Base: Portreath
Take off time Unknown
Op: Delivery of aircraft to 62 Squadron
Sgt Wouldes: Unit he was attached to was Ferry Command. The task he was assigned to on the day he died was the delivery of aircraft to the Far East ( for 62 Squ.) He flew from Portreath, Cornwall, to Gibralter on the 10th, captained by Sgt A.W. Storey, RAF. When completeing the second leg to Malta at 600, flew into the ground near Siggiewi on approach to Luqa. His duty on the flight was Observer. * Wouldes had been posted to Coastal Command's 59 Squadron only 3 weeks prior to commencement of the flight. It is not known if he was scheduled to stay in the Far East upon completion of the delivery or make his way back to Britain and 59 Squadron.
Sgt Colville: Crew member of a Lockheed Hudson, 59 Squadron, on the 18th January 1942, when the aircraft crashed into high ground near Luqa. The three other crew members died but he survived.
At this time, 18 59 Sqn aircraft had been reassigned to the Far East and between Dec' of 1941 and Jan of 1942 they made their way to Sumatra but only 7 arrived. Sgt Story & crew were one of those who were lost.
The squadron ORB notes: 18.1.1942: SGT A.W STORY and his crew with the exception of SGT.COLVILLE who was injured were killed in a crash at GIBRALTAR.
One survivor: Sgt Colville
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During WWII, the RAF used three-letter codes to identify their aircraft from a distance. Two large letters were painted before the roundel, which signified the squadron to which the aircraft belonged, and another letter was painted after the roundel which indicated the individual aircraft. Aditionally, there was the individual serial number for each aircraft, which was painted in a much smaller size, usually somewhere at the rear of the aircraft: (more)
Codes used by RAF 59 Squadron:
PJ Sep 1938 - Sep 1939
TR Sep 1939 - Oct 1942
1 Aug 1943 - Jul 1944
WE Jul 1944 - Oct 1945
BY Oct 1945 - Jun 1946, Dec 1947 - Oct 1950