BOAC Flight 777

1943 airliner shootdown incident

War & ConflictDisasters & Accidents

BOAC Flight 777 — Image via Wikimedia Commons or Wikipedia.

Overview

What happened

BOAC Flight 777 was a KLM flight scheduled as a British Overseas Airways Corporation civilian airline flight from Portela Airport in Lisbon, Portugal to Whitchurch Airport near Brist...

Date

June 1, 1943

Key people

Leslie Howard, Walter Huston

Outcome

All 17 aboard a BOAC de Havilland DH.86 were killed when two German Junkers Ju 88 fighters intercepted the aircraft over the Bay of Biscay on June 1, 1943.

Why it matters

This article provides a detailed and engaging account of the shooting down of BOAC Flight 777, including the circumstances surrounding the incident, the impact on the families of the...

What was BOAC Flight 777?

BOAC Flight 777 was a KLM flight scheduled as a British Overseas Airways Corporation civilian airline flight from Portela Airport in Lisbon, Portugal, to Whitchurch Airport near Bristol, England. On 1 June 1943, the Douglas DC-3 serving the flight was attacked by eight German Junkers Ju 88 heavy fighter planes and crashed into the Bay of Biscay, killing all 17 on board. There were several notable passengers, among them actor Leslie Howard. One theory suggests that the Germans attacked the aircraft because they believed that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was aboard; another suggested that it was targeted because several passengers were British spies, including Howard.

A Douglas DC-3, silhouetted by night at Gibraltar by the batteries of searchlights on the Rock, as it is prepared for a flight to the United Kingdom.

Background and consequences

During the Second World War, British and German civilian aircraft operated from the same facilities at Portela, and Allied and Axis spies watched the incoming and outgoing traffic. The Lisbon–Whitchurch route frequently carried agents and escaped POWs to Britain. Aircraft flying the Lisbon–Whitchurch route were left unmolested at the beginning of the war, and both Allied and Axis powers respected the neutrality of Portugal. However, in 1942, the air war had begun to heat up over the Bay of Biscay, north of Spain and off the west coast of France; the Douglas DC-3 lost in this attack had survived attacks by Luftwaffe fighters in November 1942 and April 1943.

A digital illustration of G-AGBB, the aircraft involved in the shootdown

Related on thisDay

BOAC Flight 777 is shot down over the Bay of Biscay by German Junkers Ju 88s — June 1, 1943

17 lives lost: on June 1, 1943, German Junkers Ju 88s intercepted a BOAC de Havilland DH.86 over the Bay of Biscay, resulting in a tragic crash.

Sources and further reading

Use the dated article for the day-specific account; use these references to check the event record and explore its wider historical context.

Date article: BOAC Flight 777 is shot down over the Bay of Biscay by German Junkers Ju 88s — June 1, 1943 Wikipedia source

Cite this page

MLA

“BOAC Flight 777.” thisDay, thisday.info/history/boac-flight-777/. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

APA

BOAC Flight 777. (n.d.). thisDay. Retrieved October 19, 2026, from https://thisday.info/history/boac-flight-777/

Chicago

“BOAC Flight 777.” thisDay. Accessed October 19, 2026. https://thisday.info/history/boac-flight-777/.

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