A Royal Air Force’s de Havilland Mosquito flying over the Mediterranean on its return to Malta from a raid on enemy territory in Southern Italy during the operations before the landing on Sicily. June 1943. Victor Sierra

Malta’s Mosquito

This passenger transport aircraft camouflaged with the war colors, flying over Cairo during the approach at Heliopolis, end 1941 or 1942, is the BOAC’s Lockheed Lodestar, G-AGCM "Lake Maryut”. The BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) purchased nine Lockheed Model 18-07 Lodestar which was delivered new, but the pictured aircraft is one of two built in 1940 for Catalina Air Transport of Long Beach, California. On July 25, 1941 it was impressed by the USAAF as a C-56C serial 42-53503 and in September 1941 it was transferred to the RAF as a Lodestar Mk. I serial AX759, After few days, on 29 September 1941, the aircraft was assigned to BOAC with the civil registration G-AGCM, named “Lake Maryut”, for personnel transport in Middle East, North Africa and Mediterranean. After the war, October 2, 1946, the civil registration was cancelled and the aircraft returned to the RAF under the new serial VR955. It was withdrawn from use on April 30, 1947 and perhaps was phased out after this date. Victor Sierra

Flying over Cairo

Curtiss CW-20A, G-AGDI "St Louis", of BOAC is refueled at Gibraltar. "St Louis", which ran regular supply flights between Lisbon, Gibraltar and the besieged island of Malta from 1941 to 1942, the only CW-20 of the BOAC, were the prototype of this twin engine transport plane afterwards built by Curtiss for the US Air Forces as C-46 Commando. At the time it made its first flight on 26 March 1940, the airplanes was named CW-20T with two fins and rudders replaced by a single unit during the tests. The plane was re-designated CW-20 and sold to the U.S. Army and designated C-55-CS. In September 1941, it was returned to Curtiss and sold to British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), registered G-AGDI, and converted to a 24-seat transport. The G-AGDI was flown to Prestwick, Scotland, in November 1941 and began flying long haul routes and the route from Gibraltar to Malta until being scrapped in October 1943.  Victor Sierra

