Sunderland air com ditching
Sorry 240 Gardner - Too many many years have gone by for me to recall the name of the vicar.
I hope the following will be of interest to flying boat enthuisiasts -Sometime around 1947 there was a major incident involving the American equivilant of a Sunderland - forced to ditch in mid atlantic with some 62 or more on board.
The event is a sorry tale of pilot and navigator error involving
overloading, inadequate fuel and extra strong headwinds. The Bermuda Sky Queen (Boeing 314) flying boat was on route from Foyles Ireland - States bound but shortly after passing the USS BIBB about mid atlantic
was forced to turn back and alight alongside the Bibb in heavy seas -
where an oil slick had been laid. The hull of the Boeing at first seemed to have been totally immersed in the heavy seas - being very lucky to have
remained afloat under the conditions. The crew of the ship had to make severa attempts to rescue all 62 or so including children and 2 babes in arms. The event is described in detail in at least one book and can be googled under Bermuda Sky Queen
(Epilogue - about one year ago one of the rescued children - now an adult - made contact on the web seeking further information and contacts with any other survivors still alive as I beleive she was hoping to write a book on her experiences)