Details on the crew of Liberator KH326 "X",

Transcription

A LIFE TOO BRIEF:
R / 279733 Flight Sergeant
HARRY HENRY ANDREWS
Royal Canadian Air Force
8 March 1925 – 6 June 1945
( B-24 Liberator photo courtesy of Clark Day )
By
William S. Nurse
and
Matt Poole
© William S. Nurse & Matt Poole
Version 12-short, 10 December 2011
William S. Nurse
RCAF (Retired)
Researcher
NATIONAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM OF CANADA
Matt Poole
RAF Liberator researcher
Wheaton, Maryland, USA
e-mail: feb2944@aol.com
A LIFE TOO BRIEF:
HARRY HENRY ANDREWS
8 March 1925 – 6 June 1945
Table of Contents
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.A.
OVERVIEW
1.B.
OH CANADA! WAR IS DECLARED, AND THE BCATP IS BORN
PART TWO: A YOUNG MAN BECOMES A PATRIOT
PART THREE: TRAINING IN CANADA
PART FOUR: THE WARRIOR – HARRY DEPARTS CANADA FOR INDIA AND DUTY WITH
AN OPERATIONAL LIBERATOR SQUADRON
4.A.
GOODBYE TO CANADA
4.B.
HARRY JOINS 357 SQUADRON AS A LIBERATOR AIR GUNNER
4.C.
HARRY’S JESSORE-BASED COMBAT OPERATIONS
4.D.
HARRY & CREW ARE SENT TO MINNERIYA, CEYLON
PART FIVE: THE TRAGIC END – 6 JUNE 1945
5.A.
HARRY’S LAST OP: A SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE FROM VARIOUS
SOURCES
5.B.
THE 1 JULY 1945 CIRCUMSTANTIAL REPORT ON THE LOSS OF KH326
PART SIX: THE MISSING ARE COMMEMORATED IN SINGAPORE
i
A LIFE TOO BRIEF: R / 279733 FLIGHT SERGEANT HARRY HENRY ANDREWS, RCAF
8 March 1925 – 6 June 1945 ( © William S. Nurse & Matt Poole; Version 12-short )
PART SEVEN: THE DISCOVERY OF HARRY’S LIBERATOR IN 1955
7.A.
A CHANCE FIND IN DENSE JUNGLE
7.B.
16 JUNE 1955 RAF REPORT ON THE DISCOVERY OF HARRY’S
LIBERATOR
PART EIGHT: RENEWED HOPE – THE MODERN SEARCH FOR HARRY’S LIBERATOR,
AND CREW REMAINS
8.A.
INITIAL STEPS, AND FINDING HARRY’S FAMILY
8.B.
THE IN-COUNTRY SEARCHES FOR KH326 IN 2007 AND 2008
8.C.
KH326 IS ONCE AGAIN FOUND, BY ACCIDENT
8.D.
ROYAL MALAY REGIMENT PHOTOS OF KH326 WRECKAGE, FEBRUARY
2010
8.E.
JULY 2010: OUR DEDICATED MALAYSIAN FRIENDS REACH THE KH326
CRASH SITE
8.F.
PHOTOS OF KH326 WRECKAGE TAKEN IN JULY 2010
PART NINE: LEST WE FORGET
ii
William S. Nurse
RCAF (Retired)
Researcher
Matt Poole
e-mail: feb2944@aol.com
A LIFE TOO BRIEF:
HARRY HENRY ANDREWS
8 March 1925 – 6 June 1945
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.A.
OVERVIEW
Royal Canadian Air Force Flight Sergeant Harry Henry Andrews, an air gunner from Sudbury,
Ontario, disappeared on 6 June 1945 with his British Royal Air Force 357 Squadron B-24
Liberator bomber crew. The remains of the eight-man all-RCAF crew are still missing.
The wreck of their aircraft, serial number KH326, was first found in 1955 during a Malayan
Emergency war patrol of the British Army’s Royal Scots Fusiliers. The crash site was in rugged
jungle in northern Malaya (now called Malaysia), very close to the Thai border.
An official RAF report written soon thereafter declared that no human remains had been found,
and a conclusion was drawn that the crew must have bailed out prior to the crash. Although this
may be correct, it is only conjecture. The fates of the men may never be proven.
In a 9 September 1955 letter the UK Air Ministry notified the Chief of the Air Staff at RCAF
Headquarters in Ottawa that the wreck of KH326 had been found and examined. The Canadian
government chose not to notify the eight casualties’ families of the Liberator’s discovery.
British researcher Joe Plant and American researcher Matt Poole have delved deeply into the
loss of Harry and his crew on 6 June 1945. They joined forces with ex-Royal Scots Fusiliers, the
Malaya Historical Group, and the Malaysian Army Museum to continue the quest to find the wreck
and crew remains.
After two previous failures, the Museum-led team reached the wreckage in the summer of 2010,
but the exhausting, slower-than-anticipated trek from their base camp left them just three hours
on-site before a return to camp had to commence.
Much progress has been made in 2011 on a new logging road on the Malaysia side of the border.
By utilizing this road on their next expedition, the Museum can bring four-wheel drive vehicles
significantly closer to the wreck site than was possible in 2010. From there the short,
manageable final trek by foot, carrying more provisions and equipment than previously, should
result in a more thorough study of the site.
1
Financial constraints, however, will limit what can be accomplished in such a challenging
environment.
Aware of the project since 2007, the Canadian Department of National Defence’s Directorate of
History and Heritage (DHH) in Ottawa has shown tremendous interest. However, unless human
remains are found in a subsequent survey led by the Malaysian Army Museum, DHH will be
unable to allot money to this on-site project.
What follows is a review of Harry Andrews’s life, the loss of KH326, the discovery in 1955, the
2007 search for Harry’s kin, and the ongoing efforts to unravel the mystery and find human
remains.
1.B.
OH CANADA! WAR IS DECLARED, AND THE BCATP IS BORN
On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland to mark the beginning of World War II. Two
days later, on 3 September, Britain and France entered the conflict, followed by Canada on 10
September. As Prime Minister Mackenzie King noted, it was the first time that Canada had made
its own declaration of war as a sovereign nation.
Shortly thereafter, with the urging of the Commonwealth countries, the Canadian government
agreed to train air and ground crews for the air forces of New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain
and, of course, Canada.
Some 135 schools were rapidly established across the vast Canadian nation, and the
participating countries began funneling recruits to the various schools. The British Commonwealth
Air Training Plan (BCATP) was underway. This massive exercise in planning, construction and
community involvement trained some 135,000 airmen and airwomen by war’s end.
The Royal Canadian Air Force was the focal point, growing from 4,061 personnel on 1 September
1939 to 263,000 men and women by the end of the war in Europe in May 1945; it had become
the fourth largest air force in the world.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill referred to the BCATP as “Canada's greatest contribution to the
Allied victory in World War II”. President Franklin D. Roosevelt called Canada “The Aerodrome of
Democracy” when describing this colossal undertaking.
Harry Andrews was well prepared under the BCATP system to contribute in his unique way to
defeating the Axis forces – in his case, the Japanese in the Far East.
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PART TWO: A YOUNG MAN BECOMES A PATRIOT
In the eyes of Isabella “Bella” Andrews, her 18 year old son Harry – born Henry Andrews Jr – was
much too young to go to war in December 1943. After all, his birth on the 8th of March 1925 in
South Shields, Durham, England seemed to her like “only yesterday”. Isabella and her husband,
Henry Andrews Sr, were also born and raised in South Shields.
Henry Sr – Dad – was determined to provide a better life for his family than his employment in the
shipyards of "Shields" could bring; he was a ship plater, according to Canadian immigration
records. And so the Andrews family decided to relocate to Canada.
Intent upon finding employment, Dad chose to emigrate in 1928, in advance of his wife and son.
As a 3rd class passenger he departed Liverpool on 30 June aboard the SS Athenia and arrived at
Quebec City on 3 August. Following a brief stay with cousin Walter Nurse in Cornwall, Ontario, he
relocated to Asbestos, Quebec to work and play soccer for the Johns-Manville Asbestos
Company.
Henry Sr, an outstanding soccer player, was drawn to the company by their excellent soccer
program. In fact he had offers to play soccer from various industries throughout Ontario and
Quebec. He even considered turning professional, as well, but rejected the idea to ensure that his
family would be cared for in the way he had envisioned when he departed the shores of England.
With great reluctance and with a large degree of trepidation, Mom and Henry Jr sailed 3rd class
from Liverpool aboard the SS Letitia in on 27 July 1929, arriving at Quebec on 3 August.
Immigration records show that Harry was detained upon arrival to be observed for measles. Mom
was allowed to stay with her young son. They soon reunited with Dad and lived in Asbestos for
several years.
Here, in 1931, Harry’s beautiful sister Margaret was born. Not quite
settled yet, the Andrews family moved further west, to Sudbury,
Ontario, where they found a lovely home at 280 Pine St.
Sudbury was and still is an industrial city in Northern Ontario with a
major focus on mining. Dad was right at home with his love of soccer:
playing, refereeing, organizing, and coaching; but more than that, he
was overjoyed to see Henry Jr engage the sport with equal vitality
and skill. Dad had obtained excellent employment, working for the
Falconbridge Nickel Mine Company, and he loved it, especially as
they had a first-class soccer team!
With a wonderful home in their new country, life was good for the
Andrews family in Sudbury. Mom and Dad were cornerstones of the
community, always willing to assist neighbours in need, be it Mom’s
babysitting for a sick mother or even Dad bringing newly-arrived
workers from the “Old Country” in for a home-cooked meal.
Henry Sr was quite the man, always the real English gentleman, and
always wearing a suit, long sleeve shirt, and tie. Casual dress, for
Dad, was a suit minus the jacket.
Young Harry in Asbestos,
Quebec in 1935 or 1936
(Margaret McLachlan)
Henry Jr added “Harry” to his name sometime in his teens and was
henceforth called ... you guessed it ... Harry. To add to the confusion,
Dad was also known as Harry (or Geordie or Scottie); however, by far
he preferred Harry and that's the one that stuck. Oh well, there was
Harry Sr and Harry Jr!
3
In 1954 Margaret met her wonderful man, Neil McLachlan. They married in 1956 and moved to a
home on their beloved Lake Ramsey in Sudbury. Now residing in St. Catharines, Ontario, they
have three beautiful children, Scott Andrew, Kara Leigh and Kimberley Jayne.
Harry Jr attended the Elm Street Public School from 1931 to 1939, and then it was on to the
Sudbury Mining & Technical School through to 1942. Young Harry was a fine athlete who dearly
loved his soccer in the summer months, and hockey in the cold days of winter. He excelled at
both. This young man was highly respected in the community for his outstanding character and
was well-recognized for solidly applying himself to everything he put his mind to.
By 1943 the war, now over three years old, rumbled with greater urgency in Harry's psyche.
While working with the Canadian National Railway as a station agent for about a year, and like so
many teenagers of the day, the yearning to join the RCAF and fight the enemy weighed heavily
on his mind.
The defining moment in young Harry's life was in late November 1943 when he announced to the
family that he intended to enlist in the RCAF. Harry craved the opportunity to shape a better
future for all Canadians and their allies. His great friend, Ron Soucie, recalled in 2007 that
Harry’s motivation for joining up was not of the gung-ho variety. Instead, Harry reasoned that as
a healthy young man he just could not ignore his fundamental responsibility, and so he joined the
RCAF.
Shortly after, Harry headed for North Bay, a town about a hundred or so miles away, and on the
2nd day of December 1943 at #7 Recruiting Center, Harry was sworn in to the Royal Canadian
Air Force as # R / 279733, Aircraftman 2nd Class (AC2), Harry Henry Andrews, age 18, Aircrew
Candidate. Enlisting in the RCAF was Harry's way of acting upon the righteous anger of a young
Canadian patriot who loved his many friends and neighbours in his hometown of Sudbury. As a
new recruit destined for an aircrew assignment, he was prepared to give his all to maintain the
rights and freedoms that his family, friends, neighbours, and countrymen deserved.
