Tragedy at Kufra
Encyclopedia
The Kufra tragedy occurred in May 1942 during World War II
when eleven of twelve South Africa
n aircrew flying in three South African Air Force
No. 15 Squadron Bristol Blenheim Mark IV
aircraft died of thirst and exposure after the flight became lost following a navigational error near the oasis of Kufra
in Libya
and made a forced landing in the Libyan Desert
.
The South African Air Forces No. 15 Squadron – equipped with Bristol Blenheim Mark IV aircraft, a fighter version of the Blenheim bomber – departed South Africa
in January 1942 for service in Egypt
in support of Allied
forces in the North African campaign
of World War II
. Arriving in Egypt in February 1942, it set up operations south of Amariya, near Alexandria. Only two men in the squadron
– its commanding officer
, Lieutenant Colonel
H. H. Borckenhagen and Captain
J. L. V. de Wet – had experience in desert
operations.
Higher command decided that the squadron
would send a detachment of aircraft to the oasis
at Kufra
, deep in the Libyan Desert in southeastern Libya, where they were to support Allied ground forces garrisoning Kufra with aerial reconnaissance, air defense, and attacks on any approaching Axis
forces in the squadrons first combat assignment in the campaign. On 8 April 1942, 47 ground staff departed for Kufra, making a journey by train, river steamer
, and ground vehicle; they arrived on 25 April. The newly promoted Major
de Wet, who was placed in command of the detachment, meanwhile flew to Kufra on 11 April to make final arrangements for the detachments arrival.
No. 15 Squadron selected its three best Blenheims – Z7513, Z7610, and T2252 – for the detachment. Each carrying a three-man crew, they arrived at Kufra on 28 April 1942, flying from Amariya via Wadi Halfa
to avoid passing over enemy-held territory. Upon arrival, they found that the direction-finding
station at Kufra was not functioning properly. Back in Amariya, Lieutenant Colonel Borckenhagen, who had no direct communications with Kufra, asked Royal Air Force
Headquarters in the region to pass orders to de Wet on his behalf to keep the detachment grounded until the direction-finding station was made fully operational.
After receiving an early-morning weather report for the region which predicted a visibility of 2.5 miles (4 km) and wind from a bearing of 60° at a speed of 19 to 24 mph (30 to 39km/h) at 1,600 feet (488m), de Wet declined a weather balloon
check of wind conditions and the three Blenheims, each with four men aboard, took off from Kufra. After initial communications checks with Kufra, nothing was heard from the aircraft until 7:10 hours. In the meantime, the three Blenheim crews believed that they had successfully completed their flight, identifying each waypoint and planning to arrive at Kufra between 07:33 and 07:42 hours. However, Allied personnel at Rebiana did not hear them fly past, suggesting that they already were off course by the time they thought they had completed the first leg of their flight. A contributing factor may have been that a weather balloon launched shortly after they took off revealed that the earlier weather report was wrong, and that winds at 2,200 feet (670 m) actually were blowing at 31 mph (50km/h) from a bearing of 290°, and one of the navigators aboard the planes noted that the flight was so bumpy that he was unable to take drift readings.
At 07:10, Kufra finally heard from the Blenheims, when aircraft Z7610 requested a bearing, and Kufra requested that it transmit dashes so that the direction-finding station could establish its bearing; the aircraft did not respond. At 07:27, Major de Wets Blenheim, Z7513, requested a course for a return to Kufra, but its radio operator ceased broadcasting before the direction-finding station could determine its bearing; after taking a snap bearing, Kufra radioed 120-3=0527, meaning that the aircraft should "steer 120° (zero wind) third-class fix, time 05h27 GMT," but the aircraft appears only to have heard the numbers 3-0-5 and as a result believed the course to base was 305°. The aircraft turned to this course at 07:42, and Allied infantrymen at Taizerbo heard them fly past to the west; at 08:10 they turned 180° to fly on the reciprocal bearing, 125°. After T2252s starboard engine began to malfunction around 09:00 hours, Major de Wet ordered the aircraft to land in the desert, which they did successfully at 09:15.
