Date:	Saturday 2 May 1931
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH.60G Moth
Owner/operator:	The Hon Mrs Venetia (Edwin) Montagu
Registration:	G-ABFW
MSN:	1820
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Sabzevar, 220 km (137 miles) West of Meshed, Persia -   Iran
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Tehran, Iran
Destination airport:	Moscow, Russia

Narrative:
c/no 1820: DH.60G [Gipsy II] registered as G-ABFW [C of R 2876] 4.11.30 to The Hon Mrs Beatrice Venetia Stanley Montagu, Beccles Hall, Attleborough, Norfolk. C of A 2809 issued 6.11.30.

After being widowed in 1930, Beatrice Venetia Stanley Montagu took an interest in flying. In 1931, she embarked on a 6,000-mile adventure in a DH Gypsy Moth piloted by Rupert Belleville. The journey took them across Russia, the Middle East and Persia. Of the journey she said that, "We are going for fun only, in the simplest, cheapest, and most modern way of seeing the world"

Written off 2.5.31 when crashed and destroyed by fire at Sabzevar, 220 km (137 miles) west of Meshed, Persia (now Iran, at approximate Coordinates: 36°21′25″N 57°67′6389″E) en-route from Teheran to Moscow. Both persons on board survived uninjured. According to one source (see link #6):

"...G-AFBW was the aircraft in which Beatrice Venetia Stanley Montagu, and her pilot Rupert Bellville, used the following year (1931) when they decided to tour Persia and Russia.

They left Heston on March 27th and reached Budapest on April 1st. On April 5th, when flying to Sofia, Bulgaria, they made a forced landing at Nisch, Yugoslavia, but were able to proceed later. The flight was continued on April 7th from Sofia to Constantinople.”

They left Constantinople on the 13th April, but 20 days later on May 2nd, met with a mishap when flying from Teheran to Moscow, their machine crashed near Sabzawar, Persia, and, although the machine was burnt, they were both unhurt.

It only took her a couple of weeks to find another aeroplane, however; she obtained a new—or rather a second-hand—mount with which to continue her tour. She purchased a DH.60 Moth in Iraq" [G-AAJO] "and left for Astrabad, on the Russian frontier, on May 16. They arrived in Moscow from Tashkent on June 1st, and left for Berlin on June 3rd".

Registration G-ABFW cancelled 2.1.32 due to "destruction or permanent withdrawal from use of aircraft". The Moth G-ABFW was replaced by G-AAJO (c/no. 1101) and the tour recommenced 16.5.31.

1. Moulson, Tom (2014). The Millionaires' Squadron: The Remarkable Story of 601 Squadron and the Flying Sword. 47 Church Street, Barnsley, UK, S70 2AS: Pen & Sword Aviation. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-78346-339-8.
2. https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/page-gb-registers-g-ab/g-ab-part-1?highlight=WyJnLWFiZnciXQ==
3. https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-ABFW.pdf
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A2.htmll
5. http://www.ab-ix.co.uk/dh60.pdf
6. http://www.orpheusweb.co.uk/vicsmith/Accidents/May31.html
7. https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/pioneering-women/montagu-venetia?highlight=WyJnLWFiZnciXQ==
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabzevar
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venetia_Stanley_(1887%E2%80%931948)

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
01-Dec-2017 17:37	Dr. John Smith	Added
02-Dec-2023 15:38	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, Category]