Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin and 40 Boston bombers in 1942 – can serials be identified?

[Dan History]

In early July 1942, Roosevelt and Churchill requested that Stalin release 40 A-20 Boston light bomber aircraft, which had been intended for transfer to the Soviet Union, in order to replenish the Boston squadrons of the Western Desert Air Force. Stalin, who at that time was seeking friendly relations with Roosevelt, agreed, and the bombers were transferred to the RAF. They were used by units of the South African Air Force (SAAF), and for this reason and others, their serials remain unknown to the present day. Can members help identify these 40 Bostons?

All I have been able to find is the following RAF document, dated 30 October 1942:

“we have received from C.O., R.A.F. Station, Shaibah (through A.H.Q. Iraq) copies of agreements signed on behalf of the U.S.S.R. and U.S.A. releasing 40 aircraft as below to the R.A.F.

3 Boston III, forming part of the British commitment to Russia, but not handed over to the Russians;

36 Boston A.20.C., forming part of American commitment to Russia

1 Boston A.20.C. forming part of American commitment to Russia and previously handed over to the Russians.

These agreements are merely receipts for the physical transfer of the aircraft under the Lease/Lend programme, and they include details of deficiencies of equipment. The originals of the agreements are being retained at Shaibah, attached to the C.R.Vs bringing the aircraft on R.A.F. charge.”

Two questions stem from the text above:

1. Is it known which specific unit at Shaibah oversaw the transfer of these aircraft, or was it perhaps the Station commander? I am seeking to understand which Operational Record Book (ORB) might contain the aircraft serials.

2. What were CRVs and might these documents still be available at The National Archives in Kew, or perhaps at another archive?


I have looked through the volumes of the excellent Mediterranean Air War book series in an attempt to identify some of these 40 Bostons among the aircraft lost by the SAAF squadrons. I would be grateful if members commented whether some or all of these individual aircraft belonged to this set of 40:

Sunday, 30 August 1942

24 SAAF Sqn Boston III AL787 off from LG. 99 to bomb Fuka-El Rahman road in early hours; shot down while strafing, probably by Flak; Capt J. P. Furstenburg and three KiA

Tuesday, 1 September 1942

24 SAAF Sqn Boston III AL674 off to attack MT at El Alamein. Tail blown off by Flak 15m S target at 1821. Observer, Lt A. B. Sluter baled out and PoW; Lt J. A. Pocock and two KiA


Thursday, 1 September 1942

24 SAAF Sqn Boston III AL723 ‘Z’ collided with Z2156 and damaged DBR, but returned; Lt F. A. L. de Marrilav and two safe, one injured

Sunday, 27 September 1942

24 SAAF Sqn Boston III AL785 ‘S’ one of nine off by night and one of four attacking LG. 13; shot down by Flak over target; Lt G. Cohen and one KiA, two PoW (Night)

Saturday, 24 October 1942

12 SAAF Sqn Boston IIIa 41-19402 leading formation hit by Flak over target and crashed 20km W El Alamein 0943; Lt. A. C. E. Glendinning and three PoW

Tuesday, 3 November 1942

12 SAAF Sqn Boston III AL270 ‘U’ off 0740 to attack Axis ground forces at El Alamein. Hit by Flak over target, burst into flames and spun into ground and exploded; pilot Lt W. B. Dalglish baled out WiA, but died on 7th as PoW, three crew KiA

Sunday, 21 March 1943

12 SAAF Sqn Boston III AL734 shot down by Flak and belly-landed in the desert


Some losses in the Mediterranean Air War books are not identified by serial, and of these a few cannot even be identified using the RAF Commands Aircraft Losses Database, based on the files of the late Henk Welting, at
https://www.rafcommands.com/database....php?crdb=Henk

Can members help and provide the missing Boston serial for the following loss? See below:

Thursday, 8 April 1943

24 SAAF Sqn Boston ‘R’ hit by Flak at 1030, crash-landed in Allied lines; Maj Margo and crew safe

[Alex Smart]

