Were there more than four passengers?
|
The official report suggests that at an early stage of the search that six
passengers were booked to fly on Hannibal. "As far as their (Imperial Airways) advance booking indicated there
were six
passengers on the plane". "Steps had been taken to obtain
the names of the other passengers who were all thought to be
civilians." (13a, Minute 5a) Other
sources suggest that there were more than four. The implication,- a Kings
messenger was aboard. (6) |
Was Hannibal carrying gold bullion?
In examining the manifest and load sheets that have been made public
there seems to be little
margin for this commodity onboard.
As part of the usual commerce
of the Gulf Region it is known that gold was sent in the air mails
between the merchants of India and the Arabian coast. Bars worth
upwards of $1000 have been reported. (56) |
The investigation report's manifest and load sheets all indicate that they are
copies. Do the originals still exist?
Official cover up? If so which set of timings is genuine?
What does the RAF know?
HP42E's were not impressed to RAF service until 1
April 1940. At which time Imperial Airways and British Airways were
merged as British Overseas Airways Corporation. The decision to
merge British Airways and Imperial Airways was made in 1938 (35)
but final arrangements to launch B.O.A.C. were apparently delayed
until 1 April 1940. (34)
Understanding that those aboard included senior military and
political figures may class the flight as within the RAF's
operations. Similar RAF special movements required a senior officer
to travel with the flight. |
Has the aircraft been found and its remains disposed of?
With the passage of time and modern techniques for exploration of
deep water using sonar or magnetic anomaly equipment on land this seems
quite probable.
|
Continuing research and study suggest that this is very likely.
Period artifacts located in the vicinity of the presumed crash site on
land need to be positively dated. Found in a very remote region their provenance is of interest as
they may have been recovered from the wreckage
before dispersal. Assistance in dating these items is requested.
Particularly of interest is whether one artifact was likely to have been
part of the aircraft's cabin services inventory. View. (No
mention of 'Hannibal' or 'Imperial Airways' appears on it.) A
campaign of search and artifact removal is believed to have been
conducted among the villages of the region once the wreckage was
recovered. This campaign is presumed to have occurred prior to the Royal Geographic Society
expedition of 1971/2. "An officer in the
former Trucial Oman Scouts, extensively searched the mountain area
in the 1970's. All traces of the wreckage had been removed by the
local tribesmen, but pieces and materials had shown up in searches of
local village houses, and in markets from time to time." (anon.)
As part of Operation Intradon in Dec 1970
perhaps? (44) |
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Why have investigators been warned off
under threat of the Official Secrets Act?
What circumstances would put such a catastrophe under the Official Secrets Act 100 year rule?
R.M.S. Lancastria sunk by German bombers off St Nazaire on
17 June 1940 during evacuation of Northern France with 9000 Civilian and
RAF troops on board with the loss of 5000 was subjected to the 100 year
provision. (New York Times) It has been suggested that the early
British losses were deliberately kept secret on orders from Churchill
himself on the grounds of morale.
The loss of 'Hannibal' was classified for a reason, the
aircraft and its contents were not found, and so it is unlikely that it
will be declassified until it is politically or diplomatically safe to
do so. |
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