4
PART THREE: TRAINING IN CANADA
Leaving Dad with a heavy heart, and Mom and sister Margaret with tear-filled eyes, Harry
boarded a west-bound train to Edmonton, Alberta from Sudbury, arriving on 17 January 1944. He
was now part of the BCATP. He could finally take the first steps toward fulfilling his desire to
serve and his yearning for the excitement of war.
At Edmonton he underwent basic discipline training, known by the term “Manning Depot”, but
better described as “Boot Camp”. Dressed in an air force blue uniform, Harry and his fellow
trainees were subjected to eight weeks of medical exams, endless drilling on the parade square,
and classroom study, all designed to indoctrinate the raw recruits with the basic elements of air
force life.
Harry’s official photo, as a new recruit
(Library and Archives Canada,
photo LAC RG24-24750)
At the end of this initial phase Harry was pleased that he was heading for #3 Wireless School in
Winnipeg, Manitoba (six weeks), followed by Bombing and Gunnery schools at MacDonald,
Manitoba and Three Rivers, Quebec. At some point it was decided that his specialty would be
pure air gunnery, and he won his coveted Air Gunner (AG) wings.
Harry in uniform before he earned
his Air Gunner wings (Ron Soucie)
5
As a newly-promoted Sergeant as of 28 July 1944, he was assigned to #5 Operational Training
Unit (OTU) on Canada's west coast at Boundary Bay, British Columbia. A four-engine B-24
Liberator bomber was his training vehicle, occupying his time and energy to January 1945. At #5
OTU, for the first time, Harry became part of a dedicated aircrew, where each man learned to
blend with other highly-trained specialists. In so doing, they honed a sense of team unity
essential to their upcoming no-nonsense duties in a faraway war zone. Harry accumulated more
than 50 hours of flying at Boundary Bay.
Liberators from Harry’s #5 OTU on a formation flying exercise in dim light over British Columbia, December
1944. (Andrew Walker)
With his Liberator crew’s training completed, he was given two weeks of embarkation leave to
visit with family and friends in Sudbury. Here he was interviewed by the Sudbury newspaper, The
Daily Star. From the ensuing printed story, undated but likely February or March 1945, came
these quotes:
. . ."I sure hope I am slated for duty overseas when this furlough is over",
declared Sgt Air Gunner Harry Andrews in an interview in The Sudbury Daily Star
today. I have had the works now, the only thing that remains is actual combat."
Harry, a son of Mr. and Mrs. H. Andrews of 280 Pine St., is enjoying a furlough
with his parents after completing his operational training on the West coast.
"That was the best part of the whole thing," he stated.
. . ."Suffering from brain fatigue, they almost got me with a commando course in
Quebec, after that," Harry jokingly exclaimed. "When that was finished so was I,
practically.". . . Sgt. A. G. [Sergeant Air Gunner] Andrews was posted for his
operational training to the West coast. "I really enjoyed that lap."
This photo was printed in the
Sudbury Daily Star (Ron Soucie)
6
A confident and happy Harry on leave in Sudbury. His Air Gunner (AG) halfwing brevit adorns his left chest, and he wears the stripes of a Sergeant.
(Ron Soucie)
His embarkation leave completed, he headed to Lachine, Quebec for overseas processing. Next,
it was on to Gander, Newfoundland to prepare for his trip across the Atlantic Ocean with his
crewmates aboard B-24 Liberator KL482. Harry celebrated his 20th birthday with his crew on 8
March 1945 while waiting for the weather to clear. As so often happens on the “Rock”, the airport
was to remain “socked in” for another five days!
7
PART FOUR: THE WARRIOR – HARRY DEPARTS CANADA FOR INDIA AND DUTY WITH
AN OPERATIONAL LIBERATOR SQUADRON
4.A.
GOODBYE TO CANADA
Finally, on 13 March Harry and his crew departed Gander, with the throbbing power of their four
1200 horsepower engines a constant reminder of the gruelling journey they were undertaking.
They headed southeast for a first stop in the Azores, a strategically-located North Atlantic island
group belonging to Portugal.
On the following morning they were off on the second leg, a six and a half hour trip to Rabat,
Morocco on the northwest coast of Africa.
After a well-deserved crew rest, on 15 March they continued their easterly journey along the
Mediterranean Sea destined for Algiers, the capital city of Algeria.
Having encountered some aircraft problems which forced them to leave their Liberator behind,
they boarded an RAF twin-engined C-47 Dakota, #938, for a four hour trip to Tripoli, Libya.
The following morning it was a further four hours to Tobruk, Libya.
Refuelling and a bite to eat in Tobruk were followed the same day by a three hour leg to Cairo,
Egypt. There they were required to wait for further transport.
After about a week of down-time in the hot sands of the Eastern Desert, they boarded a huge
four-engine amphibious RAF Sunderland aircraft headed for Kallia (Palestine), Habbaniya and
Basrah (both in Iraq), Bahrain Island (belonging to the Kingdom of Bahrain), Shajah (Saudi
Arabia), Qwatar (Iran), and finally – on 26 March 1945 – Karachi (India, now Pakistan) on the
Arabian Sea. India, at last!
There are few who can comprehend the challenges of this most hazardous journey: 13 days, 10
countries, 3 different types of military aircraft, and some 44 exhausting, uncomfortable flying
hours since Harry and his crew left the shores of Newfoundland! It must have been quite an
unbelievable adventure for this now-20 year old from Sudbury.
A letter sent on Easter Sunday, 1 April, from Bombay on the west coast of India contained Harry's
Easter greetings to the family. One can only guess how thrilled the Andrews family were to
receive this letter, as they now knew that he had made the arduous trip to India successfully.
The remainder of Harry’s journey to join an operational Liberator squadron in India is unclear, as
his logbook does not contain any of the details. This lack of logbook notations suggests that after
reaching Karachi by Sunderland flying boat, Harry journeyed from there to Bombay by rail, and
then again by rail from Bombay east across the width of India to his ultimate destination in
Bengal; a rail trip of this length was common.
4.B.
HARRY JOINS 357 SQUADRON AS A LIBERATOR AIR GUNNER
Harry was assigned to Royal Air Force 357 Squadron, located at the time at Jessore, Bengal,
India (approx. 60 miles northeast of Calcutta, and now in Bangladesh). 357 was a Special Duties
(SD) squadron involved not in the bombing role, but in the dropping of agents and supplies in
support of clandestine Force 136 activities behind Japanese lines. New Drop Zones were being
established at ever-increasing distances from Jessore as the Japanese military fell back from
Burma.
8
The SD “ops”, as flying missions were called, were extremely challenging due mainly to terrible
weather, the fatigue in flying great distances, the need to visually pinpoint small Drop Zones and
recognize/accept correct acknowledgement signals from the ground, and then the difficulty in
accurately dropping supplies and agents from low altitude. The Drop Zones were typically
situated in mountainous jungle valleys or in other challenging tropical settings. The far-ranging
Liberator was the aircraft of choice for reaching the most distant of these assignments.
Harry, left, with his 2
nd
pilot, Donald Dellis, somewhere in the Far East (Ron Soucie)
9
Harry, left, with an unidentified friend, far from Canada. Each wears a
sidearm. (Ron Soucie)
Upon joining 357 Squadron, Harry became part of an all-RCAF crew skippered by F/Lt Arie
Timmermans, a native of Blind River, Ontario. The crew soon underwent two weeks of highly
intensive Liberator flight training to become acquainted with the area’s flying conditions and the
responsibilities that came with the SD role.
Harry’s crew usually consisted of nine airmen: a pilot (aircraft skipper), second pilot (co-pilot),
navigator, air bomber, two wireless operator/air gunners, and three air gunners. As the war
wound down only one turret, at the rear, was fitted with machine guns and ammunition on 357
Squadron ops; with minimal fighter opposition, the weight-saving elimination of all other
armament normally carried by Liberators was considered a necessary risk, allowing an increase
in petrol and/or SD payloads. Although Harry’s Liberators retained the actual front turret
mechanism, its twin .50 caliber Browning machine guns, and ammo, were not installed. The midupper turret had been removed altogether on most of the squadron’s Libs.
Harry’s duties aboard his 357 Squadron Liberator are imprecisely known. In Canada at #5
Operational Training Unit he flew as rear gunner and loved it. "You seem to be perched out in
space on the tail of a bomber," he wrote in a letter home at the time. "Of course there is the
intercom, but you don't get the throb of the engines out on the tail. You look up, down, sideways –
all there is is sky. That's how I like it, a bare sky."
10
But on 357 Squadron F/Sgt Reinhold “Ren” Giesbrecht from Edmonton likely flew as the rear
gunner on Harry’s crew, based upon the order of names in several official 357 Squadron crew
listings and also from documents pertaining to the loss of Harry and crew. (One exception was a
report in which the missing crewmen were listed alphabetically, not by crew assignment; see
PART 7.B.) Giesbrecht, not Harry, was the bottom name in these lists – and the bottom name
was the rear gunner, with rare exception.
With no other gun positions in their SD Liberator and Giesbrecht in the rear turret, Harry’s
assignment would have focused upon the SD supplies being parachuted out over enemy territory.
Visual recognition of a unique pattern of shapes and fire signals from the ground was an essential
requirement before a drop could be made, in order to guard against a compromised Drop Zone
(overrun by enemy forces) or an erroneously pinpointed site. Certainly Harry’s duties included
not only helping to locate the Drop Zone, but also assisting in acknowledging the visual
recognition signals from below.
When Force 136 agents, called “Joes”, were flown into enemy territory aboard a 357 Squadron
Liberator, it was sometimes necessary for crewmen to apply strong-arm tactics, such as a wellplaced boot, against any Joe who hesitated to jump. On Harry’s four ops with 357 Squadron only
supplies, and no Joes, were carried, so he was spared this unpleasant duty.
Harry’s role, though seemingly unglamourous, was a vital one in the unusual, hazardous, and
ultra-secret Special Duties assignments of 357 Squadron.
Harry’s promotion to Flight Sergeant was effective on 28 April 1945. Communications in the Far
East were slow, however, and the news likely did not reach him before his death; lag time in
receiving word of a promotion was common. Official 357 Squadron documents dated 6, 9, 15,
and 17 May, and 1 July 1945, list him only as a Sergeant.
4.C.
HARRY’S JESSORE-BASED COMBAT OPERATIONS
On 6 May the Timmermans crew, with Harry aboard, flew their first SD op in Liberator KH216,
which was the squadron’s “Z”-coded aircraft. Takeoff from Jessore was at 0445 (local Jessore
time, as in all time references below). Weather en route to the Drop Zone was 6 to 8/10ths cloud
cover (60 to 80% cloudy) with a cloud base at 2,500' altitude. The Drop Zone in Burma at 19º 30’
N, 96º 57’ E was reached at 0920. At the Drop Zone the weather was 6 to 8/10ths cloud cover
down to the hilltops, with a visibility 10 to 15 miles.
357 Sqn veteran Armond Thomarat identified this Liberator as KH216, in which
the Timmermans crew flew their first op. The men (Jerry Heaps, left; Ian
McNaughton, right) were not in the Timmermans crew. (Armond Thomarat)
11
A correct reception signal from the ground was identified by Harry’s crew; this signal’s uniquely
complex visual pattern consisted of a triangle shape (strips of cloth, possibly), the letter “N”, and
three smoke fires. With a correct signal received, eleven specially-constructed containers of
supplies and five packages were dropped by parachute in six runs from 500’ above. All supplies
landed in the Drop Zone area.
Skipper Arie Timmermans set course for Jessore at 0945 and landed at 1330 to complete the 8
hr 45 min op.
Harry’s first SD op was deemed a total success.
On 9 May, aboard KH313 “V”, the Timmermans crew, with Harry, took off at 0730 on their second
SD op, this time destined much further away from Jessore, to northern French Indo China at 21º
42’ N, 104º 12’ E. En route, at 1140 from a flying altitude of 10,000', ten packs of “nickels” –
propaganda leaflets – were dropped over east Burma, close to the China border, at 21º 50’ N, 99º
38’ E. Weather en route to the Drop Zone was recorded as 10/10ths cloud cover, with tops
reaching to 18,000 feet, and with the cloud base touching the hills over which they traversed.