From "Red Stars" vol 4. Page 199.
The first batch of 44 Boston's were shipped to Russia in late 1941.But only 3 arrived in Murmansk before the New Year,1942.
The rest were sent via the Middle East, arriving in Shuaibu(Iraq) in early 1942.
According to Contacts these aircraft were Boston III's intended for the RAF.
A-20C and DB-7B subtypes were however also observed by the Soviet inspectors.
AL263....502 were originally ordered for the Army de LaAir as the DB-7B and subsequently taken over by the RAF as Boston III's.While A-20C's of the range 41-19589 - 19728 were delivered simultaneously. Even a couple of Dutch DB-7C's originally ordered for the Dutch Air Force were included.
Some aircraft were re shipped from the UK, but most came from US factories.
According to British data, the 1st Middle East deliveries included 32 Boston III's in the AL265 - 330 range and another 45 in the AL675 to 832 range. All of which were originally intended for the RAF and French Air Force but were shipped directly from the USA.
44 specialy equipped Boston III's in transit to the USSR in 1943( in the HK869 - 972 range) were released by the Soviet Commission in Abadan for use by the RAF in the Middle East in exchange for Spitfires.
Known Boston deliveries to the USSR.
Boston III's: AL263 - 330; AL675 - 832.
A20C's: 41- 19589 - 19609; 41 - 19611 - 19631; 41-19645 - 19687; 41-19707 - 19724 (total 103).

From AB's "AA100 - AZ999"

Boston III's delivered by Boeing, Seattle between November 1941 and May 1942 to Contract F-672.

Of 56 delivered to the RAF of a batch of 240, the remainder diverted to the USAA and Russia.

The following were RAF sent to the USSR.

AL Serial range -
265, 267, 281, 282, 283, 287, 292, 294, 295, 297.

Of 240 Boston III's delivered by Boeing between October 1941 and October 1942 to Contract F-719.

74 diverted to USAAF before delivery.

The following were RAF sent to the USSR.

AL Serial range -
675, 695, 709, 732, 758, 764, 769, 772, 779, 784.
788, 789, 792, 793, 795, 796, 798, 799, 802, 803.
804, 806, 811, 813, 814, 815, 816, 817, 819, 820.
821, 822, 823, 824, 825, 826, 827, 828, 829, 830.
831, 832.

Total = 52.

Those in the HK Serial number range were -
Transferred from Russian deliveries in December 1942,
35 - HK869 to HK903 all to SAAF.
1 - HK912 to SAAF.
1 - HK918 to SAAF.
4 - HK921 to HK924 to SAAF.
2 - HK934, HK935 to SAAF.

Hope this is of some use
Alex

[Dan History]

Originally Posted by Alex Smart

From "Red Stars" vol 4. Page 199.
... Hope this is of some use
Alex

Alex, thank you for your response and for typing up the information from the very useful books by Carl-Fredrik Geust and the late James J. Halley MBE. This helps make my query more specific, as follows:

Of the 40 Bostons in question, three must have been DB-7B, Boston III aircraft from the serial range AL675 to 832

The other 37 must have been A-20C, Boston IIIA aircraft from the U.S. serial range 41-19589 - 19728.

Now, the crux of the matter is, how are these 40 aircraft to be identified? Does any forum member have access to SAAF documents which list the serials of aircraft taken on strength of 12 SAAF and 24 SAAF?

[Stig Jarlevik]

Dan

To get any further I believe a good starting point is to get the relevant British AM 78 cards and the
corresponding US IARCs

And before you ask, no I don't have them either, even if I wish I did.....

Cheers
Stig

[Dan History]

Originally Posted by Stig Jarlevik

To get any further I believe a good starting point is to get the relevant British AM 78 cards and the
corresponding US IARCs

Stig,

Thank you for your message.

I have seen plenty of examples of the Air Ministry Form 78 (Aircraft Movement Card) and the USAAF Individual Aircraft Record Card (IARC). I also have a copy of Robert A. Mann’s Aircraft Record Cards of the United States Air Force: How to Read the Codes. There is even a YouTube video on the subject, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et021XJDoes

None of that helps very much in identifying these 40 Bostons, because both the American and the British cards were intended to record the service of a particular aircraft within the USAAF or RAF. Transfers to other air forces are not recorded consistently, or with any clarity even in cases when these are in fact recorded. Since these Bostons were transferred initially from U.S. control to some RAF rear services unit and then to SAAF squadrons, it is not at all likely that the record cards will contain any relevant information. The place to look is either SAAF records, or else the records of the RAF rear services units in Iraq. Have any members of this forum looked at either of these sets of sources?

