Flight Lieutenant F R Povey

[caribou]

Flight Lieutenant Frederick Robert Povey, #80867, died in Malta on 1 April 1942, whilst serving with the Technical Branch of the RAFVR. He was involved with airborne radar systems.

The family story is that an allied bomber crash landed and he went out to remove the sensitive radar equipment. Unfortunately, whilst he was doing so, a live bomb, that was still onboard, exploded and he was killed.

I would like to try and verify this story. As a member of the Technical Branch, would he have been assigned to a squadron and if so, which are the most likely ones? I'm quite happy to search through the National Archive records, if someone could point me towards likely squadrons operating out of Malta at that time.

Bob.

[ShaunJ]

It was a German plane - a Junkers 87 "Stuka".

1 April 1942
A bad day. We had our photos taken in the morning—the whole unit have been trying to do it for months ..... Raids extra severe during day. 87 brought down near Peter’s Pool, most of our fellows went down to see it, not me was too tired as usual. Five of them were killed when bomb on 87 exploded. FLt Povey was one of them, was as usual right in the front row. A fine fellow.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/13/a2931013.shtml

[Crumblie]

He was part of No. 501 Air Ministry Experimental Station and was one of 5 people all killed in the same event. Unfortunately that is all that is said in the book Air Battles of Malta. I would think that you will find very little in newspapers of the time because it would have been covered by the Official Secrets Act.

Added. The book does say that he was supposed to have gone back to the UK but had given up his seat so that a married man could go instead.

[caribou]

Wow, you guys are amazing. That's exactly the info I was after. Thanks so much.

Bob.

[ShaunJ]

Another extract from the "People's War" item:

John Fuller joined the RAF, at the age of 26, in July 1940, and in September 1940 he sailed from Liverpool for Malta. He arrived in Malta in November 1940 with No. 1 AMES, renumbered 501, commanded by Ft Lt Povey. The company brought with them a CHL Type Transmitter (Chain Home Low i.e. Radar designed to track shipping or low flying aircraft), receiver, generators, etc. on board the Battleship Ramillies, and established a Radar base at Fort Tas Silg

[caribou]

Thanks so much for the info. Fred. Povey was the uncle of a neighbour of mine and he is very appreciative of the info you've found.

Bob.

[Na1rn]

I just stumbled across this thread doing an online search...

Flight Lieutenant Frederick Robert Povey was my Grandmother's Brother.  My Grandfather, Herbert Thomas Harvey Walters, was a Radar Scientist who was in Povey's unit at Malta, and they were close friends.  The story passed through my family was that they made a pact to go back and visit each other's families if anything happened to them.

My Grandfather talked of the day Povey was killed.  Electronic equipment was in short supply, and they were always scrounging any equipment that they could to keep the radar working.  When any plane crashed, they would take anything useful from the wreckage.  When the 87 crashed that day, Povey volunteered to salvage what he could from the aircraft, he was apparently due to go on leave shortly.  My Grandfather said that the plane was booby-trapped, and rigged to explode.  Povey was killed instantly.

My Grandfather went to visit Povey's family the next time that he was in England, and that was how he met my Grandmother.