By midday, Kufra was aware that the three Blenheims must have landed somewhere in the desert. Occasional weak signals from the aircraft during the day were inadequate to establish their bearing. Ground search parties were organized at Rebiana, Bzema, and LG07, and various direction-finding stations monitored possible signals from the missing aircraft. Ground searches began based on doubtful bearings taken during the day.
Meanwhile, most of the various ground search parties returned to report their lack of success, and the requirement for an air search became obvious.
The nine men stranded with Z7610 and T2252 had used up almost all of their water by the morning of 6 May. Major de Wet himself took off in Z7610 to search on a bearing of 290°, but returned without success. Meanwhile, three Bristol Bombay
s of the Royal Air Force
s No. 216 Squadron
began an air search, but encountered a sandstorm
that grounded them for the next two days. The sandstorm aggravated the plight of the men with the stranded Blenheims; those with Z7610 and T2252 began to die during the afternoon.
On 9 May, with the sandstorm finally over, a Vickers Wellington
sighted Z7513 and landed alongside it. Its crew found the Blenheims three-man crew lying in the shade of its wing
, all apparently dead since 8 May.
On 11 May, the same Wellington found Z7610 and T2252 parked nose-to-nose at either 24°51′00"N 24°25′00"E or 24°49′00"N 24°10′00"E. The bodies of Major de Wet and seven of his men were found around the aircraft, some with gunshot wounds; the lone survivor from among the 12 men of the Blenheim detachment, an Air Mechanic Juul, terribly weak, was recovered and flown to Kufra for medical attention.
The board attributed the failure of the ground and air searches to a lack of accurate information regarding the possible position of the aircraft; the difficult terrain; the sandstorm; problems with unserviceable aircraft that could not carry out search functions assigned to them; and poor signal organisation. It also found that the downed Blenheim crews did little to assist the searchers in finding them because the crews engaged in bad direction-finding procedures even after landing and failed to employ visual signals and smudge fires.
The inquiry also identified reasons for the early death of the stranded aviators, finding that they failed to appreciate their plight or to ration water immediately and that they made unintelligent use of compass alcohol, which they had drunk despite its poisonous qualities, and fire extinguisher
s, which they had sprayed on themselves for temporary relief from the heat but which had inflicted painful skin injuries.
In order to avoid any recurrence of the Kufra incident, the board made comprehensive recommendations with regard to equipment to be carried on aircraft likely to fly over the desert and emergency procedures in the event of forced landings in the desert. It also recommended that only experienced crews operate from Kufra, and that strict procedures be established for operations from Kufra to ensure that aircraft not become lost in the first place and be more easily located if forced down.
In May 1942, Z7610 and T2252 were repaired and flown back to Kufra. T2252 later suffered engine failure and crashed near Kufra, but Z7610 operated with No. 15 Squadrons detachment there until 27 November 1942, when the detachment departed Kufra to return to the squadron. By that time, the squadron ahd converted to Bristol Bisleys – the Mark V ground-attack variant of the Blenheim – so the detachment left Z7610 behind at Kufra to be repaired by a Royal Air Force Maintenance Unit and flown to Khartoum
in the Sudan
.
Its engines overboosted and unflyable, Z7513 was abandoned where it lay. After an Axis air raid on Kufra on 25 September 1942, it was cannibalised for spare parts to repair a Bisley damaged in the raid. In February 1959, a geological survey party rediscovered Z7513, and the bodies of its three crewmen were exhumed and reburied in Knightsbridge Cemetery at Acroma
, Libya. When de Wets nephew visited the site again in November 2001, Z7513 was found to have been destroyed by vandalism, with its engines, propellers, and undercarriage
missing.
The bodies of the eight men found with Z7610 and T2252 remain where the search party buried them in the Libyan Desert in May 1942.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
when eleven of twelve South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n aircrew flying in three South African Air Force
South African Air Force
The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...
