Still digging away to find as much as I can about the fate of the men on my memorial. One of them was with 148 Squadron and was killed on the 20th of October 1943. What I have so far is that the squadron were based at Tocra in Italy for special operations dropping supplies to resistance groups in the Balkans. Also that they were using a variety of aircraft types but presumably ones with range and capacity. Any clues as to their fate and their aircraft type would help put the story to the name I am pretty sure this was the crew so a Liberator maybe? Flight Sergeant James Clement Cole Flying Officer Peter Raymond Flyte Flight Lieutenant William Ross Forester Flying Officer Edmond Frank Myers Sergeant Peter Twiddy Flight Sergeant Harold Williams (Air Gunner) Many thanks John
From Colin Cummings "Though Without Anger" 19-Oct-43 HR674 Halifax II 148 Sqn Southern Albania The crew was detailed for Operation SAPLING 7, a supply drop over the Biza Plain in the Chermenika Mountains of Albania. The aircraft did not return and a subsequent report from the reception party stated that the aircraft had appeared to catch fire in the air and then to strike a hillside at position 40 degrees 16 north/ 19 degrees 34 East (which is near Dukati about 16 miles south south east of Vlore). A comment made about this loss was that the pilot had previously briefed his commanding officer about the dangers of operating over this DZ. He provided the CO with a sketch map of the area with the caution; ‘Climb quickly, left handed or else’. Flight Lieutenant William Ross FORESTER 22 Pilot Flying Officer Francis Jack HUNTER 25 RNZAF Bomb Aimer Flight Sergeant Harold WILLIAMS 18 Air Gunner Flight Sergeant James Clement COLE 28 Flying Officer Peter Raymond FLYTE 23 Flying Officer Edmond Frank MYERS 30 Sergeant Peter TWIDDY Captain Alfred CARELESS 31 Royal Armoured Corps attached SOE Believed to be: Signalman David William ROCKINGHAM 21 All KIA.
That is pretty comprehensive! I did a bit of digging on the two SOE men and Rockingham in particular as your source appears uncertain as to whether he was on the aircraft (I think). According to the Special Forces website he was part of Force 133 SOE and died in the crash of a Halifax on the same dtae as the others. He is buried in the same graveyard as the bodies which were recovered so that pretty much puts him on it I would think. Many thanks to you both John
Hambo May be a case of 'sucking eggs', but this Yahoo Group os dedicated to 148 Squadron's Italian/SOE ops operationdarkofthemoon : Operation: Dark of the Moon also home Regards PZULBA - Out of Africa (Retired)
I am new to the site so forgive me if I have barged in on someone else's message. I am researching the fate of Halifax JP224(a), lost over Poland 23rd April 1944. All the crew survived. My father, Thomas Storey was the pilot (Flying Officer). Other crew members, Keen, Stradling, Elkington-Smith, Davis, Hughes and Stradling. I have seen on a polish website something about the wreckage being found near Rudnik, but was unable to open any links to find out more. Could anyone help with this? Many thanks
Greetings all I am currently looking at the ill-fated SAPLING 7 operation, because my uncle was a Flight Sergeant on that Halifax, and I thought it was about time I found out a bit more about how he met his end. I would like to challenge some of the information posted above, from the little I know already. Happy to be challenged back. 1) SAPLING 7 set off from Tocra in Libya, not Italy. As far as I know, there is no Tocra in Italy, only a Torca on the Sorrento coast. At that time, with the British moving on Brindisi and the Anzio landings yet to happen, if any special ops went from Torca they were more likely to be American. Besides, and perhaps conclusively, it is my information that 148 squadron moved from Libya to Italy only after this event, in January 1944, and then to Foggia. The distance from Libyan Tocra to the crash site, being roughly 550 miles, is well within the return range of a Halifax carrying supplies rather than a full bomb load. 2) A drop zone in the Biza Plain. However you translate it, whether Biza or Bize, this is in north-central rather than southern Albania, and so looks highly unlikely to be right. I’d recommend getting hold of ‘The Wildest Province: SOE in the Land of the Eagle’ by Roderick Bailey, in which there is something of an eyewitness account of the crash. This suggests a drop zone somewhere between Tragjas and Dukati. The crash site itself was fairly close to, and north of, Dukati. I am, though, interested to see here a reference to a ‘subsequent report from the reception party’. If anyone knows where I can find that, it would help hugely. Thanks.
About 148 Squadron's SAPLING 7 mission, I've written what I know so far at - http://www.mission.eclipse.co.uk/Articles/SAPLING7.pdf (It takes a while to appear because of the number of graphics in it, but it's not actually a huge file) Anything anyone else can contribute to this record I'd be very pleased to hear. Thanks.
Operational airfields of No 148 Squadron around these incidents. 14 March 1943 reformed at Gambut as a Special Liberator Flight and designated as No 148 Squadron. Equipped with the Liberator Mark 11 and Halifax 11. Liberator Mark 11 on squadron inventory until February 1944.Halifax Mark 11 remained on charge until May 1945. 5 April 1943....to Derna 1 September 1943 ...to Tocra (on the coast,30 miles north east of Benghazi) 31 January 1944.......to Brindisi
Hi I have just come back from Bize in Albania where I have been training for the last 2 weeks. The Bize area is a very large bowl on top of the mountains, it is a roughly 3km by 2 km. The Albania's there said that SOE conducted training there and it was also used has a DZ for inserting supplies into the area.and it was mainly used for training I also bumped in to a British man whilst high on the mountains(couldn't believe it) who was getting shown around the area by guides on routes taken by the SOEhe said he wanted to conduct battle field tours in the future. The area was used because you can get in to all the Balkans from this area. To the NW about 10 km there is also another open area with an obelisk? I did wander if it was an memorial.
