Evening star., 1944-04-01
Gen. Wingote, British Leader
In Burma Dies in Plane Crash
Large Fire Sighted
On Route to ImphoI;
No oWreckoge Found
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
NEW DELHI, April Mai.
Gen. Orde Charles Wingate,
Britain's bearded warrior whose
fabulous exploits in the Burma
jungles won him the name Of the
Lawrence of Arabia" of this
war, has been killed in a plane
crash in the jungles of the In
dia- Burma frontier.
A brief announcement said that
"the plane In which he was travelling
crashed in our territory and the
cause of the accident is unknown" !"
The 41-year-old Wingate, who
planned and led the daring expedi-
ton which for four months last year
played havoc with Japanese COM
munications deep inside their lines
in Northern Burma, probably died
on the night of March q. His
bomber disappeared on an 80-mile
flight just before his leadership of
the current airborne, long-range
penetration of Burma was allowed
to be disclosed.
After the bomber failed to show
up on flight between the American
Air Commando base and Imphal,
Allied base in India which Is now
the goal Of Japanese offensive, a
big fire was seen on the ground. No
trace of the wrecked plane could be
found In daylight. Names of the
others lost in the plane were not
made public.
GA Reuters dispatch from New
Delhi said 1t was believed that
Gen. Wingate's bomber crashed
because Of q severe storm and
that the American crew of five
as well as one or two other pas
sengers were killed. The dispatch
said Gen. Wingate had been on a 6
tour OF inspection in one Of Col.
Philip Cochran's Mitchell bomb
ers with Mustang escort.)
In the spectacular thrust which
won him world renown last year,
Gen. Wingate's ghost army" COW
cred more than 1000 miles through
the deepest Burma jungles, destroy
ing 100 miles Of railway at TO diff
ferent places, and came out of the
bushes with vital information after
eating their own mules and sub
sisting for weeks on airborne
supplies.
Planned ut Quebec.
Under the slogan, I'VE have to
initiate Tarzan," Gen. Wingate de-
veloped his raiders out Of city-bred
shopkeepers and clerks. Some
thought the expedition would prove
suicide venture" but Gen. VIM
gate made jungle fighters out of
them by six months training under
conditions more gruelling than in
the actual campaign.
Gen. Wingate looked like an Old
Testament prophet and often gave
orders phrased In Biblical language.
At the time Of his death Gen.
Wingate was in command of the
British and Indian Jungle COM
mandos which landed far behind
the Japanese lines and which have
slashed the important Mandalay-
Myitkyina railroad at Indaw and
Mawlu. This daring airborne oper-
alton was planned at the Quebec
conference, to which Gen. Wingate
was flown at Prime Minister
Churchill's orders.
Gen. Wingate, a relative of the
late r. E. Lawrence, the famed
Lawrence of Arabia" was a holder
of the triple Distinguished Service
Cross. He first won recognition for
leading the special night squads"
which cleared Palestine of Arab
terrorists. In 194l he was again
decorated for leading 5000 Suda-
nese and Ethiopian warriors against
the Italians, killing or capturing
10000 of them.
At 80 Gen. Wingate met a Is
year-old girl aboard a ship bringing
him back from Libyan explorations
She said last year that Il marched
up to him and said, You're the man
I'm going to marry" They were
married two years later.
Load the runs thatu lick the JaDs.