No. 15 Squadron Bristol Blenheim Mark IV
Bristol Blenheim
The Bristol Blenheim was a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company that was used extensively in the early days of the Second World War. It was adapted as an interim long-range and night fighter, pending the availability of the Beaufighter...
aircraft died of thirst and exposure after the flight became lost following a navigational error near the oasis of Kufra
Kufra
Kufra is a basin and oasis group in Al Kufrah District, southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. Kufra is historically important above all because at the end of nineteenth century it became the center and holy place of the Senussi order...
in Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
and made a forced landing in the Libyan Desert
Libyan Desert
The Libyan Desert covers an area of approximately 1,100,000 km2, it extends approximately 1100 km from east to west, and 1,000 km from north to south, in about the shape of a rectangle...
.
The Deployment to Kufra
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in January 1942 for service in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
in support of Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
forces in the North African campaign
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Arriving in Egypt in February 1942, it set up operations south of Amariya, near Alexandria. Only two men in the squadron
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...
– its commanding officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
, Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
H. H. Borckenhagen and Captain
Captain (OF-2)
The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...
J. L. V. de Wet – had experience in desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
operations.
Higher command decided that the squadron
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...
would send a detachment of aircraft to the oasis
Oasis
In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...
at Kufra
Kufra
Kufra is a basin and oasis group in Al Kufrah District, southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. Kufra is historically important above all because at the end of nineteenth century it became the center and holy place of the Senussi order...
, deep in the Libyan Desert in southeastern Libya, where they were to support Allied ground forces garrisoning Kufra with aerial reconnaissance, air defense, and attacks on any approaching Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
forces in the squadrons first combat assignment in the campaign. On 8 April 1942, 47 ground staff departed for Kufra, making a journey by train, river steamer
Steamer
-In locomotion:* Steamboat, a boat propelled by a paddlewheel or propeller under steam power* Steam locomotive, a locomotive propelled by steam-operated pistons* Stanley Steamer, a steam-powered automobile* Fastball, nickname for the baseball pitch...
, and ground vehicle; they arrived on 25 April. The newly promoted Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
de Wet, who was placed in command of the detachment, meanwhile flew to Kufra on 11 April to make final arrangements for the detachments arrival.
No. 15 Squadron selected its three best Blenheims – Z7513, Z7610, and T2252 – for the detachment. Each carrying a three-man crew, they arrived at Kufra on 28 April 1942, flying from Amariya via Wadi Halfa
Wadi Halfa
Wadi Halfa is a city in the state of Northern, in northern Sudan, on the shores of Lake Nubia . It is the terminus of a rail line from Khartoum and the point where goods are transferred from rail to ferries going down the Lake Nasser...
to avoid passing over enemy-held territory. Upon arrival, they found that the direction-finding
Direction finding
Direction finding refers to the establishment of the direction from which a received signal was transmitted. This can refer to radio or other forms of wireless communication...
station at Kufra was not functioning properly. Back in Amariya, Lieutenant Colonel Borckenhagen, who had no direct communications with Kufra, asked Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
Headquarters in the region to pass orders to de Wet on his behalf to keep the detachment grounded until the direction-finding station was made fully operational.
The Flight
By the evening of 3 May 1942, the direction-finding station was back in working order, and Major de Wet briefed his crews on their first familiarisation flight, on which he would lead them early the following morning. The flight – to be made at a true air speed of 150 mph (242 km/hr) and intended to allow the crews to become familiar with landmarks in the area and to gain experience with desert flying – was to take off at 06:50 hours on 4 May and follow roughly a square path, with its first leg one of 83 miles (134 km) from Kufra to Rebiana, Libya, on a course of 269°, followed by a second leg of 51.5 miles (83 km) on bearing 358° to Bzema, then a third leg of 64 miles (102 km) on bearing 63° to Landing Ground 07 (LG07), and finally on bearing 162° for the 83.5-mile (134-km) leg back to Kufra, with arrival at Kufra expected at 07:42 hours. It addition to its crew of three, each plane would carry a fourth man – an armourer – to assist with armament aboard the aircraft during the flight.Weather balloon
A weather or sounding balloon is a balloon which carries instruments aloft to send back information on atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity and wind speed by means of a small, expendable measuring device called a radiosonde...
check of wind conditions and the three Blenheims, each with four men aboard, took off from Kufra. After initial communications checks with Kufra, nothing was heard from the aircraft until 7:10 hours. In the meantime, the three Blenheim crews believed that they had successfully completed their flight, identifying each waypoint and planning to arrive at Kufra between 07:33 and 07:42 hours. However, Allied personnel at Rebiana did not hear them fly past, suggesting that they already were off course by the time they thought they had completed the first leg of their flight. A contributing factor may have been that a weather balloon launched shortly after they took off revealed that the earlier weather report was wrong, and that winds at 2,200 feet (670 m) actually were blowing at 31 mph (50km/h) from a bearing of 290°, and one of the navigators aboard the planes noted that the flight was so bumpy that he was unable to take drift readings.
