© 2009 -
Past Events: Maia Commemoration
12th May 2011
Commemorating the loss of Flying Boat Maia on the 12th May 1941
On Thursday afternoon of 12th May our flotilla assembled at Poole Quay...
With their passengers safely boarded, the vessels headed out into the Harbour waters:
MVS Avocet took the lead, followed by Tom Sherrin -
These rendezvoused with Rowena Macey's Spirit ~ so named after her late father's famous motor racing boat Spirit of Ecstasy built at the former Dorset Lake Shipyard in Hamworthy, and joined by local Poole RNLI Lifeboat the superb City of Sheffield!
The quartet, joined by others who kindly took photographs then drew the attention of spectators on the quayside...
The occasion in some way rekindled early morning 70 years ago when people gathered
to witness boats responding to a bombing raid attracting salvoes from naval + shore
batteries, and ack-
That flotilla had been despatched down-
In marking the event PFBC arranged that the boats would head in convoy to the spot
of former Flying Boat Mooring Number 3. This was where G-
G1+ES was returning after an unsuccessful raid on RAF Bicester when the starlight night presented a secondary target of Poole!
In locating Maia, with G-
Besides the plight of Maia & serious damage to Guba, rescuers were alerted to cries for help from two Germans who had survived. Musselwhite on Guba was unharmed, but Francis Sidney Smith who had been on Maia could not be saved despite heroic efforts by those who dived down to enter the submerged fuselage.
Then Maia broke her back leaving only the tail fin protruding.
A bomb had exploded so near that percussion caused swamping and she settled in almost 5 metres of water by the main channel. Prompt action saved Guba which was flown to Hythe for repair.
Therefore, in marking these sad events for our Commemoration the gathering of boats encircled the spot of FB Mooring No.3.
Those assembled included representatives from PFBC, from the Poole RNLI, the Society
of Poole Men, the War Memorials Trust, Maritime Voluntary Service & Wessex Newfoundland
Society, with Chris Bulteel ex-
On the City of Sheffield where crew formed the guard of honour, Babs Plumbridge (Trustee) delivered her Dedication and Poem, marking the sad loss of Nightwatchman Frank Smith (who had been later found inside Maia) and then paid PFBC’s respects to Willi Wimmer, Horst Gündel & Heinrich Neubel, the German airmen who also died.
The dedication read by Babs Plumbridge marks the sad loss of Nightwatchman Frank Smith who perished inside the Maia, and pays respect to the three German airmen who also died.
A wreath was next laid by Colin Cruddas (Hon.Vice President of PFBC, Flying Boat enthusiast, acclaimed author and archivist for the Cobham Family) together with a scattering of red azalea petals which were borne away upon the ebb tide!
Before returning to Poole, the assembly was welcomed at the Salterns Marina courtesy of John Smith, and at Salterns Marina Hotel, once BOAC’s Marine Terminal and home to Flying Boats.
* The audio file above is presented as an MP3 track which may require you to activate
or download the QuickTime plug-
Back in 1942, before the close of the year, in the aftermath of the loss of Maia, Salterns had become HQ of RAAF 461 the Anzac Squadron with Sunderland Flying Boats of RAF Coastal Command, then RAF 210 (as the Catalina Squadron), and later BOAC with RAF Transport Command + converted Sunderlands, before BOAC’s FB Fleet in the immediate postwar era to 1948, when their Hythes, Sandringhams, & Solent Classes left Poole.
The great achievements of Flying Boat Maia with her partner Seaplane Mercury as the
‘Pick-
Lying alongside the Maia on that fateful night in 1941 was Flying Boat Guba, and Night Watchman Musselwhite who survived the bombing.
We are searching for information about Night Watchman Musselwhite who carried a local Poole / Hamworthy name and was most likely a local man, perhaps a retired old seaman.
Can you help? Further information here