With solid cloud cover below, navigator J.J.P. Perron’s Dead Reckoning calculations were
necessary in order to reach the Drop Zone. Two separate Dead Reckoning runs were made to
the Drop Zone, which Harry and crew definitely recognized by landmarks.
However, the long, dangerous haul from Jessore was for naught, as no reception was seen in the
Drop Zone area.
Upon first reaching the Drop Zone at 1320, the Timmermans crew spent the next 1.5 hours
searching the area in vain. Over the Drop Zone the weather conditions were noted as 6 to
8/10ths cloud cover with the cloud base on the hills, and with a visibility of six miles.
With petrol conservation an issue, and with the load of supplies still aboard, Timmermans
reluctantly set course for Jessore at 1527. This unsuccessful op concluded with a 2130 landing,
after being aloft for 14 hours.
Harry was absent from the Timmermans crew’s next SD op on 12 May – at 20 hrs 45 min, their
longest flight yet – to drop three Joes, four containers, and five packages to Force 136 operatives
far to the south, in Malaya. A logical explanation for Harry’s absence is twofold: a) eliminating the
weight of one Liberator crewman – Harry – allowed for the carrying of extra supplies, Joes, or
petrol needed for the lengthy op; and b) three Joes aboard an already-crowded bomber would
have been more comfortable with one less Liberator crewman taking up space. The op was
deemed a success.
Harry was back with the Timmermans crew for their next op, aboard KH114 “U” for an 1130
takeoff from Jessore on 15 May. The Drop Zone this time was in the northwest portion of Siam,
at 18º 59’ N, 98º 40’ E. The weather en route was fair over the Bay of Bengal, but a front was
encountered in the vicinity of Rangoon, Burma on the way to Siam. At the Drop Zone the
weather was clear, with 8/10ths cumulus clouds on the hilltops and 10 mile visibility.
The drop was rated a success. Harry’s Lib was over the Drop Zone at 1659, but the required
reception did not appear to be lit until 1804, over an hour later. The reception this time took the
form of the letter “T” made from five separate fires, plus a flashing letter “I”. Four containers and
nine packages were dropped in two runs from 500' above ground level. All parachutes fell in the
area although they possibly overshot their intended mark slightly. One container’s parachute
failed to open correctly.
Fourteen packs of nickels (propaganda leaflets) were dropped on Myitia and Twaystchaung at
1732 and 1842 hrs.
12
Its drops completed, KH114 set course for Jessore at 1828 and landed at 0020 on 16 May for a
total flight time of 12 hrs 50 min.
Each of these exhausting ops required both daylight and nighttime flying, of impressive duration,
over the Bay of Bengal and then over mountains, all the while using maps and charts that
sometimes were imprecise in details such as terrain heights. It should be noted that the monsoon
arrived, or “broke”, that year at the beginning of May, so Harry’s flying duties were complicated by
the unavoidable instability of the atmosphere. It was inherently dangerous flying.
When not on ops Harry and his crew carried out three additional training exercises which included
mandatory ditching and crash drills. The training was all designed to ensure that the crew were
ready, willing and able to conduct further excursions in support of covert activities behind the
Japanese lines.
4.D.
HARRY & CREW ARE SENT TO MINNERIYA, CEYLON
On 17 May, and by total surprise, Harry’s crew – only eight, not nine men now – was chosen with
three others to comprise a four-Liberator detachment being deployed far south to the RAF airfield
at Minneriya, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The 357 detachment's SD ops would be part of the
buildup for Operation ZIPPER – the intended Allied invasion of Malaya.
The SD Drop Zones in Malaya were becoming unreachable from the RAF airfields at the north
end of the Bay of Bengal; the Timmermans crew, without Harry aboard, had endured a nearly 21
hour round-trip to northern Malaya on 12 May; they could not have gone further south, yet Force
136 required support to more southerly locations. The intensifying of the long monsoon season
added to the burden of flying so far from Jessore.
The four Libs sent to Ceylon, an island just off the southeastern coast of mainland India, would
ensure the feasibility of these essential SD ops to Malaya. Flights would still be of tremendous
duration, but 357 Sqn could now take their SD assignments further south.
The relocation to Minneriya was conducted without incident on 20 May. Harry’s crew in KH162
made the journey in 8 hrs 15 min.
Various members of the Timmermans and Sims crews in Ceylon, late May or
early June 1945. The three standing men are ( l to r ): S/Ldr Haig Sims, F/Lt Arie
Timmermans, and F/O George Faulkner. No other faces have been identified.
Timmermans skippered KH326 (with Faulkner aboard) and Sims piloted KH162
on the two-aircraft Special Duties op of 6 June 1945. (Gordon Hercus)
13
PART FIVE: THE TRAGIC END – 6 JUNE 1945
5.A.
HARRY’S LAST OP: A SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE FROM VARIOUS SOURCES
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT TIME REFERENCES: The flight between Ceylon and Malaya
crossed time zones, and this introduces confusion. The time references given below assume that
under the British wartime scheme in 1945 there was a 2.5 hour difference between a clock time in
Ceylon and the corresponding time in northern Malaya. All time references in PART 5.A.
appearing in bold black text are given in one datum: the local Minneriya, Ceylon datum for
1945. Bold red-text times, where they appear, are in the local northern Malaya datum. It is
believed that contemporary documents pertaining to the 6 June 1945 op – including flight
logbooks – used the local Ceylon datum.
On 6 June 1945 two Liberators, KH326 and KH162, set out for a Drop Zone in northern Malaya
nearly 1,400 miles from Minneriya – roughly nine hours one-way. KH326 failed to return from the
op, and its crew, including Harry, were declared missing. The Liberators, flying independently,
were apparently heading to the same Drop Zone, according to information attributed in 1946 to
RCAF S/Ldr Haig Sims, one of the aircraft skippers. KH326 never made it to the Drop Zone.
The Drop Zone’s coordinates are known only in a form which is rounded to the nearest minute:
06° N, 101° E. The actual site’s coordinates would have been more specific.
Initially Arie Timmermans, Harry’s skipper, was assigned to fly KH162, while S/Ldr Sims, his
colleague and friend, took KH326. The airframe of KH162 had been bent out of alignment when
flown through a violent thunderstorm on an earlier op. While taxiing out to take off on the morning
of 6 June in the unfamiliar KH162, F/Lt Timmermans took note of cockpit warning lights. Feeling
uncomfortable, he expressed his dissatisfaction with the aircraft's mechanical reliability.
At the end of the runway S/Ldr Sims ordered the two crews to switch aircraft; from personal
experience he understood the odd flight characteristics of the misaligned KH162 and felt
confident that the warning lights could be safely ignored. Consequently, the Timmermans crew
took over KH326 while S/Ldr Sims and his crew flew KH162.
This anecdote, from 2007, came from participant Gordon Hercus, the rear gunner with the Sims
crew on 6 June 1945. Hercus provided a detailed account of the op.
A precise reconstruction of the op’s time line is difficult, but a reasonable attempt follows. The
scarce source material is imperfect. Only a best guess is possible.
Hercus’s flight logbook records a 6 June takeoff of 0800, and a total airborne flight time of 17
hours and 55 minutes. Likewise, the logbook of his crewmate, John "Pop" Flanagan, records the
same time and flight duration. Logbook times were typically noted in five-minute increments, so
the actual time may not have been exactly 0800.
The Circumstantial Report on the loss of KH326 [PART 5.B.] states that KH326 took off at 0858 –
nearly one hour behind the KH162 takeoff time found in the Hercus and Flanagan logbooks. The
KH162 takeoff time is not mentioned in the Circumstantial Report.
Official 357 Squadron records for this flight have not survived, except for the Circumstantial
Report. Only three sources for takeoff times, then, have yet been found: the Circumstantial
Report and the two logbooks.
It is a guess that the Circumstantial Report’s 0858 departure time for KH326 was a simple
typographical error in recording the correct 0758 – nearly the 0800 time found in the two logbooks
for the Sims crew’s takeoff.
14
A similar guess is that the two Liberators took off within a fairly short time span, one after the
other, around 0800. Hercus in 2007 could not recall if the two aircraft took off in quick
succession, or which one was airborne first. He remembered only that the takeoffs went
smoothly.
KH162 and KH326 then flew separately, not in formation, toward Malaya at a 500 to 700 foot
altitude to avoid detection by Japanese radar while over the sea. Ultimately a climb to a higher
altitude was necessary once Malaya was reached. The highest point in the Drop Zone vicinity, a
mountain named Bukit Lata Papalang on the Malaya-Thailand border, rose to 4155 feet, but the
Drop Zone was considerably lower.
Relying upon the logbook evidence of an 0800 takeoff and a 17 hour 55 minute flight time, the
halfway point for the Sims crew’s op – call it 9 hours after takeoff – fell at 1700 / 1930. However,
KH162 may not have finished it’s drop by then; the time when supplies were released has not yet
come to light. In addition, the drop may have required more than one run to release all supplies
successfully, but this is unclear.
The Circumstantial Report also states that KH326 was last spotted by S/Ldr Sims (meaning S/Ldr
Sims and his crew) flying normally “in the target area” between 1633 / 1903 and 1645 / 1915. But
did “in the target area” equate to being within the immediate vicinity of the Drop Zone? It seems
not, based upon two more sources: a) an official report written ten years later, in 1955, which
summarizes known details; and b) Gordon Hercus’s 2007 recollections.
The 1955 report [PART 7.B.] states that KH326 was last seen “over Bunting Island, off the West
Coast of Malaya”. Bunting Island, a narrow 1.4 mile-long visual navigation landmark only 1.4
miles off the mainland Malaysia coast, is roughly 47 miles from the Drop Zone. Its elongated
shape, pointing inland toward the Drop Zone, was an ideal landmark for the low-flying Liberators.
Another favorable aspect of this landmark was its position just north of a group of hills rising from
the coastal plain to nearly 4000 feet. The hills, themselves, made for a key geographic reference
point for the approaching aircraft. Bunting Island’s latitude and longitude are 05° 52' 38” N, 100°
19' 40” E.
Bunting Island, 1.4 miles off the coast of Malaysia, is 47 miles from the Drop Zone’s approximate location.
To the north was Alor Setar airfield. (Google Earth, annotated by Matt Poole)
Gordon Hercus recalled that his crew’s last sighting of KH326, was not near the Drop Zone, but,
instead, at a location very close to the Malaya coast, where cumulus and/or cumulonimbus clouds
were always encountered. This correlates with the Bunting Island reference. The bombers were
still flying away from Ceylon and toward the Drop Zone at the time. Hercus did not specify how
far apart the two Libs were, or which aircraft was leading.
15
Here the Sims crew entered cloud, and from this point onward they saw no more of the
Timmermans aircraft and thought nothing of it at the time.
Weighing the evidence, it is a reasonable guess that 1645 / 1915 – when the Sims crew last saw
KH326 before penetrating clouds – corresponds to a location close to Bunting Island – again,
roughly 47 miles from the Drop Zone.
Using a cruising speed of 150 miles per hour (a fair guess, but the actual speed is unknown), a
straight-line flight from Bunting Island to the Drop Zone would have taken about 19 minutes. That
put KH162 over the Drop Zone in the vicinity of 1704 / 1934. The set-up for a supply drop would
have required additional time spent visually spotting the site, identifying and accepting the
recognition signal from the recipients on the ground, and then making an actual run, or maybe
runs, to release materials. It is not known if multiple runs were made by the Sims crew; more
than one would have added even further to the total time over the Drop Zone area.
At the Drop Zone on 6 June 1945 sunset came at 1658 / 1928 and twilight lasted until 1721 /
1951. Typically, recounted Hercus in March 2007, the time of the dropping of supplies was "not
all that dark", but on 6 June it appears that his Liberator’s drop was likely in the twilight time
frame.
