Baum, Francis William 'Vic' (Sergeant)

Prisoner of War 1942-June-15

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Birth Date: unkown date

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Enlistment Date: unkown date

Service

RAF

Unit

69 (BR) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
With Vigilance We Serve

Base

RAF Luqa, Malta

Rank

Sergeant

Position

Pilot

Service Numbers

530379
PoW: 9179

Aircraft took off at 12.45am from Luqa airport on Malta to observe the naval traffic in the area around the Pantelleria island.

The wreck, of the aircraft lies 500 metres off the Italian island of Linosa and was discovered in 2016, 85 metres below the waters surface.

Killed: Flight Sergeant Alick Greaves RAF KIA Medjez-El-Bab War Cemetery grave 17. A. 12. Tunisia. Sergeant Robert Tettrell Purslow RAF KIA Klagenfurt War Cemetery grave 8. B. 3. Austria.

POWs: Sergeant Francis William Baum RAF POW Stalag 18A Wolfsberg (Karnton) Austria. Sergeant William Edward Fincham RCAF R/77413 Stalag Luft L6 Heydekrug.

Unvetted Source frameset

Mission

Baltimore Mk. I AG699

Reconnaissance 1942-June-15 to 1942-June-15

(BR) Sqn (RAF) Luqa Airfield, Malta

69 Squadron RAF (With vigilance we serve), Luqa, Malta. Baltimore I aircraft was lost on a reconnaissance mission to the island of Pantelleria, crashing off coast of the Italian island of Linosa, 1942-06-15, cause unknown

Pilot, Flight Sergeant A Greaves (RAAF) was killed in action

Sergeant W E Fincham (RCAF), Sergeant F W Baum (RAFVR) and Sergeant R T Purslow (RAFVR) survived and were taken as Prisoners of War

Sergeant Purslow died 1943-12-17 as a Prisoner of War in a camp in Germany

The wreckage of this aircraft was located in 2016 as part of a seabed mapping and habitat monitoring project and filmed using a remotely controlled vehicle (ROV). In 2022, Italian divers returned to the site to document and confirm the identity of the well preserved wreck

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