<<There was a survivor (Sgt Jack the rear gunner) who gave evidence to the Inquiry ...>>
The BOI was held in secret and the record is said to have been lost (as was the flight plan). Jack was sworn to secrecy on his hospital bed and would not say a word about it to the Duke's widow despite several visits to him by her. He drank himself to an early grave. Further, I have come across one reference to his not having been called to give evidence.
The Duke's papers, which may have shed some light on his intentions and therefore any possible oddities about the intended flight, are still locked away from the public.
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<<... and you have also failed to mention that the Navigator was not the normal Navigator for this crew ...>>
The crew were hand picked for this mission and there were no less than 4 navigators (the top of the pile, apparently) – there's heaps about this crash that I could mention but care not to on this thread.
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<<... what exactly was the new piece of navigational equipment that was used to induce that particular crash?>>
Gee, I dunno – got any suggestions? There was a northern chain (Dunnet Head, etc) operating from late '42 but would it have been near to a try out as early as the date of the crash (August '42)? Anyways, I am sure that there would be no mention of the gear being fitted to a Sunderland at the time, if ever.
Anyway, I was merely referring to this crash as a similar example wherein the pilots were blamed without the planning/mission being fully divulged, was I not?
While I have no idea why that a/c crashed, the timings and significant deviation from the assumed route (there was an official comment about them changing flight plan) give rise to doubt about the simple picture as to their original intentions – they had turned onto a direct path to Loch More where seaplanes did land regularly which does fit with some conspiracy theories.
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<<That crash happened during a war for survival when training time was limited and casualties were high ...>>
The crew were as highly trained as you could get for a Sunderland; the hills were not what you could call high; conditions were largely clear; Sunderlands were robust and reliable.
However, they were unlucky in Scotland at the time – another Sunderland crashed a few weeks later near Tiree, unfortunately killing someone on board who was investigating the crash of the other Sunderland – he was more than just an aviation journalist, he was one of a large group (including Duke of Windsor, Duke of Kent, lots of other notables, and by no means least General Sikorsky who perished when a Liberator plopped off the end of the runway at Gib) that Churchill termed “peace conspiracists”.
It is hard to ignore the apparent increased likelihood of an odd accident occurring when politically inconvenient people are on board – which was certainly the case with ZD576.