There was no moon that night to provide illumination until hours into the return flight to Ceylon;
the moon would not rise until 0053 / 0323 the following day, 7 June, and it was only a crescent
moon (21% of a full moon).
With these sunset/twilight times as reference, corollated with the other evidence, it can be
deduced that KH326 was last spotted by the Sims crew 13 minutes before sunset, at 1645 / 1915.
The sun was low on the horizon, but there was daylight enough for the Sims crew to clearly spot
KH326, seemingly in normal flight, for a 12 minute stretch ending at 1645 / 1915.
The possibility that KH326 did, after all, take off 58 minutes behind KH162, at 0858, and then
gradually caught up with KH162 at the coast can be dismissed, due to the need to conserve
precious petrol – an essential requirement for making the planned 18 hour round-trip flight.
Further reason to discount any attempt by Timmermans to catch up to Sims relates to a known
petrol contamination scare on 6 June, as explained below. In response to this threat alone,
Timmermans would have been extra conservative with petrol consumption.
During some SD flights, the Japanese taunted Liberators over the wireless as the bombers
approached enemy territory. This was designed to agitate a wireless operator into responding by
radio, thus revealing the Liberator’s position. The men of 357 Squadron, however, were well
trained to ignore the bait. In fact, Gordon Hercus said his crew often laughed at this futile tactic
by their enemy.
But 6 June was different. This time, said Hercus, the Japanese specifically targeted S/Ldr Sims,
by name, in their broadcast – a nerve-wracking occurrence that never happened again:
Hello, Squadron Leader Sims. Welcome to Malaya. We know you're out there,
and you're all going to die. We have put water into your petrol supply, and you're
in big trouble!
Presumably, this same wireless taunting was also heard aboard Harry’s Liberator.
"It scared the hell out of us!" said Hercus, especially because they were so far from base, and so
vulnerable, should the petrol problem be real. With its wings mounted high on the fuselage and
its flimsy bomb bay doors which would collapse upon contact with water, the Liberator was a
notoriously poor-ditching aircraft; typically, casualties were high when a Lib force-landed on the
16
sea. Nerves aboard the Sims aircraft were frayed as petrol tanks were checked for any evidence
of water contamination. But no problems were found.
Harry’s crew would have similarly followed procedures to check for water in the petrol.
This may have been nothing more than a well-formulated bluff by the Japanese, but there is
evidence of an attempt to contaminate the petrol.
It is known from the Circumstantial Report [PART 5.B.] that a signal from headquarters, Ceylon,
was sent to Harry’s crew at 1218 / 1448 to warn of the possible presence of water in the fuel; the
petrol bowser (tanker truck) used to refuel both KH326 and KH162 the night before had been
found to contain water. The message, per the Circumstantial Report, was received by KH326,
implying that KH326 acknowledged receipt (by Morse code, not by voice transmission).
Gordon Hercus in 2007 insisted that his aircraft received no such message and only learned of
the potential petrol trouble via the Japanese wireless taunt; he is probably wrong. The
Circumstantial Report only mentions a warning message sent to KH326, not also KH162, but it is
logical to assume that both aircraft received the same wireless message from base cautioning
them of a possible petrol contamination problem. It must be noted that there was absolutely no
aircraft-to-aircraft communication regarding the petrol warning; such communication was strictly
forbidden.
Harry’s Liberator would have been far over the southern Bay of Bengal and hours from landfall
when the message was sent (1218 / 1448). The fact that KH326 was sighted by the Sims crew
over four hours later, still flying away from Ceylon toward the Drop Zone, suggests that the petrol
on KH326 was deemed safe when tested in flight by the Timmermans crew.
KH162 experienced no trouble from tainted petrol, although it was refuelled from the same
bowser as KH326. Furthermore, the bowser was an "autocar" which incorporated an automatic
cut-out to stop the pumping system if water commenced to pass. The Circumstantial Report
concluded that water in the petrol was not a factor in the loss of KH326.
The petrol incident points toward the likelihood of a deliberate act of sabotage and the existence
of a Japanese spy in Ceylon who was in radio communication with Japanese forces in Malaya or
elsewhere in Japanese-controlled territory (i.e., Singapore).
John Dellis, the brother of KH326 second pilot Donald Dellis, recalled in 2007 that the pilot of the
other Liberator on the 6 June mission spoke post-war with John and Donald’s parents. (John had
forgotten this pilot’s name – but he must have been S/Ldr Haig Sims.) This pilot said that his own
Liberator, ahead of the Timmermans aircraft, flew through a severe storm, and that he thought it a
miracle that his Liberator survived. He suggested that Donald Dellis’s Liberator also flew into the
same storm and was fatally damaged.
Contradicting this, however, is a surviving 22 January 1946 letter written by KH326 skipper Arie
Timmermans’s widow, Mary Constance Timmermans, to Arie’s parents. In the letter Mary
Constance relates how S/Ldr Sims had just visited her at home to recount the 6 June 1945 op in
great detail. The weather, said S/Ldr Sims, was perfect.
This was not exactly true, as Gordon Hercus remembered in 2007. Cumulus or cumulonimbus
clouds, said Hercus, were always found near the coasts of Sumatra and Malaya. On occasion,
such as when the airframe of S/Ldr Sims’s KH162 was twisted on the earlier flight, the forces
within these weather formations could toss around a Liberator like a leaf in the wind, or tear it
apart. Such clouds (and obvious storms) were to be avoided, if at all possible; sometimes,
though, they had to be penetrated to complete a mission.
17
However, the clouds of 6 June were tame, Hercus emphasized, and not at all scary on this day,
unlike other flights. Weather, he insisted, was not a major factor in Harry’s crew's disappearance.
Hercus's lucid 2007 recollection and S/Ldr Sims’s 1946 statement to Mary Constance
Timmermans each debunks the details related by John Dellis of a severe storm being
encountered.
En route to the Drop Zone, Harry’s Lib would have flown within roughly 20 miles of a Japanese
Army Air Force (JAAF) airfield at Alor Setar, in northern Malaya. Stationed at the airfield in June
1945 was the 12th Kyoiku Hikotai – a fighter pilot training unit using Ki-27 or possibly Ki-43
single-engine aircraft. At the beginning of April 1945, the JAAF 3rd Air Force stopped the pilot
training program and proceeded with Kamikaze training.
There is no evidence to suggest that a fighter attacked KH326, but it cannot be ruled out;
Japanese records are very poor for several reasons, including the fact that many units were
ordered to burn documents at the end of the war.
Certainly S/Ldr Sims’s Liberator, in the same area, was unhindered by Japanese aircraft on this
op. The logbook of Sims’s rear gunner, Gordon Hercus, does record the word “Fighter” in line
with his note on the disappearance of Timmermans, but this was in relation to the code word
“Fighter” – referring to their specific Force 136 Drop Zone recipient in northernmost Malaya on 6
June – and not to an enemy aircraft.
From the moment when the Sims crew entered cloud near the Malaya coast, they saw no more of
Harry’s aircraft. Subsequent searches in the area failed to turn up any evidence of KH326 or the
Timmermans crew.
5.B.
THE 1 JULY 1945 CIRCUMSTANTIAL REPORT ON THE LOSS OF KH326
NOTE: All times in this report are believed to be in local Ceylon time.
CIRCUMSTANTIAL REPORT
LIBERATOR KH. 326 on the 6th JUNE, 1945
CAN.J.12779
CAN.R.217478
CAN.J.47344
CAN.J.47321
CAN.J.47871
CAN.J.47869
CAN.R.279733
CAN.R.278843
F/O
SGT.
P/O
P/O
P/O
P/O
SGT.
SGT.
A.F. TIMMERMANS
DELLIS, D.L.
J.J.P. PERRON
W.W. REEVE
W.P. McLEOD
G. FAULKNER
ANDREWS, H. H.
GIESBRECHT, R.
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Captain
2nd Pilot
Navigator
Air Bomber
Wop/Ag
Wop/Ag
A/G
A/G
ALL "MISSING" – 6th JUNE, 1945
Liberator aircraft KH. 326 of 357 (S.D.) Squadron, R.A.F., captained by CAN.J.
12779 F/O A. F. TIMMERMANS with crew as above, took off from Base at 08.58
hours on June 6th, 1945 to perform a Special Duties Operation, in MALAYA.
[See PART 5.A. for alternate evidence on the time of takeoff.]
The aircraft was next seen in the target area [near the Malayan coast, approx.
47 miles from the Drop Zone] between 16.33 hours and 16.45 hours by S/Ldr.
SIMMS [Sims], also of 357 (S.D.) Squadron, who was flying aircraft "M". At that
time KH. 326 appeared to be flying normally.
18
At 12.18 hours a signal was made to KH. 326 warning the captain of the possible
prescence [sic] of water in the fuel. This was consequent upon the discovery of
water in the bowsers from which KH. 326 and S/Ldr. SIMMS' aircraft "M" were
refuelled the night before take-off.
This signal was received by KH. 326. This is mentioned as a fact but it is
considered unlikely to have any bearing on the case, as the aircraft would
normally have its fuel from the bomb-bay tanks and wing auxilliaries [sic] before
reaching the target area (and was specifically instructed to test these tanks for
water in the above signal) so any trouble arising from water from the fuel would
have been detected on the outward journey.
In addition aircraft "M" experienced no trouble from this cause although it was
refuelled from the same bowser; and the bowsers were "autocars" which
incorporate an automatic cut-out to stop the pumping system if water
commences to pass.
The aircraft did not return to Base and there has been no further news received
of the aircraft.
L. M. Hodges [signature]
1st July 1945
Wing Commander,
Commanding 357 (S.D.) Squadron, R.A.F.
19
PART SIX: THE MISSING ARE COMMEMORATED IN SINGAPORE
The loss of each of the eight crew members of Harry’s KH326 was reported in the impassive
official vernacular of the day: “Missing, presumed dead, details unknown.”
One can only imagine the last minutes of their lives.
Was their Liberator doomed by a sudden mechanical malfunction?
Were they victims of gunfire from the ground or air?
Did anyone bail out, or were all aboard at the moment of impact?
Did pilots Arie Timmermans and Donald Dellis sacrifice their lives by staying at the controls to at
least give their crewmates a fighting chance to reach the ground alive?
Did each man die a quick death?
We likely will never know what caused the crash, or how eight heroic Canadian airmen died.
After KH326 and her crew failed to return, and with not even a hint of understanding of the
circumstances of the loss, there must have been a deep sadness among the detachment of 357
Squadron personnel at Minneriya, especially among the Canadians. S/Ldr Haig Sims, leader of
the detachment, as well as 357 Squadron’s Commanding Officer back at Jessore, W/Cdr Lewis
Hodges, filed reports and prepared the letters of condolence to the families thousands of miles
away.
Adding to the tragedy, for both squadronmates and next-of-kin, was the realization that Harry and
crew disappeared so late in the war with Japan; only two months later, on 6 August 1945 the first
atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, followed on the 9th by the Nagasaki bombing.
On 14 August the Japanese capitulated unconditionally, and the instrument of surrender was
signed aboard the American battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on 2 September.
The Second World War was at an end, but the unique grief felt by loved ones of the missing was
still in its infancy.
As Harry and his crewmates were never found, their names were inscribed post-war in stone on
the Singapore Memorial at Kranji War Cemetery, located 22 kilometers north of the city of
Singapore.
On the walls of this memorial are recorded the names of over 24,000 missing British and
Commonwealth soldiers and airmen – including 191 Canadians – who gave their lives in Malaya
and neighbouring lands and seas and in the air over Southern and Eastern Asia and the Pacific.
The Memorial contains the inscription ”They Died for All Free Men” engraved in English, Hindi,
Urdu, Gurmukhi, and Malay.
Missing, but not completely forgotten. . .
20
The Singapore Memorial, built atop a hill in Kranji War Cemetery. The names of the missing are etched in
the vertical panels. ( Glen Smith )
In front of the Singapore Memorial:
“THEY DIED FOR ALL FREE MEN”
( Leone Fabre, http://leonefabre.blogspot.com/2010/10/kranji-war-memorial.html )
21
PART SEVEN: THE DISCOVERY OF HARRY’S LIBERATOR IN 1955
7.A.