At 07:10, Kufra finally heard from the Blenheims, when aircraft Z7610 requested a bearing, and Kufra requested that it transmit dashes so that the direction-finding station could establish its bearing; the aircraft did not respond. At 07:27, Major de Wets Blenheim, Z7513, requested a course for a return to Kufra, but its radio operator ceased broadcasting before the direction-finding station could determine its bearing; after taking a snap bearing, Kufra radioed 120-3=0527, meaning that the aircraft should "steer 120° (zero wind) third-class fix, time 05h27 GMT," but the aircraft appears only to have heard the numbers 3-0-5 and as a result believed the course to base was 305°. The aircraft turned to this course at 07:42, and Allied infantrymen at Taizerbo heard them fly past to the west; at 08:10 they turned 180° to fly on the reciprocal bearing, 125°. After T2252s starboard engine began to malfunction around 09:00 hours, Major de Wet ordered the aircraft to land in the desert, which they did successfully at 09:15.
The search
4 May
The Blenheim crews conferred and concluded that they were only about 20 miles (32 km) from Kufra. At 11:00, a crew took off in Z7610 and flew southwest, but returned at 11:30 having failed to find Kufra. After transferring fuel from the disabled T2252, a crew again took off in Z7610 and flew on a heading of 213° for about 24 miles (40 km), but returned at 11:40 without having sighted Kufra. A third flight leaving at 15:35 hours flew on a course of 240° – which would have led it to Kufra – but turned back after 81 miles (130 km), before reaching Kufra. The crews made no further attempts to find their base that day. Apparently assuming imminent rescue, they consumed a great deal of water during their first day in the desert.By midday, Kufra was aware that the three Blenheims must have landed somewhere in the desert. Occasional weak signals from the aircraft during the day were inadequate to establish their bearing. Ground search parties were organized at Rebiana, Bzema, and LG07, and various direction-finding stations monitored possible signals from the missing aircraft. Ground searches began based on doubtful bearings taken during the day.
5 May
The downed Blenheim crews made two more unsuccessful flights seeking Kufra on 5 May. Flying Z7513 using fuel transferred from T2252, one crew flew on a bearing of 90° for about 45 miles (72 km); after its return, it departed again on a flight of 96 miles (160 km) on a bearing of 290° with three men aboard, but was forced down by fuel exhaustion 24 miles (40 km) north of the other two stranded Blenheims. Evidence discovered when searchers found Z7513 four days later suggested that its crew had landed twice during this flight, but apparently had not attempted to rejoin the other Blenheims on the last of their fuel before making their second and final landing.Meanwhile, most of the various ground search parties returned to report their lack of success, and the requirement for an air search became obvious.
6 May
Bristol Bombay
|-See also:...
s of the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
s No. 216 Squadron
No. 216 Squadron RAF
No. 216 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Lockheed Tristar K1, KC1 and C2 from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire.- History :216 Squadron was formed at RAF Manston by re-numbering No. 16 Squadron RNAS when the RAF was established in 1918, hence it is always spoken of as 'two-sixteen Squadron'...
began an air search, but encountered a sandstorm
Sandstorm
Sandstorm can refer to:* Dust storm, a storm caused by strong winds and blowing sand or dust* "Sandstorm" , a trance song by Darude* "Sandstorm" , a song on Cast's debut album, All Change...
that grounded them for the next two days. The sandstorm aggravated the plight of the men with the stranded Blenheims; those with Z7610 and T2252 began to die during the afternoon.
