2024 Week27: Planes #52Ancestorsin52Weeks

My mum would have been 28 years old, when she received the news that her cousin Andrew Adams had been killed in action in 1943. Andrew, aged only 22 at the time of his death, had been a Royal Airforce pilot, in No. 37 (Bomber) Squadron. (Volunteer Reservist)

In February of 1943 the squadron was based in Gardabia, Tunisia, running its tactical operations from there in new Wellington X aircrafts, forming part of the North West African Strategic Air Force.

Vickers Wellington bomber

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1333375

These craft were medium sized twin engined bombers. They usually had a crew of five. The bomb load comprised more than one fifth of the total weight of the plane. Anyone interested in the specifications of these aircraft can read about them here .

On one of his missions on the 19th of April 1943, following a raid on Creteville, Tunisia, the aircraft piloted by Andrew developed a fire in the engines and he was forced to ditch the plane into the Gulf Of Gabes. Only two of his crew survived. Andrew did not.

Andrew is one of the nearly 12,000 military personnel commemorated at the El Alamein War Cemetery in Egypt.

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