A CHANCE FIND IN DENSE JUNGLE
Ten years after KH326 and her crew disappeared, the wreckage was discovered by chance. A
wealth of detail has now come to light, but Harry and his seven crewmates are still missing.
On 28 May 1955, during the twelve-year Malayan Emergency, soldiers of the British Army’s Royal
Scots Fusiliers (RSF) were participating in Operation Unity, designed to flush out Communist
Terrorists (CTs) in the remote, rugged jungle along the Malaya-Thailand border. While dispersing
from the main track after disturbing a hornet nest that day, an RSF platoon on patrol stumbled
upon the KH326 wreckage and it’s largely intact cache of arms and supplies; when it went down,
KH326 had not yet released its supplies by parachute at the Drop Zone approximately 6.8 miles
to the north-northwest of the crash site.
The crash location in relation to the approximate Drop Zone location.
Malaysia-Thailand border. (Google Earth, annotated by Matt Poole)
The snaking yellow line is the
Descriptions of the wreckage are recorded in the Royal Scots Fusiliers patrol diary:
SAT 28 MAY
Patrol. . .found the remains of crashed wartime Liberator bomber with British
markings on tail and wings. . .Wreckage was scattered about over a considerable
area and part of the fuselage had burned out. Clothing, arms, ammunition,
grenades, medical eqpt [equipment] and personal clothing (kit) had been
packed in CLE containers [Central Landing Establishment drop cannisters
holding supplies intended to have been dropped by parachute] which
remained in the bomb bays or were scattered near it.
SUN 29 MAY
We asked for tools to dismantle 2 brownings from the rear turret. . .
22
MON 30 MAY
Searched surrounding area but found nothing but scattered wreckage. Large
piece of broken wing was discovered further down the valley next to large tree
which had its top broken off. From this we assumed that a/c [aircraft] must have
hit tree and thought this might be reason for crash.
Another description of the wreckage is found in an official report dated 16 June 1955 (PART
7.B.). From this report:
The aircraft was completely overgrown by jungle, the nose section, rear fuselage
and tail unit being reasonably complete but the centre section of the fuselage
disintegrated. Fire had occurred and the aircraft had been extensively damaged
by impact, but, from the shape of the tail unit and the markings on the fin and
main plane, it was possible to establish that it was a British Liberator.
The automatic pilot panel [in the cockpit] indicated that the aircraft was flying
through straight and level with possibly one engine feathered [one engine shut
down in flight and its propeller blades rotated to reduce drag].
A modern (2007) description of wreckage comes from Royal Scots Fusiliers patrol member
Dougie Thom, who was there on the site in 1955. From Thom’s 2007 interview:
The glass was broken all over the gun turret, and part of the plane was all open
and away, and there were tiny pieces scattered about. The wings and
everything, as far as I could see, were away. They were shattered to bits. When
they came down into the trees ten years ago [ten years earlier], they must have
got torn to bits.
. . .There was very little left of the actual plane. There were bits and pieces of the
fuselage and things like that on the plane, but it was a wreck. . .
In reply to the question “How much of the fuselage was intact?” Thom added:
Oh, there was quite a bit. The fuselage. The guns in the front, the turret of the
Liberator, the actual front of it, was still, as far as the framework went, was still
there.
Thom was mistaken. The only defensive machine guns carried on Harry’s bomber were in the
rear turret, not the front turret.
In 2007 Jim Stewart, another ex-Royal Scots Fusiliers who was on-site in 1955, recalled very little
of the episode, but his comments offer further evidence that there was an intact cockpit. He said,
“I do not remember the main body of the plane, only the cockpit area, where we
found the boot (black leather Army issue?). Also the pistol. . .”
The arms cache found at the site added up to two .50 caliber Browning heavy machine guns
(from the rear turret), twenty-two Sten submachine guns, one Bren light machine gun, eighteen
.38 revolvers, one .38 police special revolver, one .45 US pistol, and approximately 2000 rounds
of ammunition of varying calibers.
Most of the ammunition was in excellent condition even after ten years in the harsh jungle. Of the
Stens, eighteen were assembled and undoubtedly would have worked, and about forty Sten
magazines were serviceable. The Bren was in poor shape externally, but the internal barrel and
23
working parts were nearly pristine. The revolvers, if cleaned by an armourer, would likely have
functioned, and the .50s seemed to be in good condition.
Senior British commanders agreed that materials found in and around the partly-intact fuselage –
including many guns still usable/salvageable after ten years in the harsh jungle conditions – could
not be allowed to fall into the hands of CTs waging war in the dense jungle landscape.
Consequently, the Fusiliers were ordered to expand a pre-existing CT encampment found on a
nearby hilltop, above the wreck, in order to create a helicopter Landing Zone (LZ). This physically
demanding effort, utilizing axes, hand saws, and also explosives, took three days to finish.
Numerous trips were then flown by Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm 848 Squadron helicopters to
remove the guns and other materials, thus denying their potential use to the CTs after the
departure of the RSF from the area.
Following a rushed and controversial site visit by RAF and Imperial (now Commonwealth) War
Graves Commission investigators on 3 June 1955, an official determination was made that the
KH326 crew must have bailed out. Surviving RSF veterans who were there, including the only
surviving officer, believe today that the evidence at the time supported their contention that at
least some crewmen were aboard when the bomber impacted trees and hit the ground.
The consensus among these soldiers has been that the RAF and Imperial War Graves
Commission investigators – unfamiliar with the deep jungle and frightened of snakes, insects,
carnivores, wild elephants, and CTs intent upon killing them – reached a hasty conclusion in
order to get out of the war zone as fast as possible. From the official RSF patrol diary:
Also what we thought to be the charred remains of human bones were
unearthed. This was later stated by experts not to be the case. I (Lt. Staheli) still
feel very sceptical and from personal clothing found later feel quite convinced
that crew did not bale out.
The late Lt John Staheli, who wrote these lines of the patrol diary, commanded 12
Platoon D Company 1 RSF, the unit which discovered KH326’s wreckage.
A further description of what was found, and another opinion, from the same report:
Also. . .a charred remains of BD with whistle attached, charred flying boots and
goggles, a lighter, 1 pr [pair] of civilian shoes, charred flying jackets, remains of
one May West . . . All these latter articles together with the position of the wreck
convinced us that some at least of the crew members must have crashed with
the aircraft.
“BD” was an abbreviation for battle dress – the combat uniform worn by British and many
Commonwealth and Empire forces, including the RAF and RCAF, through the Second World
War. The whistle almost certainly was the standard RAF-issue aircrew whistle attached at the
collar and used in emergency situations. The “May West” was a yellow flotation device worn
around an airman’s neck and across his chest – nicknamed a “Mae West” after the Hollywood
actress.
The KH326 aircrew were each issued a sidearm pistol for use in emergencies. (Harry is wearing
his sidearm in the second of the photos reproduced in PART 4.B., above.) The fact that a pistol
was found in the cockpit, with a boot (per Jim Stewart in 2007), supports but does not prove the
theory that at least one airman was in the cockpit at the time of the crash.
One would logically assume that an airman would have had the sidearm with him when bailing
out, for protection in avoiding capture, killing wild game for food, etc.
24
The evidence pertaining to the possibility of remains being in or near the wreck is not
overwhelming; there are no easy answers.
The necessity of continuing its war patrol forced the RSF to move away from the crash site, and
the wreckage, in a remote war zone, was forgotten. The official RAF report essentially drew the
investigation to a close.
Copy of the actual annotated, poorly-overlapping 1:63,360 scale RSF maps from the 1955 patrol when
Harry’s bomber was found. The grid lines are 1000 yards apart. The reddish circle and faint X roughly
indicate the location of the cleared Landing Zone (near the crash site), from which KH326’s salvaged
materials were removed by helicopter. According to the RSF report, the map grid reference to the wreckage
of KH326 is 818300. The helicopter LZ would have been at the top of the hill, at something like 818310.
The crash site was in Malaya, only several hundred yards from the border with Thailand. (Major Willie
Shaw, MBE, Regimental Secretary of The Royal Highland Fusiliers, Glasgow, Scotland, via Col. Blair Agnew
and Joe Plant)
7.B.
16 JUNE 1955 RAF REPORT ON THE DISCOVERY OF HARRY’S LIBERATOR
The RAF report on the discovery of KH326’s wreckage, dated 16 June 1955, no doubt took into
account the opinions of the RAF and Imperial War Graves Commission personnel who visited the
wreck on 3 June (as noted in the 3 June RSF diary entry):
Liberator KH 326 – Missing 6th June, 1945
I have the honour to report that the wreckage of a Liberator aircraft has
been discovered in the Kroh area near the Malaya/Siam border.
2.
The aircraft had crashed in deep jungle at map reference QY300814
[erroneous flipping of “northing” and “easting” 3-digit grid reference numbers;
it has to be QY814300 – close to the “818300” grid reference noted in the RSF
diary] and in view of nature of remains found in the wreckage it is assumed that at
the time of the incident it had been engaged on a supply dropping mission. The
remains of supply containers and parachutes together with a number of light arms
and ammunition were found. A detailed list of the arms and ammunition is attached
and arrangements are being made for their disposal. Approximately 15 sten guns
and most of the ammunition is serviceable.
25
3.
The aircraft was completely overgrown by jungle, the nose section, rear
fuselage and tail unit being reasonably complete but the centre section of the
fuselage disintegrated. Fire had occurred and the aircraft had been extensively
damaged by impact, but, from the shape of the tail unit and the markings on the fin
and main plane, it was possible to establish that it was a British Liberator. No aircraft
serial number could be found on the main structure; however, a number KH326, X
was printed on two metal strips in the vicinity of the navigator's position. [KH326 was
“X” on 357 Sqn.] These strips were removed and are enclosed herewith.
4.
Four engines, type Pratt and Witney Twin Wasp R.1830-65A were traced,
but it was only possible to remove the engine plates from two. These plates showed
the manufacturers' numbers BP.452586 and BP.450340 and are also enclosed
herewith.
5.
There are no indications that any of the crew were in the aircraft when it
crashed; no human remains or traces were found. The automatic pilot panel
indicated that the aircraft was flying through straight and level with possibly one
engine feathered [shut down, with its propeller rotated to minimize drag] and it is
considered that the crew had abandoned the aircraft before it crashed. This is borne
out by the fact that no trace of any safety equipment was found despite an extensive
search in and around the wreckage.
6.
A search through old records held at this Headquarters has revealed that a
Liberator aircraft KH.326 of No. 357 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force [wrong; it
was a British Royal Air Force aircraft manned by an RCAF crew] failed to return
to its base from a supply dropping mission on 6th June, 1945. This aircraft was last
seen over Bunting Island, off the West Coast of Malaya, which is within about 50
miles of the location of the wreckage and, although an intelligence report [no idea
where this can be found] received 3 months after the incident suggested that
KH.326 had been shot down in the sea off the South Andaman Island, there is little
doubt that this is the aircraft concerned. However, this can possibly be confirmed by
the engine numbers.
7.
Particulars of the crew, as recorded at this Headquarters, are shown below
but no details of their fate are held and it would be appreciated if this Headquarters
could be given any information in this connection which may be held at the Air
Ministry. All were members of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
CAN/R.279733
CAN/R.217478
CAN/J.47869
CAN/R.278843
CAN/J.47871
CAN/J.47344
CAN/J.47321
CAN/J.12779
F/Sgt.
F/Sgt.
F/Off.
F/Sgt.
F/Off.
F/Off.
F/Off.
F/Lt.
Andrews, H.H.
Dellis, D.L.
Faulkner, G.
Giesbrecht, R.
McLeod, W.P.
Perron, J.J.P.
Reeve, W.W.
Timmermans, A.F
A Group Captain O.A. Morris signed the letter. The RAF investigating team noted that the
Liberator’s autopilot – a sophisticated electrical device which could fly the plane – was found to
be engaged (in the “on” position) in the intact cockpit. The investigators interpreted this as
evidence that the crew had bailed out, after Arie Timmermans had switched the flight controls to
autopilot in advance of his own exit from the aircraft. The accuracy of this interpretation is
debatable.
