Short Sunderland lost 18 December 1943

[drailton]

Short Sunderland DW106 of 270 Squadron Coastal Command was lost en route from Pembroke Dock to Gibraltar on 18 December 1943. The official records state that it was lost in transit cause unknown. An unofficial record states that it was 'shot down 4 hours from Gibraltar' although I am not sure that this could have been known. Can anyone please tell me if there are likely to be any German records that might give any information on this?

[Icare9]

Answer is here http://www.aircrewremembrancesociety...3/sparkes.html
A distress signal was heard by another Sunderland in the vicinity, which is how that info is known.
Google can be your friend!

[drailton]

To: Icare(
Thanks for your reply. I have already got what I believe is everything available on the web including the web site you quote. As it says on this web site "in all probability victims of roving German fighters". There does not seem to be anything available in official UK records as to reason for the loss. My father was on another 270 Squadron Sunderland moving with DW106 from Pembroke Dock to Gibraltar on 18 December 1943. His log for that date has "A/C 'S' (DW106) shot down four hours frpm Gib". I cannot be certain that he actually knew the reason. The reason for my query was to try to find if there are any German records that may provide information about this incident. It would be useful to know which units were operating in the area to narrow down the search.

[Chris Goss]

Portugal (if that was where it came down) was outside the range of German single seat fighters and the Ju 88s of I/ZG 1 rarely made it that far down (and in any case they did not claim anything that day). I do not think that there were any FW 200 claims that day so that leaves weather, technical or another accident. However, there was alot of activity in the Bay at this time

[drailton]

Thanks Chris - as I suspected, probably not enemy action.

[carlos G.]

The info about the distress signal comes up in the personal archive from one Australian crewmember.

Another Australian was inside the aircraft but on it's file there is no reference to this signal.

That is all the info I have about this aircraft that had members of three crews inside.

best regards
Carlos Guerreiro

[Nokose]

There is another possibility for the loss. U-boats were operating in that area at the time and they were equiped with AAA. The U-850 was on her first patrol going to the Indian Ocean on the 20Dec43 in mid-Atlantic W. of Madeira, Portugal, in position 32.54N, 37.01W, she was sunk by 5 Avengers from the U.S.S. Bogue (CVE). If she encountered the Short there might never have been a report.

[drailton]

Carlos,

You say that "The info about the distress signal comes up in the personal archive from one Australian crewmember." I would be very interested to hear if you can tell me any more about this archive. As the information cannot be from the crew member concerned there must be some other person who had information about the signal and entered it into the crew members personal details. There is nothing in the squadron records about it.

David

[carlos G.]

Hi David,

The information was transmited by another Sunderland that took of a couple of minutes after this one. There was even a rescue team organized in Gibraltar but they did not find anything....

You can find this info at my site in

http://www.landinportugal.org/air_pa..._copy(133).htm

I can also send you the documents... leave me PM with one adress so I can send them over....

Best regards
Carlos Guerreiro