On Friday 13th June, 2/Lt, FURSTENBURG, flying Aircraft No. 1657 crashed taking off. The accident was investigated and was found by the Court of Inquiry to have been due to the pilot having retracted his undercarriage before being properly airborne with the result that the machine settled down on its airscrews and finally came to earth with no undercarriage. No damage to personnel. The aircraft was salvaged by No. 6 A.D.
In view of the growing prejudice that "Maryland" aircraft are dangerous, on instructions from A.H.Q., E.A. particular stress was laid on the fact that the accident was due to the pilot’s own faulty judgment and not in any way to a characteristic of the aircraft.
No time has been lost in getting the “Union cases” on their way and Major COPPEN and Lieut. MANTE left this morning for CAIRO on their journey to CAPE TOWN. – the fore-runners of the ferry pilots. Lieut. NEWMAN also left for his new home in CAIRO with the same truck.
The usual calm of a Saturday afternoon was disturbed when it was seen that there was fire blazing at No. 15 Squadron’s camp. Without delay our fire-tender with duty crew sped to the rescue and did what they could to assist with putting out the blaze but alas it was the same old story of fires in tents in the desert. Once well alight and there is no possible hope of staying the hungry flames. In this case the squadron workshops were gutted.
On two raids railway bridges were bombed near FABRIANO and FOSSATO. On the second raid the formation leader, owing to a hang up, jettisoned bombs over the target. The bombs collided immediately below the aircraft, exploded and caused considerable damage to four aircraft. Sortie Reports Nos. 718 & 719.