Belgian Congo

[alex crawford]

Hi,

Would anyone know what type of aircraft Belgium operated over it's colony in the Congo during WWII?

Would it have received any aircraft from the likes of South Africa and Britain?

Alex

[JohnMacG6]

Alex,
yet again, 'Avions' to the rescue - issues 97 & 98 (April & May 2001) had an article on Belgian Congo A/C in WW2.
types used: -
Puss Moth, Leopard Moth, Caudron Pelican, Ju52/3m (ex-SABENA), Fokker F.VII/3m (ex-SABENA), Hawker Hardy (1, serial K4316, ex-Rhodesian, probably ex-237 Sqn, as used in Ethiopia), Oxford

From the rather poor pics of the Hardy, it seems to be in standard RAF desert camo - dk earth/mid-stone/lt blue ? -Belgian roundels & fin flash painted directly over the RAF ones, RAF serial, no other markings visible. It carries the large underwing stores containers & has 'balloon' tyres.

Post-war, until 1960
Oxford, Dove, Leopard Moth, T-6G

[alex crawford]

Hi John,

Thanks for the info.

I'm very interested in the Hardy and where it came from. There is a photo of the Hardy after its crashlanding here:

http://www.baha.be/

Search on the WWII aircraft. There is also a colour side view. The description on the photo says the Hardy came from South Africa, but I believe it may have come from East Africa and 237 Sqn. The K File simply states that the aircraft was struck off charge 15/10/41. Theres actually a photo of K4316 on page 205 of the K File.

I suppose it's possible that the aircraft came down in Belgian territory and the Belgians kept it. If it was given to them by the RAF/SAAF then you'd think they would receive more than one.

Is the photo of the Hardy in Avions different from that in the above website?

Alex

[phasselgren]

Hi,

No 349 (Belgian) Sqn was intended to serve in Belgian Congo but never did.

Se following information from http://www.rafweb.org/Index.htm:

'Formed at Ikeja in Nigeria on 10 November 1942, this Belgian manned unit was destined for operations in the Belgian Congo. Equipped with Tomahawks from January 1943, it never actually left Nigeria, instead it was diverted to ferrying duties, delivering fighters from West Africa to the Middle East.

However, on 3 May it disbanded and its personnel were shipped back to the UK and the squadron re-formed at Wittering on 5 June 1943.`

Cheers
Peter

[JohnMacG6]

That pic of the wrecked Hardy is indeed in the Avions article - there's a couple of other (very poor) pics in the article, but neither show anything you can't see in that pic.
BTW, the Hardy was apparently given to the Belgians in exchange for the Caudron Pelican, which was wrecked while serving with British Imperial forces (seemingly in Ethiopia).

[alex crawford]

Hi Peter, John

Thanks for the additional details.

Alex