[Martin Gleeson]

Hi Brian,

I assume the information on this Blenheim loss came from an RAF Malta HQ signal or similar official source ?
I have looked through 'MALTA: THE HURRICANE YEARS 1940-1941' to see if there were any other Blenheims lost on the ground in Malta from 1 August 1940 to 10 February 1941 and found only this one you ask about. It appears to be confirmed - as a loss - by a report on 10 October 1940 listing their aircraft losses from 10 June to 10 October 1940 (p. 73-74 of above book) where only one Blenheim is noted.

I cannot prove the following but hope someone can add to it. A strong candidate for this Blenheim loss could be T2076. It is recorded in the excellent 'RAF BOMBER LOSSES IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND MEDIERRANEAN' Vol.1 (p.38) as 'Lost at Malta en route to the Middle East. NFD.' under the date 1 January 1941. However I think the authors have used this precise date more as a sensible tidying up date rather than the exact date of loss and expect they based this on the Form 78 Aircraft History Card for T2076.
The above Form 78 shows T2076 was officially Taken On Charge by RAF Wyton on 16 August 1940 and to the Middle East on 20 August 1940. On page 2 in the 'Write off Details' box is written '? 1.41 F.B. 'E' En route to ME.' Further down is a Struck Off Charge date of 2 February 1941 with authority for this coming by a signal from HQ RAF Malta.

Beware of a 'nice fit' like this, but hopefully someone can provide more information.

Regards,

Martin Gleeson.