The names listing is alphabetical, and not based on crew position.
26
PART EIGHT: RENEWED HOPE – THE MODERN SEARCH FOR HARRY’S LIBERATOR,
AND CREW REMAINS
8.A.
INITIAL STEPS, AND FINDING HARRY’S FAMILY
While researching the Malayan Emergency in the autumn of 2006, British Army veteran Joe
Plant, who served in that conflict, learned of a missing RAF Liberator bomber discovered by the
British Army’s Royal Scots Fusiliers during a 1955 jungle patrol near the Malaysia/Thailand
border. Joe’s efforts to learn the identity of the aircraft proved frustrating at first.
In March 2007, having learned of Joe’s quest for details, American amateur RAF historian Matt
Poole became involved and quickly determined the wreck to be that of Harry’s bomber, KH326.
Collaborating on a fresh investigation into the KH326 case, Joe and Matt subsequently uncovered
the wealth of evidence presented in PART FIVE and PART SEVEN.
Matt succeeded in finding the kin of the eight crewmen. Locating Margaret, Harry’s sister, was
not easy, but perseverance and good fortune paid off.
Having learned that Harry’s hometown was Sudbury, Ontario, Matt phoned all of the Andrews
listings in the Sudbury telephone directory – with no luck whatsoever. He then wrote a 10 April
2007 e-mail to Northern Life newspaper. Although his plea was not printed until 1 May, it proved
successful…and the results sent Matt in the right direction down the road leading to Margaret.
First to respond to the Northern Life story was Gilles Huneault of Sudbury:
My name is Gilles Huneault, born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario. I grew up on
Pine Street, the same street where the Andrews family lived. At that time I was
eight years old. (I am now 70 yrs old.)
I can remember Harry Andrews’ mother coming to our house to tell my parents
that her son Harry was missing during the war. I remember that Harry had a
younger sister.
Doug Soucie, brother of Harry’s close friend Ron – also responded by e-mail to Matt (1 May
2007):
I just read with great interest, your article on Harry Henry Andrews. This article
was brought to my attention today (May 1st) by my son who lives in Chatham
Ont.
I was visiting him last week and told him that I brought a bit of information about
Harry Andrews that I had retrieved from Veterans Affairs Canada to my brother
Ron Soucie, in Windsor Ont.
There wasn't a lot of information, but my brother was thrilled about it, because
they were very close friends.
He immediately got out an old photo album and showed me pictures of Harry in
his uniform and a couple of pictures of Harry and a buddy taken in Burma. My
brother also has one of Harry's wings insignia that Harry had sent him. He told
me that he kept in touch with Harry's mother and sister for a long time but
eventually lost contact with the family.
It's just so strange that all of this is coming to light at this time.
27
My youngest brother, Harry Andrew Soucie, was named after Harry Andrews out
of respect for his friendship with my brother Ron.
I will be contacting Ron with this information and I will ask him if he would like to
correspond with you.
Ron is eighty years old now and does not own a computer but I am sure he will
be delighted to help you in any way he can.
Ron jumped at the chance to correspond with Matt, and on 15 May they spoke by phone. Some
highlights:
•
Ron was working with Harry in the same Canadian National Railway office when
Harry decided to join the RCAF. Ron basically took over Harry’s job.
•
When Harry went overseas, Ron’s family sent out parcels – no doubt greatly
appreciated at the other end of the world where such “care package” treats were
next to impossible to find. The thoughtful gestures from hometown friends would
have also reminded Harry of the reason he had joined up in the first place – to
keep friends and family back home safe and free.
•
Ron recalled that Harry’s sister Margaret married in Sudbury and moved to St.
Catharines, but he did not know her married name. Eventually Isabella, Harry
and Margaret’s mother, relocated to St. Catharines to be with her daughter.
[Isabella had been widowed in 1952.] Ron lost touch with Margaret after Isabella
died.
Ron (who died in October 2008) sent Matt photos of Harry that are seen in PART THREE and
PART FOUR. He also put Matt in touch with brothers David and Bill Hough, who lived across the
street from Harry and Margaret on Pine Street.
But nobody could figure out how to find Margaret, or what her married name was.
On-line immigration records for Canada soon revealed that Henry Sr listed his cousin Walter
Nurse as his destination upon arriving in Canada in 1928; Walter’s address was then 342 First
Street East, Cornwall, Ontario. A check of the Cornwall telephone listings led Matt to ring
Christopher Nurse, Walter’s relative on 30 June 2007, and Christopher put Matt on to his father,
Alfred.
Alfred remembered Margaret’s married name, but he did not know how to spell it! Was it
McLaghlan? McLoughan? Did the surname start with “Mc” or “Mac”? Nevertheless, despite this
uncertainty, Alfred’s information was an undeniably huge step in the right direction.
To cover various options, Matt initially tried a Canada411 phone directory search of public listings
in St Catharines beginning with the four letters “MCLA”. He relayed the results to Alfred. Upon
hearing the name of a particular street in St Catharines, Alfred instantly recognized it as
Margaret’s address; The name in the listing, N. D. McLachlan, was Neil, Margaret's husband.
On the evening of 30 June 2007 Matt dialed the number, and Margaret picked up the phone.
Success at last, followed by a lengthy conversation during which Matt began to share the rich
details Margaret had never known.
28
8.B.
THE IN-COUNTRY SEARCHES FOR KH326 IN 2007 AND 2008
The historical record alone did not satisfy Joe Plant and Matt Poole. Having learned the
approximate crash location from 1955 documents and the Royal Scots Fusiliers patrol map, they
were determined to somehow rediscover the wreckage of KH326, and, hopefully, crew remains.
Teaming up with them in 2007 were Shaharom Ahmad, head of the Malaya Historical Group, and
Malaysian Army Captain Muhd Zuraiman Abd Ghani, Assistant Curator at the Malaysian Army
Museum in Port Dickson. (The latter is better known simply as Captain Jim Zuraiman.)
The combined efforts of Shaharom and Capt Zuraiman had already succeeded in the excavation
of human remains from two RAF crash sites in their country: an RAF Dakota transport and the
only other RAF Liberator lost in Malaya. Recognizing the value of his military and professional
standing in dealing with bureaucracy, Capt Zuraiman has acted as the head of their group.
Their team gained official Malaysian government permission for two limited searches for KH326
(2007 and 2008) in the areas identified on the Royal Scots Fusilier map from 1955; the area is a
high-security zone because of the proximity to the Thai border.
The 2007 search fell short of reaching the general crash area due to weather, fierce terrain and
vegetation, and too short a timeframe granted for the search by their government.
The 2008 search in the area where KH326 certainly came down was intense, very promising, but
ultimately unsuccessful. Again, the team had been allowed only a limited time in the area by the
Malaysian government. The searchers – modern well-educated men – reported a number of
eerie paranormal phenomena, including a brief, direct communication with the spirit of the
skipper, F/Lt Arie Timmermans, via a shaman brought along on the expedition. “Please find us,”
is essentially what Timmermans said!
Some of the search team, 2008, in the hilly, dense jungle landscape close to where KH326 came down.
Capt Jim Zuraiman is front row, left. Shaharom Ahmad is in the yellow t-shirt and hat, in the back row.
(Shaharom Ahmad)
29
The searchers felt certain that they were very close to finding the wreck in 2008 – within yards,
even. This was only their hunch; the fact is that they came out of the jungle after their expedition
with little to show for their efforts except exhaustion, insect bites, and paranormal experiences
that related directly to KH326.
Their biggest hurdles had been two-fold:
•
The limited search window granted by the Malaysian authorities; and
•
The dense bamboo vegetation’s concealment of the wreckage. This is no
surprise, really, given the fact that the wreck went undisturbed for a decade
between 1945 and 1955. Even the Communist rebels were unaware of the
wealth of guns, ammunition, and other supplies lying under their noses only a
few yards off of the main jungle path, and perhaps 100 to 200 yards from an
encampment estimated to sleep 100 men and women.
8.C.
KH326 IS ONCE AGAIN FOUND, BY ACCIDENT
The Malaysian Army maintains a border presence in the region, in response to smuggling,
poaching, and insurgency issues. The poachers are known to search for anything of value,
including the prized gaharu resin of the fragrant eaglewood, used to make perfumes.
Border units are inserted into the jungle routinely by helicopter. Capt Zuraiman spread the word
amongst Army units that a wrecked aircraft was known to have come down there, and he asked
for any details, should one of the patrols chance upon it.
And that’s exactly what happened, first in 2009 and again in early 2010, when separate Army
patrols discovered the obvious debris of a large aircraft in dense jungle.
“A” Company of the Royal Malay Regiment found the wreckage in 2009 while lost on patrol in a
wrong sector of the border zone. Fearing disciplinary action for being far from their assigned
patrol area, they failed to report the discovery to their Commanding Officer.
“B” Company of the Royal Rangers Regiment stumbled upon the wreckage in February 2010
after similarly entering the wrong patrol area. They, too, chose not to report their findings. In this
case, however, an officer of the Regiment, who had joined Capt Zuraiman and Shaharom Ahmad
on the two previous KH326 search missions, learned of the findings four months later and
encouraged those involved to come forward. The truth emerged, at last!
Photos from the February 2010 site visit reveal undeniable evidence that, indeed, the wreckage
was of a four-engine Liberator bomber with a front turret. It could only have been Harry’s aircraft;
RAF 356 Squadron’s KL654, the only other Liberator ever lost over Malaysia, had already been
excavated by Capt Zuraiman, Shaharom, and their team.
8.D.
ROYAL MALAY REGIMENT PHOTOS OF KH326 WRECKAGE, FEBRUARY 2010
There were very few photos taken. Here are three (via Capt Jim Zuraiman). Careful comparison
with known photos and aircraft manuals has allowed precise matches to Liberator parts.
30
An aircraft engine with two rows of seven cylinders, matching
the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engines on KH326.
The port (left) wing and main landing gear (minus the rubber tire). It is certainly not a nose wheel landing
gear, based on attachment hardware and the positioning in relation to wing structure. Since main landing
gear on the Liberator retracted away from the fuselage, this photo of the port gear/wing could only have
been taken from the rear of the wing, looking toward where the fuselage would have been.
The landing gear in this photo is aligned essentially as it should be for a Liberator in flight – in the retracted,
or “up”, position. This section of the port wing sits upright; the top surface in the photo, draped in vegetation,
corresponds to the top surface of the port wing. The bottom of the wing, then, rests on the ground.
31
A small section of fuselage shows the navigator’s station forward of the missing cockpit, and the Emerson A15 front (nose) turret. This is undeniable evidence of a Mk VI Liberator, and KH326 was a Mk VI. The
opening at top center was once covered by a protruding bubble of plexiglass. From here navigator J.J.P.
Perron could take celestial star fixes to help determine approximate locations in flight. The plexiglass of the
turret is missing. There were no guns installed here. An antenna extended from the fuselage forward of the
navigator’s window, but it is missing. See PART 4.C. for a photo of an identical 357 Squadron Liberator,
identified as KH216. A similar antenna, positioned on the opposite side of the window, is seen in the
museum photo of KH304, below, taken in 2011.
Compare the forward fuselage wreckage of KH326 to ex-RAF Liberator KH304, seen here in 2011 at the
Pima Air & Space Museum in Arizona. KH304, based with the RAF in Ceylon, came off the Ft Worth, Texas
assembly line 22 places before KH326. The basic construction of KH304 and KH326 was identical, but note
the different positions of the antennas. (Andrew Boehly, Pima Air & Space Museum)
32
8.E.
JULY 2010: OUR DEDICATED MALAYSIAN FRIENDS REACH THE KH326 CRASH
SITE
On 14 June 2010 Capt Zuraiman informed Matt Poole of the rediscovery of KH326 by the
Malaysian Army patrols. Immediately Matt notified next-of-kin, while Capt Zuraiman and
Shaharom Ahmad formed a plan to visit the wreck as soon as possible.
