Commando
(Air Ministry serial number AL504) was a very long range Consolidated Liberator
II aircraft adapted for passenger transport, to serve as the personal aircraft
of Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Commando disappeared without a trace on 27
March 1945 over the North Atlantic Ocean, while on a flight from RAF Northolt
to Lajes Field in the Azores, en route to Ottawa in Canada. The cause of the
disappearance of the aircraft remains unknown to this day.
Volunteer
pilot William Vanderkloot, a US citizen serving with RAF Ferry Command since
June 1941, delivered a specially modified long-range Consolidated Liberator II
in July 1942. Vanderkloot was ordered to RAF headquarters, where he was asked
by Sir Charles Portal, Chief of the Air Staff, if there was a safe, direct
route from England to Cairo, by air in the Liberator which he had just
delivered to Prestwick Airport. Vanderkloot informed Portal that the flight was
possible with one stop in Gibraltar. Initially heading eastwards from
Gibraltar, staying over the sea in the afternoon, and then turning sharply
south after dusk, flying over Spanish and Vichy French territory in Africa in
darkness, before turning east again for the Nile, approaching Cairo from the
south. Thus the danger from land-based enemy aircraft in North Africa and
Sicily would be largely avoided without having to fly halfway around Africa.
Portal
told Vanderkloot to "stay handy to the telephone". The next day
Vanderkloot was taken to Winston Churchill's office, No.10 Downing Street. Churchill,
clad in robe and slippers, offered him a drink, beginning a relationship that
had Vanderkloot flying the Prime Minister on sensitive diplomatic trips across
war-torn Europe, Russia, North Africa and the Middle-East. "He took
calculated risks," said his son, William III. "There was a lot more
risk in flying back then. It was a frontier, and I think all the old pilots
will say it, secretly to themselves, that they enjoyed being on their own. It
was the wild blue yonder." As Churchill's pilot, Vanderkloot flew Lord
Mountbatten to England in June 1942, conveyed the Prime Minister and Chief of
the Imperial General Staff Alan Brooke to Egypt in August 1942 to replace
Claude Auchinleck commander of the British Army in North Africa with Bernard
Montgomery and also took Churchill to high-level talks in Moscow with Joseph
Stalin, to Turkey to determine that country's wartime intentions, and to the
Casablanca Conference in 1943.
On
delivery Commando had a regular Liberator nose and tail configuration despite the
internal modifications but was later converted to have a covered nose and also
the same single tail fin used on the Consolidated PB4Y-2. The VIP ("Very
Important Person[s]") interior had comfortable seating, an electric galley
and even a bed, installed for Churchill. After the second extended trip,
Churchill never again flew in Commando, instead switching to Ascalon, an Avro
York (a transport aircraft based on the Lancaster bomber, with a larger
fuselage) with an all-British crew. Vanderkloot and his mixed US/Canadian
civilian crew were all recommended for British awards for their service, he and
one other receiving honorary OBEs.
In
September 1943 Liberator AL504 was withdrawn from VIP service and flown to a
Tucson, Arizona USAAF base, where it underwent major modifications and emerged
as a one-off transport, lengthened by seven feet, with single tail fin,
extended fuselage, and upgraded engines. AL504 flew again in March 1944 as the
trial version of the US Navy’s Consolidated RY Liberator Express transport.
Vanderkloot and the crew continued to fly it for a time, one crew member's last
logbook entry for AL504 is 24 November 1944.
Commando
had served as Churchill's official aircraft during a critical period and later
in the war was also used on occasion by other VIP's for their business in
connection with the war effort. She also served with No. 45 Group
Communications Flight (45 Gp Comms Flt), based at Dorval, near Montreal. It was
well maintained and proved extremely reliable and had been flown from Montreal
to Sydney, Australia, on 5 November 1944 by Air Commodore C J Powell CBE, RAF
(Senior Air Staff Officer) RAF Transport Command.
Commando
was the second of 139 VLR (Very Long Range) Liberator II aircraft delivered to
the RAF mostly to be used by RAF Coastal Command on maritime patrol duty and
anti-submarine warfare, escorting the supply convoys of merchant vessels and
attacking and sinking German U-boats.
The
Under-Secretary of State for Air Rupert Brabner DSO DSC, his deputy Sir John
Abraham KBE CB, and the Air Member for Training Air Marshal Sir Peter Roy
Maxwell Drummond KCB DSO & Bar OBE MC RAF needed to fly to Canada with
other dignitaries to attend a ceremony marking the closure of the British
Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Winston Churchill's former personal transport
Commando was assigned as the VIP aircraft.
