The Mystery of Flight 777-A by neiwil
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Description
When war broke out in Europe, the British Air Ministry banned all domestic and private airline traffic except that flown by the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). Domestic flights moved from Hendon near London to Whitchurch outside Bristol. With the Battle of Britain at it’s height, and all airfields subject to bombing, commercial aircraft were given standard RAF camouflage as a level of protection when on their home field. BOAC routinely flew from Britain to North America and Lisbon, Portugal. Aircraft were restricted to between 1,000 and 3,000 ft and could only fly during daylight to ease identification. Only Government approved diplomats, military personnel and VIP’s were permitted to travel these routes.
On May 9th 1940, a Dutch Airways (KLM) DC-3 PH-ALI named Ibis, landed at Shoreham on a scheduled flight from Amsterdam. With the German invasion of Holland, the crew were not allowed to fly home and were taken on to the staff of BOAC. On July 25th the aircraft registration was changed to G-AGBB and the aircraft was given the standard RAF brown / green camouflage scheme. The Dutch crew remained with the plane, they were Captain Quirinus Tepas, first officer Dirk de Konig, wireless operator Cornelius Van Brugge and flight engineer Engburtus Rosevink.
While aircraft flying the Lisbon – Whitchurch route had been left unmolested at the beginning of the war, and both Allied and Axis powers respected Portugals neutrality, the air war over the Bay of Biscay North of Spain and off the West coast of France began to heat up during 1942. In November 1942 and again in April 1943, ‘Ibis’ had been attacked by Luftwaffe fighters, damaged on both occasions, the aircraft was only saved by the skilful flying of Captain Tepas.
On June 1st 1943 the BOAC flight from Lisbon to Whitchurch was assigned to ‘Ibis’ and given flight number 777-A. Just before take off a BOAC official boarded the plane and asked a Mrs Partridge and her seven year old son Derek to leave the plane as they were being ‘bumped’ by two VIP’s. As they left the plane, a stocky, thickset man wearing an overcoat and hat with a large Havana cigar clenched between his lips boarded. He was accompanied by a tall slim well dressed companion. Flight 777-A took off from Portela Airport at 07:35 am, Whitchurch received a departure message and continued radio traffic until 10:54 am. At this time Captain Tepas reported they were 200 miles off the West coast of Spain and being followed by several German aircraft, his final message reported they were under attack, shortly after this the aircraft crashed into the Bay of Biscay and sank. 13 passengers and 4 crew perished with no survivors.
Why flight 777-A was shot down is still a mystery, Germany claimed the 8 Ju-88’s that attacked the DC-3 were looking for 2 U-Boats that they were to escort back to base, and the shoot down was a tragic ‘mistake’. Post war, documents show the aircraft were dispatched with the sole purpose of downing flight 777-A.
It is possible the thick set man and his companion were mistaken for Winston Churchill and his bodyguard. He was in fact Alfred T Chenhalls, friend and accountant of the tall thin man, stage and movie actor Leslie Howard.
Another theory is that Howard himself was the target. An outspoken opponent of the Nazi regime, it was no secret that Howard’s goodwill visits were just as much Intelligence gathering missions for the British government.
Other passengers included Tyrell Mildmay Shervington, director of Shell-Mex Oil in Lisbon. Mr Ivan James of the United Kingdom Commercial Corporation, who was commissioned by the British government to purchase Tungsten for the war effort.Also on board was prominent Jewish activist Wilfred B Israel, who worked to save Jews from the Holocaust.
Another victim was Annette Sutherland Burr, wife of actor Raymond Burr who would later find fame as wheelchair bound ‘Ironside’.
Comments (18)
papy2
Great work and great story. Thanks
T.Rex
Aw, man. And you have SO much work to do on the Douglas DC3, yet you find time to give us another superb history and illustration of said history. Man, you are incredibly efficient! Am I correct in assuming this is a little advertisement that you have gotten some of the texture mapping for the DC3 finished? It certainly looks it when I scrutinize the enlarged image! Thanks for refreshing my memory. I recall Leslie Howard and Annette Sutherland Burr being lost on a flight to England, but not the details. Wow! This flight had some important people on it - Shell-Mex oil and UKCC for tungsten, and W. B. Israel, maybe not as well known as the actors, but very important for the war effort. Which explains what happened, and the lame excuse! Do I have to say "Keep up the good work" when you're doing more than so?! :-)
Froggy Online Now!
Wonderful news service you provide my man! I often wondered whether there were "Normal" flights or not during WWII! In fact, because I have never ever read up on this, I often find myself believing nothing else in life ever took place apart from manufacturing and fighting! It's strange to think that with a world war on, you could fly on a commercial flight (cash permitting) even to the war torn continent! Excellent account mate, love you bringing this type of stuff to the masses - what a great public service!
ZigZag321
Absolutely fascinating! I never heard of this event before. Excellent, excellent commentary and an outstanding render! I have seen you many times and always read your insightful comments on CoyoteViper's uploads, but as luck would have it, I was browsing the new uploads in the gallery this morning when I saw yours. This is actually the first chance I have had to view your work and I now look forward very, very much to delving more deeply into your gallery. Very, very impressive work.
bmac62
Unfair...eight armed 88s against one unarmed DC-3. I just finished reading "Churchill's Bodyguard", the authorized biography of Walter Henry Thompson...Churchill did a lot of flying and the Nazi's were always trying to do him in...I lean toward some Nazi spy seeing who he/she thought was Churchill and Thompson...getting a quick, clandestine signal off to Berlin and the Luftwaffe sent in for the kill. We did it with 16 aircraft to get Yamamoto. A very special target required multiple, long range, multiengined aircraft didn't it? Love you modeling of the DC-3. I know we'll be seeing a lot more of it. Are you familiar with Churchill's LV633 "Ascalon", Churchill's personal aircraft.? Early in the war he flew in a diverted B-24. Avro Yorks didn't become available until sometime in 1943. The B-24 was spartan. The Avro York was plush when fitted out for VIP flights.
warder348
Another amazing read, well done!1
Maxidyne
A truly fascinating story Neil. Have been a bit of a Leslie Howard fan since seeing him in 'The First Of The Few' but never knew of the supposed Churchill connection. Excellent scene and so informative as always.
Penters
Another good mystery story
flavia49
outstanding picture!
coyoteviper
interesting history there. cool image.
AliceFromLake
An excellent war story about a secret service action. Nobody knows what they are doing and why. Secret services are very mysterious...
peedy
Fantastic image and info. Corrie
android65mar
Wow, I remember hearing about Leslie Howard's death many years back, but had no idea of the background and details. Excellent narrative, it's a n education reading your posts!
dbrv6
Excellent and well told - had not heard it before.
debbielove
One of your very best stories! Gripping, facsinating and totally true!.. The modeling of course, is top notch.. Thanks for your comment on my last post by the way.. Your models deserve to be SEEN!!!! Rob
preeder
Outstanding mate. I just love your pictures and the dam good stories that go with them. Keep em coming.
Briney
Mmmm someone ended up on the wrong side of Adolf... didn't they? Pity... Pity old Adolf didn't risk a flight to Spain or Norway. Mind you- it he did, he'd be easy to spot, he'd need to bring half the Luftwaffe...
kjer_99
I hadn't heard about this particular air kill, but I'm betting they thought it was a chance to get Churchill.