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Gp Cpt Sinclair commanded the RAF bomber forces in Algeria in January-March 1943.

In early 1943 General Eisenhower did a tour of the bases in North Africa. He visited Can-Robert and actually stopped overnight. After dinner Eisenhower challenged Sinclair to a game of darts. They bet that if Eisenhower won he would win a set of Twin-Browning guns from a Blenheim bomber and if Sinclair won he could have an American Boston twin-engined fighter bomber.

Sinclair won the game!

Sinclair had been visiting the bomber bases in a twin-enginned Blenheim-Bisley prior to this time. One morning he arrived at Oulmene and said that he would have a Rolls-Royce by the following day. The next time he visited he arrived in the American Boston bomber!

Later, as Air Commodore, Sinclair commanded the British Air Force during the Suez Campaign in 1956.

At Can-Robert and Oulmene the squadrons were equipped with Blenheim Mk 5/Bisley bomber planes.

I saw two Blenheim planes returning from raids over Tunisia during February 1943 which crashed as they came into land. Another night one plane crashed on take off and ploughed into the front of a lorry which had just taken the crews round to their planes. The lorry had parked up and the two drivers sat in one lorry. The plane ploughed into the lorry and the propellor cut the lorry drivers to pieces.

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