Commando
Liberator II AL504Commando, which disappeared on 27 March 1945. The picture shows the aircraft in its later single-fin and rudder configuration and lack of camouflage paint
General information
Type	Consolidated Liberator II
Owners	Royal Air Force
Serial	AL504
History
In service	July 1942 – 27 March 1945
Fate	Disappeared over the North Atlantic Ocean en route to theAzores

Commando (Air Ministryserial numberAL504) was a very long rangeConsolidated Liberator II aircraft adapted for passenger transport, to serve as the personal aircraft ofPrime MinisterWinston Churchill.Commandodisappeared without a trace on 27 March 1945 over theNorth Atlantic Ocean, while on a flight fromRAF Northolt toLajes Field in theAzores, en route toOttawa inCanada. The cause of the disappearance of the aircraft remains unknown to this day.

Volunteer pilotWilliam Vanderkloot, a US citizen serving withRAF Ferry Command since June 1941, delivered a specially modified long-rangeConsolidated Liberator II in July 1942. Vanderkloot was ordered to RAF headquarters, where he was asked by SirCharles Portal,Chief of the Air Staff, if there was a safe, direct route fromEngland toCairo, by air in the Liberator which he had just delivered toPrestwick Airport. Vanderkloot informed Portal that the flight was possible with one stop inGibraltar. Initially heading eastwards from Gibraltar, staying over the sea in the afternoon, and then turning sharply south after dusk, flying overSpanish andVichy French territory in Africa in darkness, before turning east again for theNile, approaching Cairo from the south. Thus the danger from land-based enemy aircraft in North Africa andSicily 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 toWinston 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-tornEurope,Russia,North Africa and theMiddle-East.^[1][2] "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 flewLord Mountbatten to England in June 1942, conveyed the Prime Minister andChief of the Imperial General StaffAlan Brooke to Egypt in August 1942 to replaceClaude Auchinleck commander of the British Army in North Africa withBernard 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.^[3][4]

On deliveryCommando 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 theConsolidated PB4Y-2. TheVIP ("Very Important Person[s]") interior had comfortable seating, an electric galley and even a bed, installed for Churchill.^[5][6]After the second extended trip,^[2] Churchill never again flew inCommando, instead switching toAscalon, an Avro York (a transport aircraft based on theLancaster 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 honoraryOBEs.^[7]

In September 1943 Liberator AL504 was withdrawn from VIP service and flown to aTucson, ArizonaUSAAF 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 theUS Navy’sConsolidated RY Liberator Express transport.^[8] Vanderkloot and the crew continued to fly it for a time, one crew member's last logbook entry for AL504 is 24 November 1944.^[4]

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 withNo. 45 Group Communications Flight (45 Gp Comms Flt), based at Dorval, near Montreal.^[9] It was well maintained and proved extremely reliable and had been flown fromMontreal toSydney, Australia, on 5 November 1944 byAir Commodore C J Powell CBE,RAF (Senior Air Staff Officer)RAF Transport Command.^[10]

Commando was the second of 139 VLR (Very Long Range) Liberator II aircraft delivered to the RAF mostly to be used byRAF Coastal Command on maritime patrol duty and anti-submarine warfare, escorting the supply convoys of merchant vessels and attacking and sinking GermanU-boats.

The Under-Secretary of State for AirRupert BrabnerDSODSC, his deputy SirJohn Abraham KBE CB, and the Air Member for TrainingAir Marshal SirPeter Roy Maxwell DrummondKCBDSO& BarOBEMCRAF needed to fly to Canada with other dignitaries to attend a ceremony marking the closure of theBritish Commonwealth Air Training Plan.Winston Churchill's former personal transportCommando was assigned as the VIP aircraft.

Flown byWing Commander William Biddell OBE DFC, the aircraft took off fromRAF Northolt at 23:00 hours GMT on Monday 26 March 1945 to fly toOttawa,Canada, with a refueling stop atLajes Field in theAzores.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 withRAF Transport Command atRAF 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 atLajes Field. There were no further signals.

WhenCommando failed to arrive atLajes Field, emergency calls were made by radio and air-sea searches initiated once the aircraft was classified as overdue.RAF Coastal Command, assisted by theRoyal Navy, commenced a series of searches which were described byPrime MinisterWinston Churchill in his announcement in theHouse of Commons on 28 March 1945.Close to the flight path whichCommando would have been following over the ocean in towardsLajes Field, aircrew of the searchingRAF 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.^[11] Little could be done and it was considered probable thatCommando had crashed at sea while approaching the Azores.^[12]

• 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 ownflight engineer. Its previous civilian flight engineer, John Affleck, testified at the court of enquiry 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.^[4]
• 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 experiencedRAF 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.