Shaharom Ahmad wrote to Matt Poole on 15 June:
The informants [the RRR men] mentioned that the forward section was ripped
apart and damaged from impact and probably from the 1955 recovery operation.
They [the British in 1955] might have ripped open the cockpit in search of
anything [they did not, per the Royal Scots Fusiliers diary.], and after 1955
this site may have been revisited by Communist Terrorists, since the site was
cleared [of jungle growth] and the passing CTs would have had a desire to
search. [This almost certainly happened.]
And it has been said that later some of the locals from Malaysia or Thailand may
have found the wreck and taken souvenirs. [No doubt. The search team later
found evidence of Thai scrap metal collectors on site, from more recent
times.]
But the remains could be scattered around, and they could have gone unnoticed
by people. We will see when we visit the site and check whether it is possible to
locate the crew’s remains. Hope they will be found.
Shaharom wrote again to Matt Poole on 17 June:
As of right now, info and photos have been obtained from the Royal Ranger
Regiment officer, and he will ask the soldiers again for the Grid Reference
location of the wreckage, which was taken [recorded] by their squad leaders.
Then we will meet them, and we hope that the soldiers who found the wreckage
will lead us to the site.
The RRR officer told Jim that the location described by the soldiers was not far
from our last camp during our 2nd mission [in 2008]. The soldiers also noted
that they found our abandoned camp site and walked 500 meters down to the
ravine and found the wreckage.
On 18 July 2010 Capt Zuraiman, Shaharom Ahmad, and their team set out for the wreck – their
third attempt to find it. The all-Malaysian team comprised members of the Army Museum from
Port Dickson, the 2nd Royal Rangers Regiment from Ipoh, the Malaya Historical Group, the Bumi
Baling Adventure Club, and local guides. The mission was endorsed by the Malaysian Army
headquarters at the Defence Ministry in Kuala Lumpur.
The jungle environment again proved to be a major obstacle. It took these seasoned veterans of
jungle trekking three days and two nights to reach the site while lugging heavy backpacks stuffed
with clothes, rations, site survey equipment, and camping gear. They climbed hills thick with
vegetation, forded streams repeatedly, endured ever-present leeches, and even faced the threat
of wild elephant herds.
In fact, the search for KH326, compared to their other wreckfinding expeditions, has proven to be
their most physically demanding project, by far. Shaharom’s post-trek summary on 26 July
expressed the physical and mental challenge they faced:
33
The terrain and trekking into the thick jungle tested our morale and strength in
reaching our target goal of finding the wreckage and ending our long search for
the plane. On the map, it seemed to be easy, but on the ground walking a few
hundred meters was pushing our limits. Both ways from the south and trekking
along the same river, we needed to cross it 20-30 times in a day.
It makes me wonder how the crew could ever have walked out safely if they
managed to bail out successfully.
Despite making a base camp only 1.7 miles from the crash site, the final slog to reach the
wreckage zone was frustratingly slow and exhausting, leaving them only three hours at the site
before a return to their base camp became necessary.
After three years on the project, and two previous failed expeditions, what they found was anticlimatic and highly disappointing. The sorry state of the wreckage ensures that the search for
human remains will be even more challenging than they imagined.
In 1955 the Royal Scots Fusiliers found that a substantial portion of the fuselage survived the
plunge into the jungle. Fifty-five years later, however, only a short fuselage section forward of the
cockpit remained intact. Discarded food wrappers in the Thai language were found nearby at
what appears to be an encampment. As the Thailand/Malaysia border is a mere 500 yards
distant, and with the Thai side of the border characterized by much jungle clearing – unlike the
virgin jungle of the Malaysia side – it is likely that Thai scrap metal hunters crossed the border to
break up and haul away much of the fuselage structure not destroyed in the 1945 crash and fire.
This may have been a gradual process over a period of many years, or it may have been a more
recent short-term endeavor. Whether it is an ongoing process is unclear.
The 1955 Royal Scots Fusiliers patrol diary noted on 29 May, “We were told to get out all we
could without disturbing wreckage unduly.”
It is believed, then, that the Fusiliers were not
responsible for much damage to the surviving structure of the Liberator.
Most likely the Communist Terrorists (CTs) back in 1955 also scavenged from the wreck after the
departure of the Royal Scots Fusiliers from the area. The trampling of the jungle vegetation by
the Fusiliers, the transfer of materials from the wreckage to the nearby helicopter Landing Zone,
and the numerous helicopter trips to and from the LZ (which itself was situated on a secret CT
encampment) meant that no longer was KH326 hidden under the noses of the CTs in dense
jungle, just yards away from a main footpath.
And certainly there were still many usable parts in the wreckage that could be adapted for use by
the Communists living off of the land and desperate for any materials.
Shaharom Ahmad in 2007 learned that the Malaysian Police had discovered the wreckage back
in the early 1980s, but nobody from the Police Museum in 2007 could shed any light upon further
details. It is possible that some small items were removed at the time, and occasionally by others
over the years.
Shaharom’s GPS fix on the general KH326 site was remarkably close to the estimated position of
the wreck, which had been based upon an interpretation of the annotated map utilized by the
Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1955.
The wreck was widely scattered in a debris zone more than 250 feet wide. The terrain is severe,
with slopes estimated at 45 degrees in places. At the bottom of the zone is a stream. Clumps of
thick bamboo abound.
34
A rough map of the topography and wreckage – not drawn to scale – was sketched by Shaharom
upon his return home as a first attempt to better understand the lay of the land and the scatter of
wreckage. Compare this enhanced version of Shaharom’s map to the photographs from the
February 2010 site visit by the RRR soldiers [PART 8.D.] and to the photos taken in July 2010
[PART 8.F.] :
Large sections of both wings, each with its landing gear still attached in the retracted (“up”)
position, are visible on site, although no rubber tires were evident. It is Shaharom’s opinion that
each main landing gear shows evidence of a fire. Both of the horizontal rudders were located.
Scattered about the area are all four Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engines, two of which reveal
evidence of destruction by fire, perhaps from the wing petrol tanks. The two other engines,
showing no fire damage, must have been ripped from their mountings during the crash.
The rear turret was found, possibly still attached to fuselage components. (It’s twin .50 caliber
Browning machine guns had been salvaged back in 1955.)
The remnant of the forward fuselage is clearly that of a Mk VI model Liberator – matching
KH326’s model. Originally painted olive drab, the fuselage’s exterior sides and upper surfaces
have faded to a brownish or pinkish hue in the harsh jungle environment.
At the lower part of the hill Capt Zuraiman’s team discovered a piece of the instrument panel from
the left side of the cockpit, from directly in front of skipper Arie Timmermans’s seat. It had
apparently been dumped there after the dismantling of the cockpit had been accomplished.
No gauges or flight instruments were found in the quick site survey.
35
More than any other instruments, it was hoped that the important autopilot panel would be found,
as this might reveal evidence which verifies or refutes what was reported in 1955 – that the
autopilot appeared to have been set in the “on” position at the time of impact. This, in and of
itself, can never prove that KH326 aircrew bailed out of the aircraft after Arie Timmermans
switched on the autopilot. Nevertheless, to find the autopilot panel would be a small victory.
Framework structure holding cockpit plexiglass from above the pilots’ heads was found lying on
the jungle floor close to the intact fuselage segment.
Although some pieces, like this plexiglass framework, have been moved from their original postcrash locations, the majority of the heaviest and largest components have remained in situ since
1945. A logical reconstruction of the KH326 crash scenario is possible, based on the physical
evidence, but there is conflicting evidence from a description in the 1955 Royal Scots Fusiliers
patrol diary. Further analysis is required, following a subsequent site visit. GPS fixes taken at
each important piece of wreckage will be invaluable.
A best guess reconstruction follows.
PART 5.A. presents the evidence pertaining to the timing of KH326’s last sighting by the Sims
crew, an estimated time when the Sims Liberator was over the Drop Zone, and the sunset and
twilight data for 6 June 1945. The precise time of KH326’s crash is not known, but probably the
impact occurred just before or just after sunset. It is impossible to know if a lack of light was a
factor.
Flying in an easterly direction and at a constant, level altitude, KH326’s port wing impacted a tree
near the top of a high ridgeline at an elevation of around 3000 feet. A section of port wing edge
found on higher ground at the eastern extreme of the debris field likely marks the approximate
impact point with a tree or trees. The impact caused the wing to fail and ruptured the wing petrol
tanks. Doomed, in flames, breaking apart, and descending now across a valley, the aircraft
ripped through more trees and then hit the ground, all the while scattering debris over the area.
The dense jungle vegetation absorbed much light and sound from the impact and fire. Smoke
was difficult to see in the darkness. The topography and the remoteness of the locale are further
factors which help to explain why the crash went undetected.
Remarkably, recognizable front and rear portions of the fuselage survived the plunge to the jungle
floor relatively intact, except for the mid-fuselage, where there was evidence of fire when the
wreckage was examined in 1955. CLE drop containers found in the bomb bay are mentioned in
the Royal Scots Fusiliers patrol diary of 1955, so the disintegrated fuselage section was most
likely the section in-line with the wings, between the cockpit (which was intact) and the bomb bay.
As discussed in PART 5.A., it appears that stormy weather was not a factor in KH326’s loss.
Had the Liberator even been struck by lightning near the coast (and there is no evidence of S/Ldr
Sims and crew having encountered lightning that day), the fact that the crash site was still over 40
miles away – deeper into enemy airspace and farther from Ceylon – suggests (but does not
prove) that lightning was no factor. Certainly a lightning strike did not cause an in-flight explosion
or a significant fire.
Shaharom observed that there were no intermediate obstacles in the straight line 47 miles
between Bunting Island on the coast and the initial impact point on high ground. Perhaps, he
thought, KH326 crossed the coast near Bunting Island and simply flew more or less on a straight
course until impact with the trees atop the high ridge line. The true flight path between the coast
and the impact point, however, shall remain unproven.
36
Located on even higher ground further up the same terrain spur in 1955 was the wellcamouflaged CT camp – the site expanded by the Royal Scots Fusiliers to create the helicopter
Landing Zone for removing salvaged materials from KH326.
Confusing the issue is a Royal Scots Fusilier diary entry for 30 May 1955:
Continued to search a/c but could find nothing more of interest. Searched
surrounding area but found nothing but scattered wreckage. Large piece of
broken wing was discovered further down the valley next to large tree which had
its top broken off. From this we assumed that a/c must have hit tree and thought
this might be reason for crash.
It is the location of this broken wing piece and tree, in relation to the fuselage, which is confusing.
Refer to Shaharom’s sketch map of the terrain and the debris field, above. The large wing
sections are positioned above the location of the surviving forward fuselage, not “further down the
valley”.
During the July 2010 trek nothing new was learned about the fates of Harry and his crewmates. It
is clear that the destruction of KH326 was violent, with widespread scatter. To have survive such
an impact would have been a miracle. The mystery endures as to whether there were bailout or
crash survivors and, if there were survivors, what ultimately befell them.
Capt Zuraiman, Shaharom, and their team did remarkably well in only three hours, but further
physical study of the site is essential if more is to be learned. Future GPS fixes on key pieces of
wreckage will enable the rendering of a more geographically-precise plot of the debris field and
terrain. Additional debris can be discovered and positively identified, given more time.
And with tremendous good fortune, human remains will be found. This last goal will be
exceedingly difficult to accomplish. A true excavation of such a scattered wreck in such a remote,
rugged environment may never happen, but our Malaysian friends will not give up easily.
Shaharom summed up the task ahead:
My suggestion is clear: Get into the wreck site again with plenty of manpower
and equipment, clear out all vegetation and debris, and only then we can see
how the remains could be located. We only had 3 hours time after we found the
wreck, and I'm frustrated because I know that we could have done better if we
had more time.
The only way to find these remains would be to clear up vegetation and debris
and plot the crash site on a grid pattern to make sure no important things were
left behind.
