Lake Victoria Crash

Many thanks Paul McMillan for posting the details of the crash. I have been searching for many years for the cause of my Uncle’s accident, this is the first definitive answer! I had been told some years ago that the elevator control locks were not removed prior to the flight. I doubted that as the aircraft would most probably have crashed on, or soon after the take-off.

Keith

Such a precise conclusion by the Court of Inquiry suggests that the investigators had the wreckage to inspect – and thus was recovered from the lake??

Roger Smith.

As it went down into the water, in wartime, I expect it is still at the bottom of the lake!

Lake Victoria has a maximum depth of 84 m (276 ft) and a mean depth of 40 m (131 ft), and is 68,800 square kilometres (26,560 mi²) in size.

That’s a lot of lake to try to recover wreckage from…even if the crash spot is known to within a couple of miles.

The Times states that crashed in Kavirondo Gulf, Lake Victoria, early on the morning of Saturday 19/12/1942 and had just taken of from Kisumu, it had left Cairo on Thursday and arrived at Kisumu on the 18/12/42 (Friday). The accident occurred 10 miles from Kisumu

A further look in the Times shows a report on the court of inquiry on Jan 22nd 1943 , says the accident was caused by an electrical failure in the under-carriage safety lock circuit’. “The combined difficulties of endeavouring to raise the under-carriage and maintain height and speed with a fully loaded aircraft during a night take-off under unfavourable flying conditions gave rise to an error of judgement in wich the pilot allowed the aircraft to fly into the water”. A contributory cause was pilot fatigue of the ‘elderly pilot’ whe had flown 1800 miles in the previous 24 hours and had only 6 hours sleep and was trying to reach South Africa at the special request of General Pienaar as soon as possible’ – No evidence of sabotage was found

According to CWGC, all crew and passengers are buried in THABA TSHWANE (OLD No.1) MILITARY CEMETERY (and not on the memorial) – So looks like the bodies were recovered.. Which means the aircraft broke up on impact, or divers were sent down to recover the bodies

Paul

As it went down into the water, in wartime, I expect it is still at the bottom of the lake!

Lake Victoria has a maximum depth of 84 m (276 ft) and a mean depth of 40 m (131 ft), and is 68,800 square kilometres (26,560 mi²) in size.

That’s a lot of lake to try to recover wreckage from…even if the crash spot is known to within a couple of miles.

Would you know if the aircraft was recovered from the crash site ?????.
Sorry for the long winded questions but I really would not know where to look on the computer.
WEb sites regards this incidents, Gimme.

TA.

Yeah, sorry………….DOH…..

Where did you get your info please?.

From The Lockheed Twins by Peter Marson :confused: :confused:

Where did you get your info please?.

Both people have cited their sources. What more do you want?

Where did you get your info please?.

All I have on this aircraft is

C/N 2057 18-08-01 ZS-ATK South African Railways & Harbours (for South Afican Air Ways) 10 Feb 41 (E-6848 21 Feb 41) name “Major Warde”? Not Taken Up, delivered S. Africa 9 May 91. To SAAF as 248. Middle East Command, serial “K-248”. Crashed on take off from Kisumu Air Port by Lake Victoria 19 Dec 42

From The Lockheed Twins by Perter Marson

Thank you Paul,
Do you have any idea as to what caused the aircraft to crash ?.

Lockheed 18-08 Lodestar SAAF #248 (c/n 2057) ex ZS-ATK of 61 Sqn. Returning to South Africa. 12 persons killed inc. Major -General DH Pienaar Commanding Officer 1st SA Division

List if those killed
Crew: Capt JD Mail, Lt WB Lloyd, A/Sgt CV Flusk, A/Cpl LaFayette

Pax: Major -General DH Pienaar , Col F Theron, Lt-Col EV Frykberg, Lt-Col EL Mackenzie, Maj JWA Bell, Maj F Rawlins, Capt P Bairnsfather-Cloete, Sgt AF Weldon

Source 85 years of SAAF by Winston Brent