Remembering Today Casualty Details | CWGC BURGER, P A Rank: Air Mechanic Service No: 7985 Date of Death: 17/04/1947 Age: 22 Regiment/Service: South African Air Force Cemetery: KHARTOUM WAR CEMETERY Grave Reference: Coll. grave 5. C. 10. Additional Information: Son of Mr. and Mrs. P. A. Burger; husband of M. C. A M. Burger, of Mogaba, Lydenburg, Transvaal, South Africa.
17 April 1947 Lockheed PV-1 Ventura, Serial Number 6501, Identification Code Letter JS-P. While ferrying SAAF Pilots from Pretoria to Cairo to collect Spitfire Aircraft to fly back to the Union, the aircraft crashed at 19h30, 60 miles South West of Khartoum in the Sudan. There were no survivors. http://www.mm3admin.co.za/documents/docmanager/11dd6678-a6cf-4f06-9f49-b5ea985f43f6/00031571.pdf MEMORIAL STONE CREW: Major Welgemoed, Frederick (Pilot & Aircraft Commander) DFC & Bar P/5843 Lieutenant van Rooyen, Hermanus Gerhardus (Co-Pilot) 15154 Air Mechanic Burger, Petrus Andries (Flight Engineer) 7985 Air Corporal Case, Leslie Donovan (Wireless Operator) P/8777 PASSENGERS: Major Bosman, Andrew Christian (Pilot) DSO; DFC P/102696 Captain Liebenberg, Hendrik Christoffel Weideman (Pilot) 102706V Captain Taylor, Trevor Richard John (Pilot) DSO;DFC 103704 Lieutenant Crisp, Ronald Leslie (Pilot) P/853 Lieutenant Gericke, Jacobus Stephanus (Pilot) 103937V Lieutenant Hirst, Robert Cecil (Pilot) 103518V Lieutenant Kritzinger, Hermanus Johannes (Pilot) DFC 328642V Lieutenant Landman, John Jurie (Pilot) 206572 Lieutenant Nelson, Peter David (Pilot) 542996 Lieutenant Nicolay, Peter DFC (Pilot) 103538 Lieutenant Prinsloo, Norman Peter (Pilot) DFC 206113V
Just to add further detail to this on one of the other casualties of the crash. Captain H.C.W. Liebenberg was a SAAF fighter pilot - in 1941 his Hurricane Z4065 was hit by enemy anti aircraft fire over Tobruk, Libya, and he was captured. (Full story on this link 28.11.1941 No. 11 Squadron Blenheim IV L1317 Lt. S. Patterson, Landing Ground 76, Bir el Malla, Egypt ) As a POW, he escaped from a train taking him to Germany in late 1943 and after reaching Allied lines in early 1944, returned to his squadron. Hendrik (on the right in the photo) had married a British WRNS in Cairo in 1946 and they had a son born in 1947 just three weeks before he died. Liebenberg's widow later went on to marry my grandfather (also a widower) and he adopted her son.
And as an additional note, I see his medals are currently for sale in Barcelona. South Africa Republic. Group: - 1939-45 Star - Africa Star - Italy Star - Defence Medal - Africa Service Medal. 1943. 102706 H.C.W. LIEBENBERG. | Militaria Barcelona
