499

3. (right aligned)
aerodrome, when owing to enemy action the aircraft was bady damaged and force landed in rough sea, Flight Lieutenant McArthur and other members of the crew spending 31 hours in a dinghy. As a result of this he spent three weeks in the 27th General Hospital, Egypt. On his recovery, on the 2nd August, he was posted on loan to Khartoum, for duty with the British Overseas Airways and piloted Lancaster aircraft to West Africa, the route being via El-Fasher, Geneva, Lamy and Kano. In October he joined No. 223 Squadron, Shandur, Egypt, flying Maryland aircraft, and carrying out (redacted war operations on enemy troops neaer Kabrit also) several reconnaissance flights. On the 3rd March 1942 Flight Lieutenant McArthur proceeded to No. 108 Squadron also based in Egypt, and as pilot of Liberator, Lysander, and Wellington aircraft took part in supply dropping missions and Army co-operation flights to Ismalia.

On the night of the 3/4th May 1942 Flight Lieutenant McArthur was the pilot of a Liberator aircraft which took off on air operations to attack the shipping in Tripoli Harbour, and failed to return to base, all members of the crew being classified as missing. Owing to enemy action the aircraft crashed, and it was revealed later that two R.A.F. members of the crew had been captured by the Germans, and that one had died of wounds and been buried at Barce in Libya, the remaining four members of the crew, including Flight Lieutenant McArthur, being killed. In consequence, his death was officially presumed to have occurred on the 4th May 1942. No trace has been found of the grave of Flight Lieutenant McArthur, or his fellow members of the crew and it has been concluded that they have been effaced by sand storms.

Find a Grave link with photos of Flight Lieutenant McArthur: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14704391/duncan_harold-mcarthur

5/2/343 A.S.2.
1036 hours as Pilot.
2 Log Books.

Mrs S.E. Wall (M) (right aligned)
R.D. (redacted Ohai Lau) Okaihau (right aligned)
NORTH AUCKLAND (right aligned & underlined)