Identity of crashed aircraft, Trucial Coast, 1947

A further update of the Bisley crash: we believe it was Bisley BA101 of 244 Squadron from Sharjah which crashed near Dhaid on 1 February 1943, with five on board of whom three died.

Thanks for that Elliot. We have probably identified the actual aircraft, a Bisley in 1943, but I need just to check before posting, as there were fatalities.

Hi Laurence

Not wanting to confuse things further but i’m pretty sure the Beaufort used the same nacelle frame as the Blenheim. Might also be worth considering this.

There has been some updating concerning this crash. The Sharjah museum people have cleaned up and painted the undercarriage frame (rightly or wrongly) so that it can be displayed in the military museum there. Do we agree this is Blenheim (in fact Bisley)? We think we have identified the incident: it would indeed have been 1943, not 1947.

Yes, the devil’s in the detail as the saying goes.
“Plane coloured white. 52” or “plane coloured – white 52”
Not that I’m saying for a moment that it is that Turkish one – I’d very much doubt it, but it would put a different slant on what you are looking for!

I’ve enquired of the Sharjah people to check on the translation of “Civilian plane coloured white. 52” along the lines you suggested.

If you search Google Images for Bristol Bisley you get a nice picture of BA328 in white markings http://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php?topic=32669.0, but all the Sharjah-based ones I have found were camouflaged.

I see “52” on the Mark V page, and it may well be painted on in white!

The Turkish link is interesting, although I can’t see why there would be any Turkish Blenheims there. However, note that the serial on one of the Turkish aircraft is “53”, and the mysterious number “52” appears on the note written in Arabic by the locals in Sharjah! I don’t know offhand when Turkey operated Blenheims.

I couldn’t see why either, Laurence, but I don’t know anything as regards the interactions between air forces in the region at that time. The last photo in the Blenheim V/Bisley section of the ole-nikolajsen site has an aircraft numbered 52 but it doesn’t show enough of it unfortunately to know whether it is a Blenheim IV or V. According to the defenceturk website the Turkish Air Force operated Blenheim IVs till 1947 and Mk. Vs till 1948. Not really finding any detail on their use sadly.

Nice picture of Turkish “53” – used in 1944-45 it seems

http://img.wp.scn.ru/camms/ar/50/pics/137_2_b1.jpg

Thanks for that information and the links Mothminor. The French wreck seems one more indicator that ours is indeed a Blenheim, but I still haven’t seen photos of the frame of a V (Bisley).

The Turkish link is interesting, although I can’t see why there would be any Turkish Blenheims there. However, note that the serial on one of the Turkish aircraft is “53”, and the mysterious number “52” appears on the note written in Arabic by the locals in Sharjah! I don’t know offhand when Turkey operated Blenheims.

Hi Laurence,

Just linking to this website for a comparison of the Blenheim undercarriage. It shows the wreckage of a French Blenheim – a mk IV I think – about halfway down the page. Click the pics to enlarge. There’s more too if you click the March 2013 link below them.

http://www.fjexpeditions.com/frameset/oct04.htm

Civilian plane coloured white. 52

I still wonder about the possibility of it not being RAF. And whether something has been “lost in translation” – could it be “Friendly plane serialled white 52” ?
Would the Turks be sending any aircraft down Sharjah way for any reason? Again halfway down page under Blenheim V/Bisley –

http://www.ole-nikolajsen.com/TURKISH%20FORCES%202004/bristol%20fotos.pdf

Thanks AM. It certainly looks like the piece they found. If anyone comes up with a similar illustration for the Mk V (Bisley) it would be great.

Here is the Mk. IV framework. I don’t have the same illustration for the Mk. V unfortunately.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]240110[/ATTACH]

Beside being the standard bomb release push button; 5C/534 (and 5C/844) push buttons were also used as gun camera switches on the Hawker Typhoon, and later Spitfires.

Anon: yes indeed. My question is to know if the wrecked frame could have come from either the Mark IV or V (the Bisley).

The Bisley was just another version of the Blenheim.

Anon.

I just reread the translation of the Arabic note by the local farmer that I quoted in my post 24:

It had three people in it. None died in it. They were carried to Sharjah’s Al Mahatta on camels. Pots and pans were made out of it. 1947. Civilian plane coloured white. 52

To my knowledge 244 Squadron’s Blenheims (IV and V) were camouflaged, not white, and the “Civilian” is mysterious. However, eye-witnesses are not always 100% reliable.

GE coordinates of crash site: N25 21′ 35″, E55 47′ 19″

I’m glad you agree Elliot. But is it a Mark IV or V? Were the frames the same? I’ll post a photo of the site I just got. It’s fairly typical of Sharjah countryside in my experience! I understand the pieces were recovered some time ago: the landowner stated that most of the wreck was “recycled”. I have several Bisley crashes in 1942-3 that might fit, but nothing much on Mark IVs. The story is also that the 3-man crew walked away safely.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]240083[/ATTACH]

Hi Laurence – it’s a Blenheim. I would think that some of the surrounding circumstantial details are probably wrong. Are there any pictures of the wreck site?

Here are some photos related to my post above

[ATTACH=CONFIG]240079[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]240080[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]240081[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]240082[/ATTACH]

Does the yellow paint give any clues?

I have a number of other close-ups, mainly of very small pieces and details (rather rusty) of the frame.

Thanks