Mysterious grave

[stefaan]

HI
I contacted Graham du Toit who looks after the SAAF ROH and he replied with this.
I see that it is mostly pointing towards 148 RAF sqn.
This is his comment.
Hope it helps
From 3 June 1944 until 29 July 1944, the SAAF Liberator Squadrons were involved in what was known as the “Campaign for the Oil Fields” with attacks being carried out on Oil Refineries in Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Ploesti in Romania. Only one SAAF Liberator flown by Captain T.A.M. van der Spuy disappeared without trace in the Bucharest area of Romania on 29 June 1944. All the other SAAF losses are accounted for and the aircrews have known graves.

Operations into Poland to re-supply Warsaw began on 5 August 1944 by 148 Squadron RAF with 31 SAAF and 178 RAF starting missions on 14 August 1944.

148 Sqn RAF flying Halifax Bombers was however active over Poland long before 5 August 1944, carrying out mainly SOE (Special Operations Executive) Missions, inserting and extracting Secret Agents, re-supply to Partisan and civilian informants and spies, monitoring German Frequencies, bringing back German equipment and information from Partisan Forces for evaluation and dissemination etc. They did lose aircraft during these missions and by the dates you have given me, I suspect that the bodies requiring identification are most probably Aircrew members from 148 Sqn or from Polish Squadrons which I believe were also operating in this area at the time. Hope this information is of some help.

Stefaan Bouwer