Kind regards,

Dan

[Zoran Petek]

Hello,
Above is one list published in the Warpaint series.
I also made different lists - by serial and/or code/sqn, mainly from orbs and losses lists, but my computer crashed (literally, in an earthquake), so it will take some time until I found copy of that file(s), on some flash drive or some backup cd.

Regards
Zoran

[Stig Jarlevik]

Originally Posted by Dan History

None of that helps very much in identifying these 40 Bostons, because both the American and the British cards were intended to record the service of a particular aircraft within the USAAF or RAF. Transfers to other air forces are not recorded consistently, or with any clarity even in cases when these are in fact recorded. Since these Bostons were transferred initially from U.S. control to some RAF rear services unit and then to SAAF squadrons, it is not at all likely that the record cards will contain any relevant information. The place to look is either SAAF records, or else the records of the RAF rear services units in Iraq. Have any members of this forum looked at either of these sets of sources?
Kind regards,
Dan

Well Dan

All I am saying is that I believe that is the place you need to start. If you get lucky or not is something
I don't know.

Cheers
Stig

PS: The list provided by Zoran does not entirely fit the list in Brent's book on the SAAF aircraft.

[Alex Smart]

Hello Dan,
I don't know if you misunderstood my list ?
I only gave AL Serial numbers of those that were transferred to the USSR.
The only ones I noted that went to SAAF were those in the HK Serial number range that were swapped by the Russians for Spitfires in 1943.

IIRC the original enquiry was for details of Bostons that were delivered to the Russians in the early years of WW2.
If you have access to "85 Years of the SAAF, all the Bostons are listed therein.
Starting with Serial numbers, Squadron's, aircraft fate and losses which have a/c Serial number and crew names.
The Serial numbers start with W (3) followed by Z(60), then AL (55) ending with HK (40).

All the best
Alex

[Dan History]

Originally Posted by Alex Smart

Hello Dan,
I don't know if you misunderstood my list ?
I only gave AL Serial numbers of those that were transferred to the USSR.
The only ones I noted that went to SAAF were those in the HK Serial number range that were swapped by the Russians for Spitfires in 1943.

IIRC the original enquiry was for details of Bostons that were delivered to the Russians in the early years of WW2.
If you have access to "85 Years of the SAAF, all the Bostons are listed therein.
Starting with Serial numbers, Squadron's, aircraft fate and losses which have a/c Serial number and crew names.
The Serial numbers start with W (3) followed by Z(60), then AL (55) ending with HK (40).

All the best
Alex

Hello Alex,

I did not misunderstand your list, and I was only looking for the serials of these 40 Bostons which still trouble me Only the SAAF aircraft with AL and HK serials would be relevant to my query, since the W and Z serials were all assigned to earlier production blocks.

As I understand things at present, following the discussion here, three of the 55 AL serials and 37 of the 40 HK serials should be the aircraft in this group of 40, reassigned from Soviet deliveries in July 1942. This is not definitive, however. I'll wait until Stig sends me the relevant pages of Brent, as he has so kindly promised, before I comment further.

There is a separate issue with the second batch of Bostons. To quote your earlier message, Alex, "44 specialy equipped Boston III's in transit to the USSR in 1943(in the HK869 - 972 range) were released by the Soviet Commission in Abadan for use by the RAF in the Middle East in exchange for Spitfires." These were A-20C-10 aircraft from the 42-33*** serial range, and they were indeed used by the RAF, not the SAAF. Their American, and indeed British, serials also remain obscure, though Zoran has identified several. I am interested in these, too, but somewhat less than in the earlier batch, because the later transfer did not merit a correspondence between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin.

Kind regards,

Dan

[Alex Smart]

Hi Dan,
Details from "85 Years of South African Air Force ". Pages 245 -251.
With additional details from AB's "The British Air Commission and Lend- Lease"

Boston III(DB-7B).
Originally contacted for the Armee de l'Air.
AL263 - 336 ....Manufacturer's Serials - 2130 - 2203.
AL337 - 502 ....Manufacturer's Serials - 2718 - 2883.

AL270 - 24/12 Squadron's
AL276 - 24 Squadron

Boston III(DB-7B)
Originally contacted for the Armee de l'Air.
AL668 - 907 .....Manufacturer's Serials - 3600 - 3839(240).

