAN". cwgc.org. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  21. ^ "In Memory of Flight Lieutenant Aubrey Norman Brodie R.A.F.V.R. (20/02/1921 – 27/03/1945)". moseleians.co.uk. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  22. ^ "BUCHANAN, DAVID". cwgc.org. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  23. ^ "No. 36682". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 August 1944. p. 4076.
  24. ^ "Roll of Honour: Kenneth George Shea". awm.gov.au. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  25. ^ "SHEA, KENNETH GEORGE". cwgc.org. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  26. ^ "FLIGHT LIEUTENANT SHEA, KENNETH GEORGE". raafdb.com. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  27. ^ "WILLIAMS, FREDERICK WALTER". cwgc.org. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  28. ^ "SPENCE, DOUGLAS JAMES". cwgc.org. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  29. ^ The Ottawa Journal: 17. 31 March 1945.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)
  30. ^ War Graves details – VICJ Bannister
  31. ^ "BANNISTER, VICTOR IAN CLAUDE JAMES". cwgc.org. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  32. ^ "No. 36143". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 August 1943. p. 3785.
  33. ^ "No. 35687". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 August 1942. p. 3817.
  34. ^ "No. 34648". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 July 1939. p. 5104.
  35. ^ "BRABNER, RUPERT ARNOLD". cwgc.org. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  36. ISBN 978-0713601718
    .
  37. ISBN 978-0713601718
    .
  38. ^ "No. 28595". The London Gazette. 2 April 1912. p. 2413.
  39. ^ "No. 13284". The Edinburgh Gazette. 5 July 1918. p. 2341.
  40. ^ "No. 33898". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1932. p. 4.
  41. ^ "No. 35399". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1941. p. 14.
  42. ^ "ABRAHAM, Sir JOHN BRADLEY". cwgc.org. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  43. ^ "Getty Images – JB Abraham". Archived from the original on 2015-10-03. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  44. ^ "Mr John Bradley Abraham, CB". gettyimages.co.uk. No.CH.4705 (Air Ministry Photograph – Crown Copyright Reserved). Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  45. ISBN 978-0713601718
    .
  46. ^ "No. 13155". The Edinburgh Gazette. 22 October 1917. p. 2191.
  47. ^ "No. 30561". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 March 1918. p. 2921.
  48. ^ "No. 13181". The Edinburgh Gazette. 19 December 1917. p. 2619.
  49. ^ "No. 32812". The London Gazette. 6 April 1923. p. 2584.
  50. ^ "Jones, H. A. (Henry Albert) 1893–1945". worldcat.org. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  51. ISBN 978-0521662390
    .
  52. ^ "No. 35841". The London Gazette. 29 December 1942. p. 5.
  53. ^ "JONES, HENRY ALBERT". cwgc.org. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  54. ^ "No. 31802". The London Gazette. 2 March 1920. p. 2488.
  55. ^ War Graves details – E Twentyman
  56. ^ "TWENTYMAN, EDWARD". cwgc.org. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  57. ^ "ROBINSON, ERIC". cwgc.org. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  58. ^ Peerage, p.34547 – EG Plum
  59. ^ "No. 34881". The London Gazette. 25 June 1940. p. 3871.
  60. ^ "Plum, Elisha Gaddis". cwgc.org. Retrieved 2 October 2015.

Further reading

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