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Corley, William Arthur (Flying Officer)

Killed in Flying Accident 1944-July-11

Birth Date: 1915-June-04 (age 29)

Born: Grey County, Ontario

Charlotte Corley & the late James Corley

Lillian Diamond (nee McPherson) Corley, of Toronto, Ontario.

Home: Mount Forest, Ontario

Enlistment: Toronto, Ontario

Enlistment Date: 1942-06-09

Service
RCAF
Unit
1666 HCU- Heavy Conversion Unit
Base
RAF Wombleton
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
Navigator
Service Numbers
J/36334

Took off from Wombleton in Halifax Mk II on an operational training flight.

At 03.25 the aircraft crashed on to the road between the Bumper Castle pub and Rowntree's Chocolate Factory, just north of the York-Scarborough railway crossing. All on board were killed.

Killed includes Corley: F/Lt John Douglas Best RCAF J/11043 pilot KIA Stonefall Cemetery Harrowgate Yorkshire Sec. B. Row H. Grave 20. Flying Officer William Arthur Corley RCAF J/36334 KIA Stonefall Cemetery Sec. B. Row H. Grave 19. Sergeant Neil John Kidney RCAF R/215860 KIA Stonefall Cemetery Sec. B. Row H. Grave 16. Flying Officer Johnny Peter Kolomic RCAF J/35077 KIA Stonefall Cemetery Sec. B. Row H. Grave 14. Warrant Officer Class 1 Robert Kirk Moore RCAF R/124087 KIA Stonefall Cemetery Sec. B. Row H. Grave 18. Sergeant Raymond Frank Simmons RCAF R/173565 KIA Stonefall Cemetery Sec. B. Row H. Grave 17. Flying Officer Victor Zoratti RCAF J/35036 KIA Stonefall Cemetery Sec. B. Row H. Grave 15. Sergeant Bernard Andrew Barker RAF KIA Fulford Cemetery Sec. 2. Row J. Grave 3.

Canada Source Canadian Virtual War Memorial

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

Home
Google MapMount Forest, Ontario
Burial
Google MapStonefall Cemetery
Sec B Row H Grave 19

Halifax HX147

Handley Page Halifax

(RAF Photo, 1942)(Source Harold A Skaarup Web Page)A Royal Air Force Handley Page Halifax Mk. II Series I (Serial No. W7676), coded TL-P, of No. 35 Squadron, RAF, based at Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire in the UK, being piloted by Flight Lieutenant Reginald Lane, (later Lieutenant-General, RCAF), over the English countryside. Flt Lt Lane and his crew flew twelve operations in W7676, which failed to return from a raid on Nuremberg on the night of 28/29 August 1942, when it was being flown by Flt Sgt D. John and crew.

The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester.

The Halifax has its origins in the twin-engine HP56 proposal of the late 1930s, produced in response to the British Air Ministry's Specification P.13/36 for a capable medium bomber for "world-wide use." The HP56 was ordered as a backup to the Avro 679, both aircraft being designed to use the underperforming Rolls-Royce Vulture engine. The Handley Page design was altered at the Ministry to a four-engine arrangement powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine; the rival Avro 679 was produced as the twin-engine Avro Manchester which, while regarded as unsuccessful mainly due to the Vulture engine, was a direct predecessor of the famed Avro Lancaster. Both the Lancaster and the Halifax would emerge as capable four-engined strategic bombers, thousands of which would be built and operated by the RAF and several other services during the War.

On 25 October 1939, the Halifax performed its maiden flight, and it entered service with the RAF on 13 November 1940. It quickly became a major component of Bomber Command, performing routine strategic bombing missions against the Axis Powers, many of them at night. Arthur Harris, the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Bomber Command, described the Halifax as inferior to the rival Lancaster (in part due to its smaller payload) though this opinion was not shared by many of the crews that flew it, particularly for the MkIII variant. Nevertheless, production of the Halifax continued until April 1945. During their service with Bomber Command, Halifaxes flew a total of 82,773 operations and dropped 224,207 tons of bombs, while 1,833 aircraft were lost. The Halifax was also flown in large numbers by other Allied and Commonwealth nations, such as the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Free French Air Force and Polish forces. Wikipedia

YouTube Halifax Heavy Bomber WWII

General Harold A Skaarup Web Page

Wkikpedia Wikipedia Halifax Bomber

Museum National Air Force Museum of Canada

last update: 2023-12-08 20:34:11

Halifax B/GR.Mk.II HX147

Served with No. 428 (B) Squadron, RCAF. With No. 1666 Heavy Conversion Unit, 6 Group when it crashed on 11 July 1944. Stalled and crashed 1 mile north of York, after starboard outer engine failure.
Units 405/428/1666 Heavy Conversion Unit/1662 HCU

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