Flown
by Wing Commander William Biddell OBE DFC, the aircraft took off from RAF
Northolt at 23:00 hours GMT on Monday 26 March 1945 to fly to Ottawa, Canada,
with a refueling stop at Lajes Field in the Azores. Routine contact was
established between the aircraft and its base at 05:22 hours GMT in the morning
with the flight proceeding as scheduled. The flight was proceeding routinely
when the last contact was made with RAF Transport Command at RAF Prestwick at
07:16 hours GMT on the morning of 27 March 1945 in position 40°30'N 20°17'W by
civilian Radio Officer Frederick Williams aboard the aircraft, to advise an
estimated time of arrival of 08:10 hours at Lajes Field. There were no further
signals.
When
Commando failed to arrive at Lajes Field emergency calls were made by radio and
air-sea searches initiated once the aircraft was classified as overdue. RAF
Coastal Command assisted by the Royal Navy commenced a series of searches which
were described by Prime Minister Winston Churchill in his announcement in the
House of Commons on 28 March 1945. Close to the flight path which Commando
would have been following over the ocean in towards Lajes Field aircrew of the
searching RAF Coastal Command aircraft spotted some yellow dinghies, a small
amount of wreckage and an oil patch on the surface. It was 150–200 mi
(130–170 nmi; 240–320 km) north-west of the Azores, there were no
traces of any survivors. Little could be done and it was considered probable
that Commando had crashed at sea while approaching the Azores.
Possible Causes
Radio or radio navigational aid failure was not considered
an issue as the aircraft was flying in daylight and the Azores would probably
have been located without difficulty.
Engine failure was considered. The No. 2 engine had been
changed during maintenance on 15 November 1944 and had 517 flying hours, the
other three engines had each accumulated 466 flying hours and had been serviced
on 16 November 1944. The aircraft carried its own flight engineer. Its previous
civilian flight engineer, John Affleck, testified at the court of inquiry and
reported that mention was made in a radio signal of an oil leak in the No. 2
engine which he believed might have resulted in a fire beside a fuel tank.
Fuel shortage was considered unlikely, excepting a
catastrophic leak, as the aircraft carried considerably more than sufficient
for its flight to the Azores.
Pilot error was considered unlikely as the aircraft was
flown by a highly experienced RAF Transport Command transatlantic pilot who had
635 flying hours on Liberators and 3,780 flying hours in total.
Navigational error was discounted as the traces of wreckage
were found close to the expected flight path.
Structural failure was considered, but was not confirmed due
to lack of evidence from crash debris.
The Crew
Pilot: Wing
Commander William Hugh Biddell OBE DFC RAF, aged 28, a married man from Kent,
was a regular service officer who had joined the Royal Air Force and been
commissioned on 21 October 1935, promoted to flight lieutenant on 3 September
1939 serving as a flight commander in No. 206 Squadron RAF (206 Sqn) on
maritime reconnaissance and anti-shipping duties. He was awarded a
Distinguished Flying Cross on 14 June 1940 for bravery in combat with enemy
aircraft over the Dunkirk evacuation beaches in May 1940. and also received a
"Polish Cross for Gallantry" the same month for having flown the
Polish General Wladyslaw Sikorski from Bordeaux to England escaping the German
occupation forces. Biddell joined the staff of RAF Ferry Command on 22 January
1942, was promoted to temporary Wing Commander on 1 June 1942, and decorated as
an Officer of the Order of the British Empire Military Division on 8 June 1944
for his work with RAF Transport Command.
Second Pilot: Flight
Lieutenant Aubrey Norman Brodie RAFVR aged 24, from Birmingham, had joined the
RAFVR in 1941, learned to fly in Canada and been commissioned 9 December 1943.
He was rapidly promoted Flying Officer in June 1944 and then acting flight
lieutenant.
Navigator: Flight
Lieutenant David Buchanan RCAF aged 29, a married man from Winnipeg, Manitoba.
He was a highly experienced Navigator with RAF Ferry Command who had flown on
many trans-atlantic flights.
Second Navigator: Flight
Lieutenant Kenneth George Shea RAAF aged 27 born at Launceston, Tasmania, he
had taken part in many long range missions from Dorval, initially with RAF
Transport Command and since 1 March 1945 with No. 231 Squadron RAF (231 Sqn)
still involved in trans-atlantic flights. Promoted to Flight Lieutenant in
February 1944 he had been awarded a King’s Commendation for Valuable Services
in the Air on 1 September 1944.
Radio Officer: Mr.
Frederick Walter Williams, a civilian, employed by RAF Transport Command aged
32 from Gloucester, Gloucestershire.
Flight Engineer: Warrant
Officer Douglas James Spence (RCAF) aged 33 from Vancouver, a regular service
RCAF flight engineer with 17 years' service who had flown the trans-atlantic
route many times. He was posthumously commissioned.
Flight Steward and
Clerk: Mr. Victor Ian Claud James Bannister, a civilian employed by RAF
Transport Command aged 29, a married man from London.
