in Beirut but in the meantime Erwin Rommel had conquered Benghazi, so this was the final destination of the three aircraft. Two aircraft, after 10 hours of flying and the men inside almost killed by fumes of the fuel auxiliary tanks, landed at Benghazi, after and over a month of travel. Seven Belgian S.73s were flown to the United Kingdom in May 1940 and were pressed into service by the Royal Air Force, and, operated by the SABENA flight crews, were used to fly ammunition to the British Expeditionary Force in Northern France. After two were destroyed by the Luftwaffe at Merville on 23 May, SABENA ordered its surviving aircraft, including the five S.73s, to move to France in preparation for transfer to the Belgian Congo. After the surrender of Belgium on 28 May the SABENA fleet was placed at the disposal of the French government and used to ferry pilots between the French mainland and French North Africa. Following France's surrender on 22 June 1940, the SABENA fleet, including the S.73s, was seized by Italy and operated by the Regia Aeronautica. The S.73s still in Italy were used to equip 605 and 606 Squadriglie. Four S.73s survived until the 1943 armistice, three being used by the Allies and one by the pro-Axis government; all had been taken out of service by the end of the war. Accidents and incidents 7 November 1935S.73P OO-AGM of SABENA was damaged beyond repair whilst taxiing at London-Croydon Airport. 10 December 1935 S.73 OO-AGN of SABENA crashed at Tatsfield, Surrey, United Kingdom with the loss of all eleven on board. 26 January 1937S.73P OO-AGR of SABENA crashed on approach to Oran Es Sénia Airport (ORN/DAOO), Algeria, with the loss of all 12 occupants (8 passengers and 4 crew). 2 August 1937S.73 I-SUSA of Ala Littoria crashed on approach to Wadi Halfa Airport (WHF/HSSW), Sudan, with the loss of all 9 occupants (6 passengers and 3 crew). 30 April 1938S.73 I-MEDA of Ala Littoria crashed on a flight from Tirana to Rome. The aircraft struck the mountains near and all nineteen occupants were killed (14 passengers and 5 crew). 13 August 1938S.73 OK-BAG of CSA (Ceskoslovenské Aerolinie) crashed on approach to Strasbourg with the loss of all 17 on board (13 passengers and 4 crew). 10 October 1938S.73P OO-AGT of SABENA broke-up in flight over Soest, Germany whilst en route to Berlin. All twenty on