[Duncan Richardson]

Than you dp and Graham for your help. Re the planes handling I was thinking more in terms of slow speed with it's high wing loading. Actually at the moment I've dug up some new info and I'm not absolutely certain there was a dead engine.

Realising that much of what I had heard was second hand I have been searching for eye witnesses. One man with a mechanical eye lived close by and says he remembers the crash though he was only 4 yrears old. He says that the plane was trailing smoke and made a circle over the site before attempting to land. This allerted villagers to the problem who came out their houses and watched it set down. He says the coconut trees that line the sea shore were very young with trunks barely formed and had a windbreak of pandanus along the shore. The plane landed Southbound into the coconuts but came to rest in tall trees alonside a river at the end of the line which caused the complete disintegration of the fuselage. The wreck was engulfed in fire but one man got out badly burned. His name was Perry and may have been the radio operator stationed in the rear of the fuselage. He lived until the next day and was able to speak. He is reputed to have said they thought the coconuts were some sort of pine plant and the place would be ideal to land. My source does confirm just three crew. He also said that villagers put out the fire with a bucket brigade from the river.

The talk of fire on board seems plausible. To the Northwest lay Beane Field on St Lucia just 33nm distant and 8 minutes earlier they were abeam Beane and 32 nm to it's West. (assuming they were flying along the island chain which is the common practice and not direct P Rico to Trinidad) I'm wondering if they were near to or had already passed over Georgetown heading South when fire broke out creating a "have to land now "situation. If they had a dead engine they should have been able to maintain a lower altitude and get to Beane. If they were loosing altitude all the time and not able to reach Beane I do not envisage them making a circle over the landing point.

There was no airfield on St Vincent in 1943 and I am trying to determine if Pearls airfield 76nm to South on Grenada had been built by then. Certainly between Georgetown and Grenada there was no better place to land.

Questions to ponder on. It would help to know if the Puerto Rico to Trinidad route was flown direct across the Caribbean Sea or in an arc along the island chain.