AL668 - 12 Squadron
AL671 - 12 Squadron
AL673 - 24 Squadron
AL674 - 24 Squadron
AL681 - 12 Squadron
AL683 - 24 Squadron
AL684 - 12 Squadron
AL686 - 24 Squadron
AL687 - 24 Squadron
AL689 - 24 Squadron
AL691 - 12 Squadron
AL696 - 24 Squadron
AL699 - 12 Squadron
AL701 - 12 Squadron
AL705 - 12 Squadron
AL706 - 12 Squadron
AL712 - 12 Squadron
AL713 - 12 Squadron
AL716 - 24 Squadron
AL717 - 12 Squadron
AL720 - 12 Squadron
AL723 - 24 Squadron
AL726 - 24 Squadron
AL727 - 24 Squadron
AL728 - 12 Squadron
AL730 - 12 Squadron
AL731 - 24 Squadron
AL733 - 24 Squadron
AL734 - 12 Squadron
AL735 - 12 Squadron
AL745 - 12 Squadron
AL757 - 24 Squadron
AL759 - 24 Squadron
AL761 - 24 Squadron
AL762 - 24 Squadron
AL768 - 12 Squadron
AL770 - 24 Squadron
AL773 - 12 Squadron
AL776 - 12 Squadron
AL778 - 24 Squadron
AL780 - 12 Squadron
AL781 - 12 Squadron
AL782 - 12 Squadron
AL783 - 12 Squadron
AL785 - 24 Squadron
AL786 - 12 Squadron
AL790 - 12 Squadron
AL791 - 24 Squadron
AL794 - 12 Squadron
AL797 - 12 Squadron
AL800 - 24 Squadron
AL801 - 24 Squadron
AL805 - 12 Squadron
AL810 - 12 Squadron
AL818 - 24 Squadron
==================================================

The following -

It was not until late 1942 that the deliveries of Bostons to Britain were resumed. By this time, the deliveries to Britain were being carried out under the terms of Lend-Lease rather than as direct purchases. The aircraft designated for delivery to Britain were given USAAF designations of A-20C and were assigned USAAF serial numbers. They were known as Boston IIIA in RAF service. They were basically similar to the USAAF A-20C, with the exception of the use of British equipment and armament. RAF serials were BZ196/BZ352, BZ355/BZ378, and BZ381/BZ399. Other Boston IIIAs were taken over in the field by the RAF, some of them retaining their original USAAF serial numbers, while others received new RAF serials (HK869, HK870, HK872/HK879, HK912, HK918, HK923, HK924, HK934, HK960, HK962, HK964, HK967, HK969, HK970, HK972, and HK973).
Ref: https://massimotessitori.altervista....-20general.htm

(Transferred from Russia to SAAF).From my earlier post.

35 Boston III's transferred from Russian deliveries in December 1942.

HK869 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK870 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK871 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK872 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK873 - 24/12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK874 - 12 Squadron/114/18.
HK875 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK876 - 24 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK877 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK878 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK879 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK880 - 115MU.
HK881 - 24/12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK882 - 24/12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK883 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK884 - 12 Squadron/18
HK885 - 24 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK886 - 12 Squadron/5 RFU
HK887 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK888 - 24 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK889 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK890 - 24 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK891 - 24 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK892 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK893 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK894 - 24 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK895 - 24 Squadron/4 ADU.
HK896 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK897 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK898 - 24/12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK899 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK900 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK901 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK902 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK903 - 24 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).

Transferred from Russian shipment in December 1942.
HK912 - 24 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK918 - 24 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).

Transferred from Russian shipment in February 1943.
HK921 - 24 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK922 - 24 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK923 - 24 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK924 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).

Transferred from Russian shipment in April 1943
HK934 - 24 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).
HK935 - 12 Squadron ( Transferred from Russia to SAAF).

13 Boston III's transferred from Russian shipment in August and September 1943.

HK960
HK961
HK962
HK963
HK964
HK965
HK966
HK967 - 12 Squadron
HK968
HK969 - 12 Squadron/114.
HK970 - 12 Squadron
HK971 - 18
HK972 - 18
Additional HK details from AB's HA100 - HZ999.