After The Battle, Issue 93

As the Allied army closed in on Germany in 1945, the Germans went to extensive lengths to secrete their moveable state assets – bullion, cash, art and sculpture, etc  - as well as hiding valuables looted from the occupied territories.  The Merkers And Buchenwald Treasure Troves is the main feature of this issue and looks at the recovery of these Nazi assets secreted away and subsequently found by the Allies.  Allegations of theft and controversies about the disposition followed.  In particular those finds in the salt mine at Merkers and at the quarry at Buchenwald concentration camp are investigated.  This article runs for the first 25 pages of this issue and is well illustrated with archive photographs.

The first of 642 Beauforts built in Australia flew on 22^nd August 1941.  Australian Beaufort Crash concerns just one particular Beaufort and a long forgotten incident on the night of June 4^th, 1945.  Beaufort A9-228 took off from Mount Gambier airfield in South Australia for a night flight of 350 miles to East Sale aerodrome in the adjoining state of Victoria.  This is the story of the flight, crash, search and subsequent 50^th anniversary commemoration.

The Royal Gunpowder Factory Explosions 1940 investigates the various explosions which occurred there during the Second World War and which cost the lives of ten men and led to the award of three George Crosses and three British Empire Medals. This well documented and researched 16-page article is complemented with diagrams and many photographs in the well respected “Then and Now” format.

The final article, The 99^th Division “Missing In Action” Search Team, founded by Richard “Dick” H. Byers a veteran of the 99^th Infantry Division to see what could be done about locating, recovering and identifying some of the missing from the Battle of the Bulge.

This issue contains 54 pages of well researched Second World War military history much of which is presented in the familiar “Then and Now” format for which this publication is famous.