6 Group Unavailable
413 (Photographic) Squadron (Ad vigilamus undis) RCAF Rockcliffe. B-25 Mitchell aircraft 894 was missing on flight from Calgary, Alberta to Penticton, British Columbia. The aircraft encountered poor weather with icing conditions, fog and low visibility and crashed in a mountainous area near Nelson, BC with no survivors
LAC WH Molyneux (RCAF), Flight Lieutenant JL MacLeod DFC (RCAF), Flying Officer AG Robertson (RCAF), Flying Officer B Cook DFM (RCAF), Flying Officer GY Lebel DFC (RCAF), Leading Aircraftman BES Bowman (RCAF), Cpl JN Sabourin (RCAF) and two Canadian civilians, husband and wife Fred and Beulah Knight were all missing, presumed killed in this flying accident
A massive search was undertaken, covering 30,000 square miles, which failed to find the aircraft or survivors after a search lasting four weeks
On October 7, 1952, Mr Wilf Gibbard caught sunlight glinting off a piece of aluminum high on Record Mountain, near Rossland, BC while out hunting and Mitchell 894 was finally found
No human remains were found at the crash site and the missing have no known grave. They are commemorated on the Ottawa Memorial. A cairn was also erected at the crash site, October 14, 1952 to commemorate all lost in the crash
RCAF 894 was built for the USAAF as B25D-1 serial 41-29877 and converted to F-10 photo configuration before delivery to RCAF on 23 April 44. She was part of the "˜Photographic Flight,' later known as No. 413 (P) Squadron, from RCAF Rockcliffe, Ontario with tri-camera survey installation. She operated in British Columbia in late 1947 until lost
The last flight of Penticton-bound RCAF Mitchell 894 I iNFOnews I ...