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  #1  
Old 7th May 2012, 23:00
MarkRS MarkRS is offline
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Short Sterlings airlift refugees August 1945

Does anyone have any information about the units that airlifted 300 refugee children from Prague Czechoslovakia to RAF Crosby-on-Eden near Carlisle on 14 August 1945?

I have seen film of what look like Short Sterlings being loaded. Details on two of the aircraft:
V8oK serial TS???
ZOoQ serial LK368

Which squadron was this and who were the crews? Any other interesting details, aircraft or unit histories etc.

Mark
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Old 7th May 2012, 23:48
Graham Boak Graham Boak is offline
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Re: Short Sterlings airlift refugees August 1945

V8 is 570 Sq
ZO is 196 Sq
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Old 8th May 2012, 16:26
MarkRS MarkRS is offline
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Re: Short Sterlings airlift refugees August 1945

Thanks, Graham.
Did they usually fly together or were they just using any aircraft available on the day?

Mark
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Old 9th May 2012, 16:37
Frasera Frasera is offline
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Re: Short Sterlings airlift refugees August 1945

TS266, Stirling rebuilt from LJ575 at SEBRO Cambridge, V8-K of 570 Sqn, 23MU
LK368, ZO-W, Mk IV, 196 Sqn. Built contract 2009/C4 at Belfast
(Source - Bowyer)
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Old 10th May 2012, 11:38
MarkRS MarkRS is offline
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Re: Short Sterlings airlift refugees August 1945

Thanks Alan,

However in the movie LK368 is clearly ZO-Q and not ZO-W. Could they have changed the letter or is it a Bower typo?

Mark
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Old 10th May 2012, 14:53
Frasera Frasera is offline
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Re: Short Sterlings airlift refugees August 1945

Quite possibly a typo, Mark. The entry says, "ZO-W96, 15/3/45....". 96 Sqn never operated Stirlings.
Just found a great photograph of V8-K, TS266 of 570 Sqn loading "Czechoslovak orphans, many of whom were internees in concentration camps.." Taken in Summer '45. It is in p54/55 of Falconer's "Stirling in Combat"
Maybe this is part of your airlift?

Alan F
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Old 10th May 2012, 16:41
MarkRS MarkRS is offline
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Re: Short Sterlings airlift refugees August 1945

I guess if it is scrawled badly enough Q1(96) can turn into W(96).

The picture is exactly to do with the airlift. The movie showed them loading the kids onto the aircraft. But they were not necessarily Czech or orphans and as far as I know they were all from the camps. It may be a still from the same film. I do not know how many trips each aircraft made.

Mark
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Old 10th May 2012, 21:04
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Re: Short Sterlings airlift refugees August 1945

Pics :
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205210743
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205220277

Film :
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/it...ect/1060018234

2 squadrons from no. 38 Group RAF
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Old 10th May 2012, 21:24
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Re: Short Sterlings airlift refugees August 1945

Thanks for the links, udf_00.
From the description it looks like the same film.

Mark
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