P-38 crash Devon UK 26 jan 1943

[Alex Smart]

Take a look at Lt.Donald S,Beals MACR, only seven pages but gives details of the ferry flight .
MACR 3210.

2Lt.Donald S. Beals ,O-728959 flying P-38 41-7566 (41-7576 ?) departed Portreath for Tafaroui as one of a flight of 9 aircraft.
Message was received that 6 aircraft had arrived at Gibraltar At the time it was not known if Beals aircraft was one of the 3 unreported.
Page 5 however gives more details.
Departed Station 345(Goxhill) at 1200hrs 21st January 1943 in formation of 16 aircraft led by Major G, Caldwell- Russell. 16 aircraft landed at Station 504(Portreath) on 21 January 1943.
14 of the original 16 took off from Station 504(Portreath) between 0900 and 1000 hrs destination 12 AAF.
Of the 14 aircraft ,3 aborted. It is not known if 2Lt Beals aircraft was one of the aborted aircraft.
Person who last saw the aircraft was Major Joe Filkins,(?) Hq 8AAF who inspected the aircraft prior to departure from Station 504 (Portreath) for North Africa.
So there are some differences, ie flight of 9 a/c turns out to be 16 , then down to 14 of which 3 were said to have aborted. So that would mean that 11 made it to North Africa but only 6 made it to Gibraltar .

Anyway something to think about.
Only 3 aircraft were known to have "aborted " not 4.
If two of the original 16 aircraft did not take part in the flight to Gibraltar/North Africa . Perhaps because of some mechanical problem or maybe lack of the aforesaid dust filters then maybe, Foreman was not actually part of the North Africa flight but was actually returning one of the two aircraft back to Goxhill when he crashed ?

Perhaps another search to find the serial numbers of the 16 and then find which two were left behind ?

[brewerjerry]

Hi All
Well thanks for the info, seems tgere is still doubt on the actual serial number
cheers
jerry