Hurricane - forced landing Saudi Arabia - April 1942
 

I refer to https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/...45708.0x00002c in which notification is made of a forced landing of a Hurricane with number #B6 (or BG?) 951-5 and flown by Flt Lt E. Saczewski.

This at Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, on/around 19 April 1942.

Any help to decipher the serial and/or further identify the pilot is appreciated, thanks.

Regards,
Leendert

Re: Hurricane - forced landing Saudi Arabia - April 1942
 

Most likely Hurricane BG951? If so, what unit attached to at that time?

Regards,
Leendert

Re: Hurricane - forced landing Saudi Arabia - April 1942
 

Hurricanes with single digit numbers ( "5" here) were numbered for ferry flights which were often led by Blenheims as navigators ( one is mentioned here). Both types also had special markings.
Nick

Re: Hurricane - forced landing Saudi Arabia - April 1942
 

For anyone trying to follow this, the letter about Saczewski is on page 43 of 118 on the link given by Leendert. But if you skip ahead to page 47 you learn that 3 other Hurricanes landed at 0935 on the morning of the 19th at Ras al Mishab. The rest of the file concerns various efforts to "remove" these four Hurricanes. It appears Saczewski's may have been flown out, but other three are eventually trucked to Kuwait after some difficulties.

I wonder if all four were part of a ferry flight (to Iraq??) that went astray.

Re: Hurricane - forced landing Saudi Arabia - April 1942
 

I will bet on serial BG951 too. In winter-spring 1942 a lot of Hurricane units arrived in India and Burma, mainly from the UK and some from Middle East.

There is another file in the Qatar digital archive about RAF crashes, but it jumps from a Blenheim crash on 16 Dec 1941 to a Boston on 31 May 1942

Re: Hurricane - forced landing Saudi Arabia - April 1942
 

Likely a ferry flight indeed, encountering mishaps on the way. Pilots were to proceed to Shaibah, Iraq.
Salvage of three Hurricanes at Ras es Safaniya (or Ras al Misha'ab) was difficult due to terrain and getting equipment on site, lasted almost a month before a/c could be transported to Kuwait.

No trace found of Flt/Lt Seczweski yet.

Regards,
Leendert

Re: Hurricane - forced landing Saudi Arabia - April 1942
 

Hello,

P-0791 F/Lt Eugeniusz Zygmunt SACZEWSKI (Transport Command)

https://listakrzystka.pl/en/saczewski-eugeniusz-zygmunt

Col

Re: Hurricane - forced landing Saudi Arabia - April 1942
 

2 Hurricanes showing the ferry numbers ( 6 & 7) at Takoradi before a flight; see also a couple of posts on 3 Feb. " Photos British aircraft".
Nick

Re: Hurricane - forced landing Saudi Arabia - April 1942
 

Maybe the planes were bound for India and beyond as suggested above. Here is a map of an air route which would takes planes just off shore of Saudi Arabia flying down from Basra Iraq to Bahrain then on to India. Perhaps they ran into a sand storm off Saudi Arabia and were forced down all four planes landed right on the coast.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...te_1940-en.svg

Re: Hurricane - forced landing Saudi Arabia - April 1942
 

Rolland. These were the transport routes by contracted civilian airlines pre-the Lend-Lease act of March 11 1941; crews would come from PanAm, BOAC, ATC (US), and RAF Ferry Command.
The map below is routes as per June 30 1942, as you say they still skirted Arabia on to Iran or India. Apart from the politics it would be better to come down there rather than in the middle of the Arabian desert. Terminus was Chungking or Kunming in W. China. I think the "Horseshoe" route was originally round Africa to avoid the Mediterranean ?

Incidentally crews had blood tests before leaving Takoradi in case of illness on route.



http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/I/maps/AAF-I-11.jpg


Nick