E004 Stanislaw PANKIEWICZ (2)

E004 Stanislaw PANKIEWICZ. Flying Officer, Pilot P/0858, Polish Air Force with 138 Squadron RAF.
He was born on April 10, 1919 in Zaolzie, in Lutynia Dolna, resided at Augustow, Poland. He was crew in a Halifax bomber which crashed 17th December 1942 near RAF Luqa, Malta aged 23 yeaers.

At rest in Capuccini Naval Cemetery, Malta Plot E Grave 04.

Polish Air Force and one RAF crew and passengers, total seventeen in a Handley Page Halifax four engined heavy bomber Serial number DT542 on a Transit Flight from Cairo, via Malta for England. The plane took off from RAF Luqa after re-fuelling at about 04.00 hrs and crashed on open ground beyond the runway in the area of Zejtun, Malta on 17th December 1942 killing all 17 on board. The cause of the accident may have been engine failure. Another theory is, the plane had just flown over Zejtun when a large explosion was heard and the plane crashed into fields then caught fire. It is believed that is was mistakenly shot down by Anti-Aircraft gun fire.
Unfortunately, those who knew what happened were killed.