Flight 777: The Mystery of Leslie Howard

by Ian Colvin

On 1 June 1943 Flight 777, a Douglas DC-3, en route from Lisbon to Britain, was shot down over the Bay of Biscay by German aircraft. Among the dead was the actor Leslie Howard, who had returned from Hollywood to England to help the British war effort. Also on board was Howard's tax adviser, Alfred Chenhalls, who smoked cigars and looked remarkably like Winston Churchill. Did the Germans believe that Churchill was on board Flight 777? Other aircraft flying that route went unmolested by the Luftwaffe in spite of the German air presence over the Bay of Biscay. These flights were operated by Dutch crews flying aircraft of KLM, which were on charter to BOAC, and it was an experience Dutch crew that was lost that day. Ian Colvin carried out an exhaustive investigation into the incident, including interviewing former Luftwaffe personnel and this book, first published in 1957, is the result of his endeavors.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

288 pages, Hardcover

First published February 19, 2013

Reviews

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned some things from this book, but it's obvious that there was lots of padding since no one knows exactly happened to Flight 777. Leslie Howard was a fine actor and certainly dedicated to helping his country. What a tragedy.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

What do you think of when you hear the name of the 20s-40s film actor Leslie Howard? If he barely figures on your radar, Gone with the Wind. If you like black and white films, maybe you have seen him in Pygmalion, Of Human Bondage, The Petrified Forest, The Scarlet Pimpernel/Pimpernel Smith, the 49th Parallel. You may have even seen Stand-in with Bogart and Blondell or British Agent with Kay Francis or The Animal Kingdom with Myrna Loy and Ann Harding. All of these are above-average films, in large part due to his acting.
(Did you know that Humphrey Bogart named his daughter after Leslie Howard - for his entire life he felt he owed Howard for insisting Bogart play Duke Mantee in the film version of the Petrified Forest that they had appeared in together on stage.)
Flight 777 has interested me since I became aware of the horrible way Leslie Howard - and the other 12 passengers and crew - died, shot down over the Bay of Biscay just a couple of months after his 50th birthday. I have read a few differing accounts of this incident, in his son's book published in the 80s, even out on the internet where you can find an account of a gentleman named Derek Partridge - who was a child bumped from the plane with his nanny -so Howard and his companion could travel back home to England at the last minute. This book pulls these stories together in an intriguing way. Ian Colvin, a British journalist, did an informal investigation in the 50s and wrote this book. The book has been republished in 2013 and again in 2020 with some new information. It is a fascinating account - some of the Germans involved were interviewed in the 50s and this information has been updated by son Andrew as well. There are fascinating stories about some of the passengers and how theories have been spun about the fate of the flight because their names appear on the passenger list. Be sure not to skip the Epilogue by Andrew Colvin or the notes - there is some interesting information included here not referenced elsewhere.
*3 1/2 stars*

[Hope Denney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most people know Leslie Howard as the lead in movies from Hollywood's Golden Era and are surprised to learn of his dedicated political efforts during WWII. His plane was shot down over the Bay of Biscay during the war, and this book examines theories as to what actually happened that day. It was relatively well researched and a fast read, but in the end, whether his assassination was by chance or because of his anti-Nazi propaganda remains very much a mystery.

[Michael Rumney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the author did a lot of research for this book, not much is uncovered in the circumstances in the loss of flight 777. There is plenty of speculation and some made up conversations but no definite conclusions. Unless something is uncovered through new documents coming to light then the mystery will remain.
There is too much padding needed to get this book to stumbling the 200 page mark and my interest began to wane.
Yes, Leslie Howard is a bit of a mystery but so were so many people in war torn Europe. This book ends up more of an account of espionage activities in Lisbon during the second world war, an interesting topic in its own right but not exclusive to any neutral country.