Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum logo

Bower, William Richardson (Flying Officer)

Killed in Flying Accident 1942-November-23

Birth Date: 1911-March-07 (age 31)

Born: Hazelwood, Hendricks County, Indiana, USA

Son of William Edward and Viola A Bower, of Union Point, Manitoba, Canada.

Home: Union Point, Manitoba

Service
RCAF
Unit
14 (MP) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
I Spread My Wings And Keep My Promise
Base
RAF LG 224
Rank
Flying Officer
Marshal
Air Chief MarshalA/C/M
Air MarshalA/M
Air Vice MarshalA/V/M
Air CommodoreA/C
Group CaptainG/C
Wing CommanderW/C
Squadron LeaderS/L
Flight LieutenantF/L
Flying OfficerF/O
Pilot OfficerP/O
Warrant Officer 1st ClassWO1
Warrant Officer 2nd ClassWO2
Flight SergeantFS
SergeantSGT
CorporalCPL
Senior AircraftmanSAC
Leading AircraftmanLAC
Aircraftman 1st ClassAC1
Aircraftman 2nd ClassAC2
Position
Pilot
Service Numbers
J/8763
Prev: R/96326

Marauder Mk. I FK122

Operational 1942-November-23 to 1942-November-23

14 (B) Sqn (RAF) RAF Landing Ground 224

14 Squadron (I Spread My Wings And Keep My Promise) RAF Landing Ground 224. Warrant Officer Class 2 DL Rawson (RCAF), Flying Officer WR Bower (RCAF), Sergeant E Cookson (RAFVR), Sergeant HG Williams (RAFVR) and Flying Officer PM Willis (RAFVR) were all killed when their B26A Marauder aircraft FK 122 crashed near Shallufa, Egypt. The tail fin separated from the fuselage during a low-level bombing practice, killing the entire crew

In a post in RAF Commands COL BRUGGY on 9th September 2011 states: "An Inquiry reported in due course and as a result all the Marauders were grounded to have the tail fins strengthened. The Glenn Martin Aircraft Corporation in the USA flew technicians to Egypt, who completed the necessary modifications to all the aircraft in a few days. Unfortunately this was not done until after two more aircraft had been lost with the loss of 21 lives"

General Royal Air Force - RAF I Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

General Marauder I FK122 [Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database]...

Canada Source Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Find-A-Grave.com Finadagrave.com

Canada Primary Source Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)

Home
Google MapUnion Point, Manitoba
Burial
Google MapCommonwealth War Grave Cemetery
2 D 5

Marauder FK122

Martin Marauder

(IWM Photo, CM5001)(Source Harold A Skaarup Web Page)
Martin Marauder Mk. I, RAF (Serial No. FK375), coded D, "Dominion Revenge", No. 14 Squadron, based at Fayid, Egypt, 28 Dec 1942. This aircraft was lost during a torpedo attack off Aghios Giorgios I

Martin B-26 Marauder Mk. I, IA, II, III, RAF. Only two RAF squadrons were equipped with the Marauder, both in the Desert Air Force, and only one Marauder squadron was ever active at any one time. The RAF received three B-26As for evaluation in the summer of 1942 and decided to adopt the type for tactical work in North Africa. Forty eight Marauder Is and IAs already allocated under lend lease were sent directly to the Middle East, where they were used by No.14 Squadron.

In RAF and Commonwealth service the B-26A was known as the Marauder Mk. I, the B-26B as the Marauder Mk. IA. A total of 52 Mk Is and IAs were received. The 250 B-26Fs delivered were known as the Marauder Mk. II and the 150 B-26Gs became the Marauder Mk. III. The Mk. I/IA and Mk. III were flown by the RAF while the South African Air Force (SAAF) received the Mk. II and Mk. III.

The only RAF squadrons to use the Marauder were Nos. 14 and 39 Squadrons of the Desert Air Force. No.14 was the first to receive the type in August 1942. Operations began on 28 October 1942 and the squadron used its Marauders for bombing, mine laying and shipping reconnaissance. In March 1943 the squadron moved to Algeria, where it began flying anti-submarine patrols. These continued after the squadron moved to Sardinia in June 43, and the last Marauder mission was flown on 21 September 1944, just before the squadron returned to the UK to convert to the Wellington.

No. 39 Squadron RAF acquired Marauders in December 1944, but the first Marauder mission wasn't flown until 7 February 1945. The squadron carried out shipping strikes along the French, Italian and Balkan coasts, alongside night intruder missions, and retained the Marauder until October 1945 when it moved to the Sudan. Harold Skaarup web page

YouTube Marauder

Wkikpedia Wikipedia Marauder

General Harold A Skaarup Web Page

CASPIR Aircraft Groups:
RCAF 400 Squadron (1), Canadian Aircraft Losses (17), Canadian Ferried (2)
last update: 2021-09-21 11:39:44

Marauder Mk. I FK122

ex USAAF B-26A 41-7357

© Canadian Warplane Heritage 2024

To search on any page:
PC — Ctrl-F
Mac — ⌘-F
Mobile — or …