Date:	Saturday 22 July 1944
Time:
Type:	Vickers Wellington Mk XIII
Owner/operator:	38 Sqn RAF
Registration:	JA359
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 6
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	2 miles off the coast, halway between Tolmietta and Ras Aamer -   Libya
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Berka III
Destination airport:

Narrative:
In the evening, twelve Wellingtons of 38 Sqn RAF took off from Berka III airfield near Benghazi, Libya, for a raid on Kastelli airfield in Crete. Two returned due to engine trouble and the last one of take off, at 1952 hrs, the Wellington XIII JA359 -A, ditched 2 miles off the coast, halway between Tolmietta and Ras Aamer, due to starboard engine failure. The ditching was succcessful and the six crew all survived. The dinghy on release got caught in the tail unit and was rendered unserviceable, so the crew stuck out for the shore, which they all reached safely. They were located during the morning of 23rd and brought into Benghazi by an Air Sea Rescue Launch.

Crew (all safe) :
Flt Lt A V Donati (pilot)
Wt Off G W Bibby (2nd pilot)
Flt Sgt R D Jack (navigator)
Sgt R P Margetts (wireless operator/air gunner)
Flt Sgt R L Reeves (wireless operator/air gunner)
Sgt H W Crane (wireless operator/air gunner)

ORB of 38 Sqn RAF, July 1944 (AIR 27/401-13 and AIR 27/401-14)
"A history of the Mediterranean Air War 1940-1945, vol 5 : From the Fall of Rome to the End of the War 1944-1945", by Christopher Shores, Giovanni Massimello, Russel Guest, Frank Olynyk, Winfried Bock and Andrew Thomas, ISBN 978-1-911621-97-3, page 180
https://fr.getamap.net/cartes/libya/al_jabal_al_akh_ar/_aamer_ras/

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
14-Sep-2023 16:11	Laurent Rizzotti	Added