Beaufighter losses Sardinia 1943

[Guy JULIEN]

Gentlemen,
I'm intrested in details about losses suffered by RAF Beaufighter units (328 Wing...) arround Sardinia from the 30th of July 1943 to the 10th of august 1943.
Thank you for your help.

GJ

[RSwank]

In this time frame there are two losses mentioned in the book The Armed Rovers , by Roy Nesbit.
On August 2, eight Beaufighters of the 47 Squadron found a burning ship in the Gulf of Cagliari on the south of Sardina. One warship and 5 MTBs were in attendance. The Beaufighters attacked with cannon fire and were met with concentrated flak. One Beaufigher was hit and headed south with an engine smoking. It ditched and the crew climbed into a dinghy. Three Beaufighters flew cover and two of them dropped additional dinghies. The three were soon chased away by FW-190s. The downed men were Canadian Pilot, FO Gordon L Reneau and RAF navigator, Sgt S.H. Hutton. They drifted for two days before arriving in Cagliari harbor where they were captured. When later being transported to Germany by train, Reneau escaped and made his way to Switzerland. Hutton remained in German POW camps until the war ended.

On 3 August eight Beaufighters from 47 Squadron attacked two schooners with cannon fire between Italy and Corsica. The flight then continued to the east coast of Corsica where they spotted 3 merchant ships. They attacked the ships with torpedoes but were met with concentrated flak from both the ships and the shore. One Beaufighter was hit and burst into flames and crashed into the sea. The pilot, Flight Sergeant Albert C Temple and his navigator Sergeant William K Ambrose were KIA. No hits from the torpedoes were seen.

[Guy JULIEN]

Thank you very much for your answer.
Sincerly
GJ