603 Sqn RAF, 3 October 1944:
Ten Beaufighters of 603 Sqn RAF, led by Wing Co Fowley-Norris, took off at mid-day, accompanied by two of 252 Sqn, to hunt for the German minelayer Zeus of 2423 tons, off the east coast of the mainland of Greece. This vessel, the former Italian merchant ship Francesco Morosini, was considered a prime target, for she was playing an important part in the evacuation of the Greek islands. One Beaufighter of 603 Sqn turned back with engine trouble. The others didn’t find Zeus but came across a convoy of five small vessels to the east of Athens and attacked. Rockets and cannon fire damaged 3 of the vessels, but return fire was intense and two Beaufighters of 603 Sqn were shot down. The pilot of the first, Sgt Desmond Harrison, was killed, but his navigator, Sgt Derek V Bannister, was later reported to be “safe in friendly hands’’. The other crew was Flg Off Casimir Marmaduke De Bounevialle and Plt Off A E “Gillie’’ Potter. Bounevialle ditched with his starboard engine on fire, not far from the position where he had ditched 6 weeks earlier. The two men were not injured, but were picked-up by a UJ-boat and taken to Piraeus, ending in a POW camp in Germany. The two lost aircraft were the NT893 (listed as missing on shipping strike) and the NV205 (ditched off western coast of Kea) but which crew was aboard which aircraft is not known to me.
Source:
"The Armed Rovers. Beauforts and Beaufighters over the Mediterranean", by Roy C Nesbit. ISBN 1-85310-517-1
Henk Welting on RAF Commands forum:
http://www.rafcommands.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=7604&forum=DCForumID 6&archive=yes
16 Sqn SAAF:
12 March 1944 (and not 11):
A Bristol Beaufighter Mk X, allocated to 16 Squadron suffered engine failure during an operational mission. The crew of two did not survive the ditching into the sea off Kimolos island. Serial number reported to have been NE-248 ‘D’.
Source:
http://www.avcom.co.za/phpBB3/viewto...2460&start=120 (loss date confirmed by CWGC)
15 June 1944: no trace in above source