The Aviation Historian — Issue 21 (October 2017)

Issue No 21 THE AVIATION HISTORIAN 37

which suggested that the aircraft was on its
way, but it was not detected. The situation was
spiralling further out of control.

“hostile” to “unidentified”
At 1537hr GMT on the 14th No 44 Group had
received a signal noting G-AGDR’s impending
departure, and No 10 Group was asked to make
arrangements for fighter escort in case the
aircraft was late and was flying in daylight. At
0300hr on the 15th No 44 Group received the
aircraft’s actual departure time, along with its
ETA — 0616hr GMT — at its turning point west
of St Nazaire on the Brittany coast.
At 0600hr No 44 Group asked No 10 Group
if it had any radar plots which might be
G-AGDR, but it was not until 0712hr GMT that
radar revealed a plot of an aircraft at 25,000ft
(7,600m) which had crossed the French coast
on the eastern side of St Brieuc Bay, and was
heading north towards the Channel Islands. The
radar plot was initially classified as “hostile”,
but was shortly afterwards downgraded to
“unidentified”. As a precaution, No 10 Group

scrambled two Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vs —

Castle Bromwich-built AD308/JH-T, flown by

Flt Sgt Stanislaw Brzeski and Westland-built

AR279/JH-R, flown by Sgt Jan Malinowski —

of Exeter-based No 317 (“Wileński”) Sqn on

detachment to Bolt Head as Red Section.

Once airborne Brzeski and Malinowski were

directed in Polish by a Polish controller to circle

at the estimated point of interception, but they

Liberator I AM918/G-AGDR was probably finished in Dark Earth and
Dark Green upper camouflage and Aluminium-painted undersidesDark Green upper camouflage and Aluminium-painted undersides.
Artwork by JUANITA FRANZI / AERO ILLUSTRATIONS © 2017

the manifest

Liberator G-AGDR was carrying nine crew and

passengers when it was lost on February 15, 1942

Crew Capt R.H. Page; Capt J.A.S. Hunter; First

Officer R. Williamson; Radio Officer H. Parker;

Engineer Officer H. Spicer

Passengers Brigadier F. Morris, Royal Army

Ordnance Corps; Lt C.O.M. Vine, RN; Lt-Col

Townsend Griffiss, USAAF; Mr H.E. Bell of the Air

Ministry, believed to be an official of Rolls-Royce

The balance of the load consisted of diplomatic,

troops’ mail and BOAC correspondence

MAP BY MAGGIE NELSON