A New Look at General Sikorski's Death:

[henryk]

Hi henryk,

I am not sure why you highlight "insufficient evidence either to confirm or rule out" theories that the jamming of the controls was cauised by sabotage."

There is insuffient evidence either to confirm or rule out an infinite number of alternative explanations, but this doesn't mean a single one of them has any weight.

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

Sometimes an accident is just an accident.

Cheers,

Sid.

I interpret the information to mean some evidence had been found specifically related to jamming of the controls, but it was not conclusive.

[Sid Guttridge]

....or that there was not enough evidence to offer an opinion as to whether the controls really were jammed or not?

It does strike me that to try to bring down an aircraft at low altitude only seconds from the runway and within easy reach of rescue would be an unlikely and uncertain method to attempt an assassination. The aircraft floated upside down for long after the crash and there were a number of survivors as it was. It migh equally have floated the right way up with no fatalities if a luckier water landing had been managed.

Sid.

[youngbruno]

Sid.
It is what it is - sometimes "truth is stranger than fiction". The guy in question was well trained in sabotage.

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi youngbruno,

What "guy"?

The saying is actually "The truth can be stranger than fiction". It certainly can, but it is usually blander. Fiction requires imagination, not facts.

Cheers,

Sid

[youngbruno]

Hi Sid
Please pm me i have something i can show you.

Cheers

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi youngbruno,

I will, but my In and Out PMs are both full and I need to do some weeding out first.

Cheers,

Sid.

[gebhk]

Alternatively the centre of gravity corrector was not reset after the aircraft was refueled, which would have produced exactly the effects observed. A cause of similar disasters in a number of these aircraft. But what the 'eck, how boring would that be...... Central Park, hoofbeats, zebras.

[youngbruno]

Yes gebhk you can guess and you havent a clue. Selected people have now read my MS including Henryk as I said 'Truth is stranger than fiction!'. It is what it is.

[youngbruno]

Finally we are releasing a book called "To Live Well is to Hide Well" the true story behind the reason of why General Wladyslaw Sikorskis plane crashed at Gibraltar in 1943. You will find this link will allow you to obtain the book in electronic format https://tolivewellistohide.wixsite.com/book
First time in 73 years our family has allowed the reason to go public as stated before it is no accident and even investigators still today had no clue until now.

[youngbruno]

As my book 'To Live Well is to Hide Well' is now published and up, many thanks to those in Aircraft and Polish History that have helped read my initial book and gave me the thumbs up. With endorsements by Garth Barnard who produced the TV Documentary Series 'Sikorskis Last Flight'. I believe they will be working on a final version to complete and correct the documentary.
Also a very special thanks to alot of the people from the Axis History Forum who have helped view my works and guide me.
The book was made to 'Correct History' as it was in error in my opinion what was done, however at the time during the frantic course of a crazy war desperate people do desperate things.

[youngbruno]

An important update:

Grub Street Publications in the UK have just or about to release 'Sabotage!' by Garth Barnard (expert WW2 Air Crash Investigator and producer of 'Sikorski's Last Flight' and Chris Wroblewski, Canadian aeronautical expert and Polish history.
Their book 'Sabotage!' in which they I have been eluded to point to one person only sabotaging the plane (AL523) and based upon my book 'To Live Well is to Hide Well' debunk all other theories and silly stories.
They will go public with this book at the end of this month being November 2023.
This is not my book or do I have any say in it. These guys are the words experts in their respective field.

Take a look when its out in a few weeks.

[henryk]

https://grubstreet.co.uk/product/sabotage/

Sabotage!
An In-Depth Investigation of the 1943 Liberator Crash that killed Polish General Sikorski
Chris Wroblewski and Garth Barnard

£25.00

On the night of 4 July 1943, transport aircraft Liberator AL523 took off from Gibraltar’s North Front tarmac and within moments crashed into the sea with only one survivor, the pilot. The commander-in-chief of the Polish army and prime minister of the Polish government in exile, General Władysław Sikorski, was dead.

Rumours as to the cause of the crash abounded. Was it pilot error? Was it, as officially classified, merely an accident, or was it, as the authors conclude in this riveting and meticulous study, an act of sabotage

On the night of 4 July 1943, transport aircraft Liberator AL523 took off from Gibraltar’s North Front tarmac and within moments crashed into the sea with only one survivor, the pilot. The commander-in-chief of the Polish army and prime minister of the Polish government in exile, General Władysław Sikorski, was dead.