Pilot

Wing Commander William Hugh Biddell OBE DFC RAF,^[13] aged 28, a married man from Kent, was a regular service officer who had joined theRoyal Air Force and been commissioned on 21 October 1935,^[14] promoted toflight lieutenant on 3 September 1939 serving as aflight commander inNo. 206 Squadron RAF (206 Sqn) on maritime reconnaissance and anti-shipping duties. He was awarded aDistinguished Flying Cross on 14 June 1940 for bravery in combat with enemy aircraft over theDunkirk evacuation beaches in May 1940.^[15] and also received a "Polish Cross for Gallantry" the same month for having flown the Polish GeneralWladyslaw Sikorski fromBordeaux to England escaping the German occupation forces. Biddell joined the staff ofRAF Ferry Command on 22 January 1942, was promoted to temporaryWing Commander on 1 June 1942,^[16] and decorated as an Officer of theOrder of the British Empire Military Division on 8 June 1944 for his work withRAF Transport Command.^[17][18]

Second Pilot

Flight Lieutenant Aubrey Norman Brodie RAFVR aged 24, fromBirmingham, had joined theRAFVR in 1941, learned to fly in Canada and been commissioned 9 December 1943.^[19] He was rapidly promotedFlying Officer in June 1944 and then actingflight lieutenant.^[20][21]

Navigator

Flight Lieutenant David Buchanan RCAF aged 29, a married man fromWinnipeg, Manitoba. He was a highly experienced Navigator withRAF Ferry Command who had flown on many trans-atlantic flights.^[22]

Second Navigator

Flight Lieutenant Kenneth George Shea RAAF aged 27 born atLaunceston, Tasmania, he had taken part in many long range missions fromDorval, initially withRAF Transport Command and since 1 March 1945 withNo. 231 Squadron RAF (231 Sqn) still involved in trans-atlantic flights. Promoted to Flight Lieutenant in February 1944 he had been awarded aKing’s Commendation for Valuable Services in the Air on 1 September 1944.^{[23][24][25][26]}

Radio Officer

Mr. Frederick Walter Williams, a civilian, employed by RAF Transport Command aged 32 fromGloucester,Gloucestershire.^[27]

Flight Engineer

Warrant Officer Douglas James Spence (RCAF) aged 33 fromVancouver, a regular serviceRCAF flight engineer with 17 years service who had flown the trans-atlantic route many times. He was posthumously commissioned.^[28][29]

Flight Steward & Clerk

Mr. Victor Ian Claud James Bannister, a civilian employed by RAF Transport Command aged 29, a married man from London.^[30][31]

Commander Rupert Arnold Brabner DSO DSCRoyal Navy

(Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Air) A 33-year-old married man. Brabner was an M.A. graduate ofCambridge University, electedMember of Parliament forHythe, Kent and a servingFleet Air Arm ace fighter pilot.^[32][33] He was born inChelsea, London, on 29 October 1911. Educated atFelstead School, Essex andSt. Catharine’s College,Cambridge and was an elected member ofLondon County Council and thenConservative PartyMember of Parliament from July 1939.^[34] He was decorated for his success as aFleet Air Arm fighter pilot for actions overMalta. Brabner was "Technical Assistant" to theFifth 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.^[35][36]

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 fromRadlett inHertfordshire.^[37] Abraham joined theBritish Civil Service as a Boy in 1897, progressing to Class I Clerk at theAdmiralty in 1912, and then "Assistant Principal Clerk" (Air Ministry) in 1918.^[38][39] Appointed a Companion of theMost Honourable Order of the Bath in January 1933 as Assistant Secretary of State at theAir Ministry.^[40] He was Knighted on 1 January 1942.^{[41][42][43][44]}

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 fromChingford.^[45] Jones had served inWorld War I with theWiltshire Regiment and as an observer with theRoyal Flying Corps being awarded aMilitary Cross for conspicuous gallantry in France, and also aCroix de Guerre 1914-1918 with Palm.^[46][47][48] After military service he was Gazetted to theDepartment of Overseas Trade as an "Intelligence Officer".^[49] 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.^[50] 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.^[51] He was appointed a Companion of the Most DistinguishedOrder of St Michael and St George on 1 January 1943.^[52][53]

Mr. Edward Twentyman

(Civil Service) A 57-year-old married man fromChatham, Kent, born atBolton, Lancashire, educated atLondon University. Worked in theIndia Office from 1910 and as "Principal Assistant" at the Treasury in 1920.^[54][55][56]

Mr. Eric Robinson

(Civil Service) A 35-year-old married man fromSouthport, Lancashire, living inBromley, Kent.^[57]

Squadron Leader Elisha Gaddis Plum RAFVR

(UK Air Liaison Mission) A 47-year-old married man resident inChelsea, London, andRumson, New Jersey,^[58] a US citizen working with the United Kingdom Air Liaison Mission. Gaddis Plum joined theRAFVR and was commissioned on 1 June 1940 as aPilot Officer in the "Equipment Branch",^[59] he was promoted Flight Lieutenant on 11 June 1943 and actingSquadron Leader^[60]

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• Aviation accidents and incidents in 1945
• Accidents and incidents involving the Consolidated B-24 Liberator
• Aviation accidents and incidents in the Atlantic Ocean
• Missing aircraft
• Consolidated aircraft
• March 1945

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