Cheney, Norman James
Killed in Flying Accident 1942-11-12
Birth Date: 1909
Born:
Bertram & Charlotte Letty Cheney, of Northampton, England
Home:
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: Unknown
Service
RNZAF
Unit
45 Group (RAF)
Base
RAF Stn. Bermuda
Rank
Sergeant
Position
Sergeant
Service Numbers
414862
First Burial
Ottawa Memorial, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Catalina FP-107 took off from RCAF Stn. Dorval in company with four other Catalinas on the first leg (to Bermuda) of a Ferry Command delivery flight.
This aircraft crashed into the sea and caught fire near the CNR wharf at Pirate Harbour, Mulgrave, Capr Breton Island Nova Scotia.
Crew: Captain Robert Hugh Malcolm Sandeman, RAF Ferry Command, civilian captain of the aircraft. Pilot Officer John Stuart Mowat, RAF, First Officer. Pilot Officer Stanley Frasier Fairbairn, RCAF, R103533 Nav. Mr. Devereux Lionel de Bretigny, RAF Ferry Command, civilian radio operator. Sergeant Norman James Cheney RNZAF, NZ414862 Radio Operator. Sergeant George Harold Salt, RAF 569399 Flight Engineer. The only survivors of the crash were Mowat and Salt who were rescued from the water.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Findagrave.com
Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)Canso FP209
Ferry Flight 1942-November-11 to 1942-November-12
() Ferry Command (RAF) Bermuda
RAF Ferry Command. Canso I aircraft FP 209, flying out of Bermuda, crashed in the Strait of Canso, catching fire near the CNR wharf at Pirate Harbour, Mulgrave, Nova Scotia with the loss of four of the six aircrew aboard
Pilot Officer SF Fairbairn (RCAF), Sergeant NJ Cheney (RNZAF), Canadian Civilian, DLD DeBretigny and British Civilian pilot Captain RH Sandeman, were all missing, presumed killed in this flying accident
The missing have no known grave
F
Pilot Officer Fairbairn and Sergeant Cheney are commemorated on the Ottawa Memorial
DLD DeBretigny and RHM Sandeman are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial
Ocean Bridge, The History of RAF Ferry Command by Carl A Christie page 315,358
[Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database]... This incident involved multiple aircraft:
- Canso Serial: FP209
All the above aircraft in the above list are referenced in this report.
Canso FP209
Consolidated Canso Catalina PBY PB2B A-10 OA-10 Black Cat
The Consolidated Catalina and Canso were close cousins. The Canso was the true amphibious version of the design and therefore included a conventional undercarriage to allow for either water or land use. The Canso provided more than two decades of valuable service to the RCAF. The Catalina variant came first and was produced beginning in 1935 for the United States Navy. The amphibious version, designated PBY-5A, came in service early in 1941 and the RCAF began using the aircraft on anti-submarine patrols that same year. After the Second World War, the RCAF used Cansos for search and rescue, Arctic survey missions and various transport operations.RCAF
Canso PBY
Wikipedia Canso PBY Canso FP209 - Ferry Flight - 1942-11-11 to 1942-11-12
6 Group Unavailable
RAF Ferry Command. Canso I aircraft FP 209, flying out of Bermuda, crashed in the Strait of Canso, catching fire near the CNR wharf at Pirate Harbour, Mulgrave, Nova Scotia with the loss of four of the six aircrew aboard
Pilot Officer SF Fairbairn (RCAF), Sergeant NJ Cheney (RNZAF), Canadian Civilian, DLD DeBretigny and British Civilian pilot Captain RH Sandeman, were all missing, presumed killed in this flying accident
The missing have no known grave
F
Pilot Officer Fairbairn and Sergeant Cheney are commemorated on the Ottawa Memorial
DLD DeBretigny and RHM Sandeman are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial
Ocean Bridge, The History of RAF Ferry Command by Carl A Christie page 315,358