Rumours as to the cause of the crash abounded. Was it pilot error? Was it, as officially classified, merely an accident, or was it, as the authors conclude in this riveting and meticulous study, an act of sabotage?

In this extensive piece of research, Chris Wroblewski and Garth Barnard examine numerous primary sources, including the complete court of inquiry transcripts, produce detailed analysis of aircraft components and systems and unearth many little-known eyewitness accounts to give this investigation a compelling conclusion. Within the book the authors also dispel several conspiracy theories that have emerged since this catastrophe; particularly that this event was a disastrous assassination attempt with blame on the British, Soviets and Nazis.

This is an exhaustive piece of investigative journalism that puts the record straight once and for all.

[henryk]

https://bookshop.org/p/books/sabotage-a ... i/19715739

Sabotage!: An In-Depth Investigation of the 1943 Liberator Crash That Killed Polish General Sikorsky
Chris Wroblewski (Author) Garth Barnard (Author)

Description
On the night of July 4, 1943, transport aircraft Liberator AL523 took off from Gibraltar's North Front tarmac and within minutes crashed to the ground with only one survivor, the pilot. The commander-in-chief of the Polish army and prime minister of the Polish government in exile, General Wladyslaw Sikorsky, was dead. Rumors as to the cause of the crash abounded. Was it pilot error? Was it, as officially classified, merely an accident, or was it, as the authors conclude in this riveting and meticulous study, an act of sabotage? The catastrophe has led to several conspiracy theories over the years that still persist, often proposing that it was an assassination, variously blamed on the British, Soviets and Nazis. However, by sifting through numerous primary sources, the complete court of inquiry transcript, detailed analysis of aircraft components and systems, and unearthing many little-known eyewitness accounts, the authors' conclusion is compelling. Despite AL523 being heavy and possibly overloaded, this was not the contributing cause of the crash. The pilot had competently taken off and cleared the runway. The sole reason for the aircraft's fall to earth was simply a cotton rag used by Polish saboteur Bronislaw Urbanski to obstruct elevator travel. He and he alone was responsible for one of the most shocking events of WWII. This is an exhaustive piece of investigative journalism to put the record straight once and for all.

About the Author
Since his early teens Chris Wroblewski has been fascinated with aircraft and Second World War aviation history. Over a 36-year career as a licensed Canadian aircraft maintenance engineer, he has amassed experience on a range of aircraft and worked for commercial and private aviation companies. From 1992 to 1994 he served as director of maintenance for the Great War Flying Museum in Brampton Ontario. Currently he is studying part-time for a military history degree at University of Calgary and was published in the 2009 winter edition of on spec magazine. Chris lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Garth Barnard's interest in aviation stems from a lifelong passion and unshakable resolve to investigate the deaths of thousands of young airmen during the Second World War. He began his research in 2000 and by 2003 created aviationresearch.co.uk to document the operational training units of Bomber Command across south Northamptonshire, north-east Oxfordshire, and north-west Buckinghamshire. From 2012 to 2014 Garth was investigator and presenter for six episodes of WW2 Air Crash Detectives which aired on Yesterday Channel. Garth has an engineering degree and lives in Brackley, England.

[Ponury]

"He explains the matter once and for all." Nonsense, nothing explains. Such categorical statements are some gibberish. What court transcripts? The case did not go to any court. The last investigation of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance has been redemption to the lack of signs of murder crime and that's it. Something new?

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi Ponury,

I tend to agree with you. According to the biographies above, neither author has ever been a professional air accident investigator, which is a highly specialised job.

Publishing is highly selective for financial reasons. Unfortunately for the historical record, nobody will likely publish a book titled "Sikorsky? Nothing to see here" or "Sikorsky - The Accident". Publishers require sensationalist content to make sales. "Sabotage!" is the only sort of book that is ever likely to be published on the subject. It is like a football match where only one team has players on the pitch.

Cheers,

Sid.

P.S. There is a good book entitled Bermuda Triangle - Mystery Solved published in the 1970s. It effectively destroyed Berlitz's books on the subject. Yet, while Berlitz's nonsense remains in print, Bermuda Triangle - Mystery Solved has never been reprinted. I fear Sikorski's death will be similarly fated.