The VIPs
Commander Rupert
Arnold Brabner DSO DSC Royal Navy: (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
for Air) A 33-year-old married man. Brabner was an M.A. graduate of Cambridge
University, elected Member of Parliament for Hythe, Kent and a serving Fleet
Air Arm ace fighter pilot. He was born in Chelsea, London, on 29 October 1911.
Educated at Felstead School, Essex and St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge and
was an elected member of London County Council and then Conservative Party
Member of Parliament from July 1939. He was decorated for his success as a
Fleet Air Arm fighter pilot for actions over Malta. Brabner was "Technical
Assistant" to the Fifth Sea Lord at the Admiralty 1943–44 and then
"Assistant Government Parliamentary Whip" before being appointed
Under Secretary of State for Air in November 1944.
Air Marshal Sir Peter
Roy Maxwell Drummond KCB DSO & Bar OBE MC RAF: Air Member for Training
Sir John Bradley
Abraham KBE CB: (Deputy Under Secretary of State (Air Ministry)) A
63-year-old married man from Radlett in Hertfordshire. Abraham joined the
British Civil Service as a Boy in 1897, progressing to Class I Clerk at the
Admiralty in 1912, and then "Assistant Principal Clerk" (Air
Ministry) in 1918. Appointed a Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the
Bath in January 1933 as Assistant Secretary of State at the Air Ministry. He
was Knighted on 1 January 1942.
Mr. Henry Albert
Jones CMG MC Croix de Guerre with Palm: (Air Delegation (Washington) and
United Kingdom Air Liaison Mission (Ottawa)) A 51-year-old married man from
Chingford. Jones had served in World War I with the Wiltshire Regiment and as
an observer with the Royal Flying Corps being awarded a Military Cross for
conspicuous gallantry in France, and also a Croix de Guerre 1914-1918 with
Palm. After military service he was Gazetted to the Department of Overseas
Trade as an "Intelligence Officer". Jones was British government
official air historian and author of 31 published works documenting the
official story of the war in the air 1914–18. He was seconded to the Cabinet
Office in the 1930s and then to the Air Staff Secretariat in 1939, becoming
Director of Public Relations (Air Ministry) in 1944. He was appointed a
Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George on 1
January 1943.
Mr. Edward Twentyman:
(Civil Service) A 57-year-old married man from Chatham, Kent, born at
Bolton, Lancashire, educated at London University. Worked in the India Office
from 1910 and as "Principal Assistant" at the Treasury in 1920.
Mr. Eric Robinson: (Civil
Service) A 35-year-old married man from Southport, Lancashire, living in
Bromley, Kent.
Squadron Leader
Elisha Gaddis Plum RAFVR: (UK Air Liaison Mission) A 47-year-old married
man resident in Chelsea, London, and Rumson, New Jersey, a US citizen working
with the United Kingdom Air Liaison Mission. Gaddis Plum joined the RAFVR and
was commissioned on 1 June 1940 as a Pilot Officer in the "Equipment
Branch", he was promoted Flight Lieutenant on 11 June 1943 and acting
Squadron Leader.
Further Reading
Andrade, John M. (1997). U.S. military aircraft designations
and serials 1909 to 1979. Leicester: Midland Counties Publications.
Birdsall, Steve (1968). The B-24 Liberator. New York: Arco
Pub.
Birdsall, Steve (October 1979). B-24 Liberator in Action – Aircraft
No. 21. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications.
Birdsall, Steve; Color illus. by Preston, John (1973). Log
of the Liberators : an illustrated history of the B-24 (1st ed.). New
York: Doubleday & Company, Inc.
Blue, Allan G. (1976). The B-24 Liberator : a pictorial
history. London: Allan.
Bowman, Martin (1979). The B-24 Liberator 1939–1945. Norwich
(33 Oxford Pl., Norwich): Wensum.
Bowman, Martin (2003). B-24 Liberator. Shrewsbury: Airlife
Pub.
Brookes, Andrew (1992). Disasters in the air (repr.
impr. ed.). Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan.
Davis, Larry; color by Greer, Don; illustrated by Manley,
Perry (1987). B-24 Liberator in action Aircraft No. 80. Carrollton, Tex.:
Squadron/Signal Publications.
Freeman, Roger A. (1983). B-24 Liberator at war. London: Ian
Allan.
Lavery, Brian (2008). Churchill goes to war : Winston's
wartime journeys. London: Conway Maritime.
Livingstone, Bob (1998). Under the Southern Cross : the
B-24 Liberator in the South Pacific (Limited ed.). Paducah, KY: Turner
Pub.
O'Leary, Michael (2001). Consolidated B-24 Liberator.
Oxford: Osprey Aviation.
Robertson, compiled by Bruce (1987). British military
aircraft serials, 1878–1987 ([6th rev. ed.]. ed.). Leicester: Midland
Counties Publications.