Even though scrap hunters' activities were damaging, I believe that some of the
remains were untouched [i.e., undisturbed] due to the importance of the scrap
to the hunters. Like at the wreck site of RAF B-24 KL654 [excavated by
Shaharom’s team], most of the remains were found untouched, since the
remains were scattered around unnoticed by the people who visited the site.
They were only concerned with getting important parts and metal for
scrap purposes.
In the Canadian Department of National Defence the Directorate of History and Heritage (DHH) is
tasked with the recovery and identification of war dead. There is a catch, however: human
remains must first be found before DHH can become directly involved. This policy frustrates
DHH, because the case of KH326 and her all-RCAF crew is so compelling. Yet ultimately there
may be no discovery of crew remains without financial backing from Canada.
37
In the past, when the rules were somewhat different, DHH likely would have had more freedom to
creatively fund basic investigative work at the crash site, but politics and strict accountability have
taken a different path in Canada. And now, even if Capt Zuraiman’s team uncovers what appear
to be human remains, there is no guarantee that the Canadian government will commit resources
to excavate and recover those remains.
In 2011 construction began on a logging road on the Malaysia side of the border. As of late
November 2011 the road had approached within two kilometers of the KH326 crash site. In
Shaharom’s words in 2010:
This will enable us to bring our vehicles closer to the wreck site and bring more
supplies to the site for excavation purposes.
This raises worrisome questions. What will be the outcome of logging activity near the border
with Thailand? Will the wreckage be further disturbed by the actual logging activities? Will the
logging road bring unwanted outsiders into the area, to pilfer the wreck even more?
It is imperative that Capt Zuraiman’s team gain access to the site via the new logging road as
soon as they are able, before the site degrades significantly. An early 2012 expedition is the
goal.
To expect KH326 crew remains to be found is wishful thinking, but the possibility is real and
should not be denied.
8.F.
PHOTOS OF KH326 WRECKAGE TAKEN IN JULY 2010
All but three of the photos shown below were taken by Shaharom Ahmad and are credited to the
Malaya Historical Group. The exceptions, as noted, are credited to Sager Ahmad (two photos)
and Capt Jim Zuraiman (one photo).
The rear turret of KH326, where
Reinhold Giesbrecht sat. This unit was
found flipped on its back with the top
pointing down the hillside. The above
rotated image has “righted” the turret
more or less, with top being up, as
would be seen on the aircraft in level
flight. The twin .50 caliber machine
guns (removed by the Royal Scots
Fusiliers in 1955) would have pointed
to the rear of the aircraft. Many pieces
are missing, but this is definitely a
Motor Products Corporation A-6B rear
turret – the model carried aboard
KH326.
(Capt. Jim Zuraiman)
38
Two of the seven-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engines, missing the cylinder heads. Above is engine “A”
on the sketch map. Below is engine “B”. Note the propeller shaft of engine “A”.
39
An easily-identified piece of the cockpit instrument panel located directly in front of KH326 skipper Arie
Timmermans’s seat.
What is left of the front fuselage section and front gun turret of KH326, surrounded by debris. Framing for
the cockpit plexiglass can be seen at center left, on the jungle floor. Compare this image to the close-up
photo from the February 2010 site visit and to the head-on photo of the front turret/fuselage. (Sager Ahmad,
New Straits Times)
40
This piece of aluminum might be a fairing fitted to cover one of two round openings in the
fuselage where a gun turret had been removed – either the mid-upper turret or the ball turret
underneath. Neither turret was installed on KH326, to save weight. “NO STEP” seems the
likely wording.
The main port-side landing gear, minus the tire. Behind is the associated port wing
structure. Compare to the similar photo from the February 2010 site visit.
41
Above & below: Two views of a large starboard wing remnant. Above: a searcher’s right foot is atop the
main landing gear, which is still attached to the wing underside, minus the tire. His right hand is atop a
uniquely identifiable piece of aluminum located toward the front underside of the starboard wing. Below: a
different angle. The rusted landing strut can be seen at right center. (Above: Shaharom Ahmad; below:
Sager Ahmad, New Straits Times)
42
A head-on image of the forward fuselage, looking directly at the Emerson A-15 nose turret – minus its
plexiglass. On a typical operational Liberator two .50 caliber Browning machine guns were fitted here. An
air gunner sat down in the turret to engage the motor, which moved the turret left and right and the guns up
and down. However, KH326 carried no guns in this turret. The opening behind the turret is the passageway
through which an air gunner could enter the turret, should the guns ever be installed. The flat-surface base
upon which the plexiglass navigator’s astrodome fit into place is visible at the top centerline of the fuselage,
above the rectangular door opening.
43
PART NINE: LEST WE FORGET
Harry Andrews was awarded his “Operational Wings” posthumously. The citation reads:
“Flight Sergeant Andrews had shown outstanding bravery
in the face of enemy fire, and his death in carrying out orders
was further testimony of his courage and valor.”
Operational Wings
( Bob Schwartz, www.ww2wings.com )
The Memorial Cross, in recognition of Harry’s sacrifice, was presented to Isabella, Harry's Mom,
on 6 May 1946.
The Memorial Cross
( Clifford S. Weirmeir, http://iroc.no-ip.org )
The Second World War’s terrible cost to mankind included over 18,000 members of the RCAF
who paid the supreme sacrifice. Inevitably the names, faces, and deeds of these men and
women have faded from general memory; the war’s end came well over six decades ago, and the
surviving participants are fewer and fewer each month.
For too many, the war years have always been dismissed as “the past”, to be largely or
conveniently ignored in favor of more immediate concerns: school dances, job promotions,
mortgage payments, children’s birthday parties, Stanley Cup hockey playoff scores, and so forth.
Most people today recognize only the vaguest personal connections to World War II, or at least
the past does not tug at their heartstrings.
44
For the families and friends of the war’s casualties, however, insight into the war years has
always been fundamentally different – especially for the parents, spouses, siblings, children, and
close cousins of the fallen. Once-vibrant connections were shattered by war, and it is no surprise
that the memories of such losses do not readily fade.
In some families, but not all, the younger generations – born long after the war ended – have
been inspired by a kin’s sacrifice in the name of freedom. Recognition and inspiration can come
at any age, and it is never too late to commence honoring such kin.
Occasionally, but rarely, memories and even hopes are revived by new, modern-day discoveries
in faraway lands, as in the case of Harry and his crewmates aboard Liberator KH326.
One constant, year after year, has been Remembrance Day. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of
the 11th month citizens pause to recall those difficult days. Each village, town, and city mourns
its fallen sons and daughters in its own special and deeply personal way. Some families gather
to mourn collectively and to pay homage to their heroes who died for a noble cause.
On the wall panels of the Singapore Memorial at Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore Harry and his
crewmates have been commemorated by name for many decades. As a high tribute to his
sacrifice, Harry's name was also engraved in more recent times on the Memorial Wall, located in
Memorial Park in his hometown of Sudbury, Ontario. Dedicated on 1 November 2004, the
Memorial Wall is inscribed with the names of over 600 citizens who died while serving their
country in war or during peacekeeping missions.
The Memorial Wall. Harry’s name is 8th from the top in the first column.
( http://rclsudbury.org/Sudburymemorials.aspx )
In serving, these brave men and women gave their lives. Our duty is to remember.
LEST WE FORGET.
45
Flight Sergeant Harry Andrews - Medals and Awards
Burma Star
War Medal
1939 – 45 Star
Canadian Volunteer Medal and Clasp
Air Gunner Wings
Operational Wings
The RCAF crew of B-24 Liberator KH326, missing on ops, 6 June 1945
( in alphabetical order ):
______________________________________________________________________
Flight Sergeant Harry Henry ANDREWS #R / 279733
Air Gunner
Born: 8 March 1925, South Shields, England.
Home: Sudbury, Ontario
Profession Prior to Enlistment: Clerk stenographer
Family: Son of Henry and Isabella (Brown) Andrews
Brother of Margaret Rose Andrews
(Photo: Ron Soucie)
______________________________________________________________________
Flight Sergeant Donald Livingstone DELLIS #R / 217478
Second Pilot
Born: 8 December 1923, San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican
Republic (British Citizen)
Home, Canada connection: Dellis Cay, Turks and Caicos
Islands. Attended Upper Canada College, Toronto.
Profession Prior to Enlistment: University student, Dartmouth
College, Hanover, New Hampshire
Family: Son of George and Lillian (Ernestine) Dellis
(Photo: Marilyn Dellis Higgs, niece)
_________________________________________________________________
Flying Officer George FAULKNER #J / 47869
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner
Born: 25 June 1925, San Francisco, California
Home: Victoria, British Columbia
Profession Prior to Enlistment: Seaman, fisherman, labourer
Family: Son of Francis George Faulkner (Victoria, BC) and Irene
Elizabeth (Willard) Faulkner (remarried as Irene Elizabeth King,
Kaleden, BC)
(Photo: Kathy Blanchard, niece)
______________________________________________________________________
46
______________________________________________________________________
Flight Sergeant Reinhold GIESBRECHT #R / 278843
Air Gunner
Born: 8 May 1921, Russia
Home: Edmonton, Alberta
Profession Prior to Enlistment: Upholsterer and taxi driver
Family: Son of Julius and Olga Giesbrecht
(Photo: Library and Archives Canada RG24-27589)
______________________________________________________________________
Flying Officer William Peter MCLEOD #J / 47871
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner
Born: 6 November 1917, Ashmont, Alberta
Home: Claresholm, Alberta
Profession Prior to Enlistment: Garage mechanic and roofer
Family: Husband of Yvette (Dubois) McLeod
Son of Charles and Margaret (Jones) McLeod
(Photo: Gerald Howse, nephew)
______________________________________________________________________
Flying Officer Joseph Jean Paul PERRON #J / 47344
Navigator
Born: 1 May 1924, Cap de la Madeleine, Québec
Home: Trois Rivières, Québec
Profession Prior to Enlistment: Accountant
Family: Son of Nérée and Anne Marie Perron
(Photo: Louise Perron, niece)
______________________________________________________________________
47
______________________________________________________________________
Flying Officer William Walker REEVE #J / 47321
Air Bomber
Born: 10 February 1916, Oxenden, Ontario
Home: Raised from the age of 4 in Owen Sound, Ontario
Profession Prior to Enlistment: salesman for the T. Eaton Co.
in Hanover, Ontario
Family: Son of John Thomas Reeve and Margaret S. Reeve
(nee Scott, died 1919), stepson of Grace Rose Reeve
(Photo: Library and Archives Canada RG24-28493)
______________________________________________________________________
Flight Lieutenant Arie Frank TIMMERMANS #J / 12779
Pilot / Aircraft Captain
Born: 16 February 1917, Algoma, Ontario
Home: Born & educated in Blind River, Ontario. Address listed
as Burlington, Ontario per Aug 1945 casualty list.
Profession Prior to Enlistment: ---?
Family: Son of Frank Joseph and Maude Gladys Timmermans
Husband of Mary Constance (Galashan) Timmermans (later
Mary Constance Kittison)
Father of Susan Constance Timmermans
(Photo: Timmermans family)
______________________________________________________________________
This story could not have been told without the support and assistance of many. Special
recognition is owed to:
Colonel Blair Agnew, Royal Scots Fusiliers veteran, UK
Shaharom Ahmad, President, Malaya Historical Group, search team member, Malaysia
Micheline Brousseau, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. Canada
Laurel Clegg, Dept. of National Defence, Directorate of History and Heritage, Ottawa, Canada
Gordon Hercus, RAF 357 Squadron veteran, Canada
Margaret McLachlan, Harry's sister, St Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Joe Plant, Malayan Emergency veteran and KH326 researcher, UK
Robert Quirk, RAF Liberator historian, Canada
Dougie Thom, Royal Scots Fusiliers veteran, Scotland
Captain Jim Zuraiman, Malaysian Army Museum, search team leader, Malaysia
THANK YOU ALL.
William S. Nurse
RCAF (Retired)
Researcher
48
Matt Poole
feb2944@aol.com

Details on the crew of Liberator KH326 "X",

Transcription

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