Hiker’s chance discovery on Bosnian mountain could solve 80-year mystery over missing RAF Wellington bomber that disappeared during WWII raid
- EXCLUSIVE: RAF Wellington bomber disappeared during raid on oil refinery
- Hiker discovered human bones and a gold signet ring next to plane wreck
A chance discovery by a hiker on a remote Bosnian mountainside could finally reunite the remains of five World War II RAF airmen with their families — nearly 80 years after they went missing in action.
In July 1944, one RAF Wellington bomber among a group of 13 sent from Regina, Italy to attack an oil refinery at Smederevo in Serbia failed to return and nothing more was heard from its crew.
Many allied aircraft were lost in the treacherous mountain ranges of Bosnia-Herzegovina, then occupied by the Nazi-supporting Independent State of Croatia.
The only gravestone for the five crew from 150 Squadron’s flight HF736, and thousands more fliers missing in action was a huge memorial in Malta.
But now, Bosnian photographer and hiker Dzenad Dzino has managed to locate human bones and even a gold signet ring believed to belong to the crew, along with wreckage from the plane.
In July 1944, one RAF Wellington bomber (stock image used) among a group of 13 sent from Regina, Italy to attack an oil refinery at Smederevo in Serbia failed to return and nothing more was heard from its crew
Bosnian photographer and hiker Dzenad Dzino has managed to locate human bones and even a gold signet ring believed to belong to the crew, along with wreckage from the plane
The only gravestone for the five crew from 150 Squadron’s flight HF736, and thousands more fliers missing in action was a huge memorial in Malta (pictured)
Dzino chronicled his search for the downed aircraft in a dramatic YouTube video and told how he had heard tales of a Spitfire which had crashed in the hills near the area’s highest mountain Cvrsnica, which stands 2,228m (7,300ft) high
‘Local people spoke of stories about a wrecked plane being found in the mountains and the aluminium being taken to be melted down and sold as tourist gifts,’ he said
And armed with details supplied by his researches, MailOnline has now used RAF wartime records to establish the identities of the five airmen.
Only one Wellington with five crew went missing in the area at the time, and that was call-sign HF736, part of 150 Squadron, which went missing on the night of July 16, 1944.
We found the 150 Squadron Operations Record book at the National Archives, which stated that 13 aircraft left on the mission in poor visibility, but only 12 came back.
The notes recorded: ‘Twelve A/C returned safely to base, one A/C captained by Sgt Munday failed to return – nothing was heard from him since take-off.’
But no-one seemed to know exactly where the spot was and it took him several more months before he was directed to the summit of a mountain called Plocno, where he began his search on a steep rocky hillside pocked by deep sink holes and crevices
After three hours, he stumbled on his first piece of rusting metal from the airframe, but still believed he had found a Spitfire
More pieces followed, including scraps from the engine, remains of wooden propeller shafts, shell casings and a control gauge
As he moved further up the mountain, he began to find personal effects, helmet straps, buttons and finally, human bones
He told his viewers: ‘I feel bad handling all this stuff, but I hope we will be able to bring peace to the British airmen’
All recorded details of the ill-fated crew, all Sergeants and members of the RAF Volunteer Reserve, appear on the Allied Airmen Roll of Honour.
The Captain was Bryan Leslie Munday from Wembley, aged 23. Other members were: James Melville Charles Oakley, from St John’s Wood, London; Lionel Arthur Walter Francis, 23, from Stanstead Abbots, Herts; Nevil Ward Brown, 22, from Beckenham, Kent; and Jack Charles Langley Stacey, 21, from Spalding, Lincs.
Dzino chronicled his search for the downed aircraft in a dramatic YouTube video and told how he had heard tales of a Spitfire which had crashed in the hills near the area’s highest mountain Cvrsnica, which stands 2,228m (7,300ft) high.
‘Local people spoke of stories about a wrecked plane being found in the mountains and the aluminium being taken to be melted down and sold as tourist gifts,’ he said.
But no-one seemed to know exactly where the spot was and it took him several more months before he was directed to the summit of a mountain called Plocno, where he began his search on a steep rocky hillside pocked by deep sink holes and crevices.
After three hours, he stumbled on his first piece of rusting metal from the airframe, but still believed he had found a Spitfire. More pieces followed, including scraps from the engine, remains of wooden propeller shafts, shell casings and a control gauge.
As he moved further up the mountain, he began to find personal effects, helmet straps, buttons and finally, human bones.
After three hours, Dzino stumbled on his first piece of rusting metal from the airframe, but still believed he had found a Spitfire. More pieces followed, including scraps from the engine, remains of wooden propeller shafts, shell casings and a control gauge.
But now, Bosnian photographer and hiker Dzenad Dzino has managed to locate human bones and even a gold signet ring believed to belong to the crew, along with wreckage from the plane (stock image of Spitfire used)
MailOnline found the 150 Squadron (badge pictured) Operations Record book at the National Archives, which stated that 13 aircraft left on the mission in poor visibility, but only 12 came back
He contacted the British Embassy in Sarajevo, and the local police and the whole area was meticulously searched.
Then, when Dzino showed photographs of the plane’s landing gear to military experts, he got his biggest surprise, when he was told that it wasn’t a Spitfire, with a single pilot, but a Wellington with a crew of five.
Then he discovered the gold ring and a lucky black cat carved from stone, which he surmised was the pilot’s good luck charm.
He told his viewers: ‘I feel bad handling all this stuff, but I hope we will be able to bring peace to the British airmen. The black cat is an omen of bad luck in the Balkans, but the opposite in England.’
A detailed study of allied and Axis records was able to pin-point the aircraft. On July 30, 1944, the Nazi-aligned Croatian government recorded remains of an ‘enemy’ aircraft being found in the area with five decomposing bodies.
Whether any attempt was made to give the men a decent burial was not recorded, but given the number of human bones retrieved by Dzino’s search on the rocky terrain, it seems unlikely.
Dzino told MailOnline that the discovery of the black cat figurine had particularly intrigued him.
‘It raised a lot of question in my mind –was it to protect the pilot from bad luck, or perhaps a gift from his child? It is an object that awakens our imagination, and I have become really attached to it.’
He said he fervently hoped it would be possible to trace the men’s relatives.
‘It would mean a lot to me. Bosnia was at war 30 years ago, and many families are still searching for the remains of their missing children.
‘I know several families who share their pain, and I understand how much it would mean to them to receive any leads. I truly hope this story ends in the best possible way, with the airmen’s families being found.’
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