Shacklady, general ed.: Edward (2002). Consolidated B-24
Liberator. Bristol: Cerberus.
Shores, Christopher (1986). History of the Royal Canadian
Air Force. London: Bison Books.
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| Churchill's Consolidated Liberator Mark II (AL504) "Commando" (painted black) parked at RAF Nicosia with the familiar shape of the Kyrenia Mountains in the background. |
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| The Consolidated Liberator Mark II (AL504) "Commando" was not pressurized and rarely flew above 8,000ft. |
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| On 1 February 1943 Churchill leaves Cyprus bound for Tripoli. He boards the aircraft via a small door at the rear. |
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| The Prime Minister's aircraft, Consolidated Liberator Mark II (AL504) "Commando", VIP transport aircraft of No. 24 Squadron RAF, taxiing at Lyneham, Wiltshire, with Winston Churchill and the Chiefs of Staff on board, after returning from the Casablanca Conference, January 1943. |
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| The Prime Minister, Winston Churchill in RAF uniform, accompanied by Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, Chief of the Air Staff, leaving Consolidated Liberator "Commando" of No. 24 Squadron RAF at Lyneham, Wiltshire, on their return from the Casablanca Conference. 24 Squadron provided VIP transport for the Prime Minister and Chiefs of Staff during the conference and their subsequent tour of the Middle East. January 1943. |
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| Prime Minister Winston Churchill's luggage being unloaded from "Commando", his personal Liberator II transport aircraft, after the Casablanca Conference of January 1943. |
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| Winston Churchill climbing out of his Liberator Mark II (AL504), "Commando", that flew him to Moscow. |
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| Prime Minister Churchill, who has been greeted by the Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov on arrival at Moscow airport, stands bareheaded while Red Army bands play the national anthems of Britain, the USA and the USSR, 12 August 1942. William Averell Harriman, the U.S. special envoy to Europe; Vyacheslav Molotov, the Soviet Foreign Commissar; and Boris Shaposhnikov, the Soviet Deputy Defence Commissar, are on the Prime Minister's right. Behind them part of the tail is visible of the Liberator Mark II in which Mr Churchill flew to Moscow can be seen. |
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| Vyacheslav Molotov, the Soviet Foreign Commissar; Boris Shaposhnikov, the Soviet Deputy Defence Commissar (behind Molotov); William Averell Harriman, the US special envoy to Europe; and Winston Churchill at Moscow airport, 12 August 1942. |
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| The extra cabin fitted in LB-30 Liberator (AL504) "Commando", the personal transport aircraft of the Prime Minister, photographed at Northolt, Middlesex, on returning to the United Kingdom, following extensive modification and a complete overhaul by the Consolidated Aircraft Company at San Diego, California. The fuselage was extended by seven feet to accommodate an extra cabin and table for the Prime Minister, shown here. |
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| The main cabin interior of LB-30 Liberator (AL504) "Commando", the personal transport aircraft of the Prime Minister, photographed at Northolt, Middlesex, on returning to the United Kingdom, following extensive modification and a complete overhaul by the Consolidated Aircraft Company at San Diego, California. The fuselage was extended by seven feet and the interior was furnished to accommodate 20 passengers with bunks and a stewards galley. This view shows the main cabin with the bunks stowed. |
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| Liberator Mk.II (AL504) "Commando". The picture shows the aircraft in its twin single-fin and rudder configuration and lack of camouflage paint. |
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| Liberator Mk.II (AL504) "Commando". The picture shows the aircraft in its later single-fin and rudder configuration and lack of camouflage paint. |
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| Liberator Mk.II (AL504) "Commando". |
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| Liberator Mk.II (AL504) "Commando", this Liberator emerged from Consolidated’s modification facility in Tucson, Arizona, with many of the features of a long-bodied RY-3 transport version. |
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| At a London airfield, exiled Dutch Queen Wilhelmina greets her daughter Juliana who returns from her safe house in Canada, VVIP enough to use Churchill's personal LB-30 Liberator II (AL504) "Commando", 9 September 1944. |
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| LB-30 Liberator (AL504) "Commando", in flight over Canada, November 1944. One of the original aircraft ordered by the Anglo-French Purchasing Commission in the United States and taken over by the British after the fall of France, AL504 became the personal transport of the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, who flew in it to many of his wartime conferences. AL504 was originally a standard Liberator Mark II, which was later modified by lengthening the fuselage and fitting a large single fin and rudder, as seen here. It was operated by the Communications Flight of No. 45 (Atlantic Transport) Group, Transport Command. AL504 disappeared over the South Atlantic while flying from the Azores to Ottawa, Canada, on 26 March 1945. |
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| Air Marshal R M Drummond, Deputy Commander of the Royal Air Force in the Middle East, seated at his desk. One of the VIPs onboard "Commando" when lost in March 1945. |