7-11 May
The sandstorm continued through 7 May and into 8 May, when visibility finally began to improve. Major de Wet recorded on 8 May that only six men remained alive out of the 12, and expressed concern that the men might shoot one another or him; later in the day he observed that only two men were left alive besides him. At various times between 5 and 9 May, ground search parties came to within 2 miles (3.5km) of Z7610 and T2252 and within 5 miles (8km) of Z7513, but limited visibility prevented them from finding the downed Blenheims.On 9 May, with the sandstorm finally over, a Vickers Wellington
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
sighted Z7513 and landed alongside it. Its crew found the Blenheims three-man crew lying in the shade of its wing
Wing
A wing is an appendage with a surface that produces lift for flight or propulsion through the atmosphere, or through another gaseous or liquid fluid...
, all apparently dead since 8 May.
On 11 May, the same Wellington found Z7610 and T2252 parked nose-to-nose at either 24°51′00"N 24°25′00"E or 24°49′00"N 24°10′00"E. The bodies of Major de Wet and seven of his men were found around the aircraft, some with gunshot wounds; the lone survivor from among the 12 men of the Blenheim detachment, an Air Mechanic Juul, terribly weak, was recovered and flown to Kufra for medical attention.
Inquiry
An inquiry into the incident took place at Kufra from 1 to 4 June 1942. The board of inquiry attributed the incident to the crews lack of experience in desert flying; their failure to keep accurate navigators logs; and the failure of wireless operators to perform their duties during the flight. The board placed the responsibility for the forced landing on the crew of the leading aircraft, Z7513 flown by Major de Wet.The board attributed the failure of the ground and air searches to a lack of accurate information regarding the possible position of the aircraft; the difficult terrain; the sandstorm; problems with unserviceable aircraft that could not carry out search functions assigned to them; and poor signal organisation. It also found that the downed Blenheim crews did little to assist the searchers in finding them because the crews engaged in bad direction-finding procedures even after landing and failed to employ visual signals and smudge fires.
The inquiry also identified reasons for the early death of the stranded aviators, finding that they failed to appreciate their plight or to ration water immediately and that they made unintelligent use of compass alcohol, which they had drunk despite its poisonous qualities, and fire extinguisher
Fire extinguisher
A fire extinguisher or extinguisher, flame entinguisher is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergency situations...
s, which they had sprayed on themselves for temporary relief from the heat but which had inflicted painful skin injuries.
In order to avoid any recurrence of the Kufra incident, the board made comprehensive recommendations with regard to equipment to be carried on aircraft likely to fly over the desert and emergency procedures in the event of forced landings in the desert. It also recommended that only experienced crews operate from Kufra, and that strict procedures be established for operations from Kufra to ensure that aircraft not become lost in the first place and be more easily located if forced down.
Bodies and aircraft
The search parties buried the three men found with Z7513 next to the plane, and the eight men found dead around Z7610 and T2252 at that site.In May 1942, Z7610 and T2252 were repaired and flown back to Kufra. T2252 later suffered engine failure and crashed near Kufra, but Z7610 operated with No. 15 Squadrons detachment there until 27 November 1942, when the detachment departed Kufra to return to the squadron. By that time, the squadron ahd converted to Bristol Bisleys – the Mark V ground-attack variant of the Blenheim – so the detachment left Z7610 behind at Kufra to be repaired by a Royal Air Force Maintenance Unit and flown to Khartoum
Khartoum
Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
in the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
.
Its engines overboosted and unflyable, Z7513 was abandoned where it lay. After an Axis air raid on Kufra on 25 September 1942, it was cannibalised for spare parts to repair a Bisley damaged in the raid. In February 1959, a geological survey party rediscovered Z7513, and the bodies of its three crewmen were exhumed and reburied in Knightsbridge Cemetery at Acroma
Acroma
Acroma is an alternative rock band formed in Salt Lake City, Utah. The band consists of Jeremy Stanley , Brian Christensen , Tom Collins , and Joshua Zirbel . The band released a three-song demo and was signed by Universal Records in 2002...
, Libya. When de Wets nephew visited the site again in November 2001, Z7513 was found to have been destroyed by vandalism, with its engines, propellers, and undercarriage
Undercarriage
The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...
missing.
The bodies of the eight men found with Z7610 and T2252 remain where the search party buried them in the Libyan Desert in May 1942.