Routing

Gus and Air Ministry

Many thanks for your input on the crash. Sorry not to have responded long before. Something desperate was taking place on this aircraft which created an urgent need to land. Being familiar with the sea along that coastline I can say that in April it is usually extremely rough with the tradewinds blowing at 20 kts. ditching was not a pleasant prospect and they may have thought what appeared to be a strip of grass was the safer option. Sadly it was not. The suggestion that they were sight seeing makes a lot of sense to me.
Gus. Your memory of the routes flown are extremely valuable. Did you recall ever meeting any of the crew involved. I think I have tracked down the civilian pilot to Prince George, BC, Canada. His name appears on a war memorial there.

Laurence

This new information does tend to strengthen the transport by ship question. I had made the following note about crossing the Caribbean Sea.

The Baltimore had a listed range of 950 miles or 825 Nautical Miles. The choices of flight path from Puerto Rico (Roosevelt Roads being the extreme North West possibility) where the last fueling stop was probably made to Trinidad could have been direct at 577 NM, along but West of the island chain to St Lucia then East to Trinidad 693NM or East of the island chain the longest route being 750 NM (overflight of Martinique or Guadeloupe may not have been permitted)

I suspect that Option 2 was the most likely route and one that I have utilised myself on trips to and from Puerto Rico to Trinidad so the distance was roughly 700 NM with about one hour reserve

If the range figures are not correct, flying the long arc above they could still have made intermediate stops for fuel.

If my range figures are correct then they would have been able to fly down to Brazil but then Belem to Dakar was 2100 nm nonstop over the Atlantic so apparently out of the question but some aircraft did go to Natal then Ascension Island (1420 nm) and on to Monrovia (860 nm.) Was that possible with the extra tank? If no then the aircraft must have been dismantled at some point, and shipped around Africa to Alexandria or Basra.

We know it was being ferried somewhere and the only area of operation I know so far for the Baltimore was North Africa and the Med so where was the last point on this ferry stage? More research to be done.

When next you speak to Tony could you confirm the range quoted and see if he remembers the added range with the extra tank. Range in terms of a one way flight and not range of operation.

You have provided a lot of valuable information and Tony does confirm my thoughts on aborted landings.

Best regards
Duncan

That is interesting garey. I know this one was flying towards Trinidad which was a major assembly point for convoys coming over from the Indian Ocean and up from South America (and the reverse) the Sea Bees had built a good highway between Piarco and Waller airfields to the main port so it is well worth looking in to.

It would be interesting if your pilot friend could say how well the engine fire suppression systems worked and how easy or difficult it would have been to make a go around after aborting a landing at a late stage with the critical engine dead.

Regards
Duncan