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Cotterill, Stanley Herbert Ross DFC (Flight Lieutenant)

Killed in Action 1944-October-18

Birth Date: 1919-October-30 (age 24)

Gordon & Mary Angela Cotterill

Home: Toronto, Ontario (parents)

Decorations: DFC


Distinguished Service Cross
Service
RCAF
Unit
418 (I) Sqn- Squadron
Piyautailili Defend even unto death: Inuktitut
Base
RAF Hunsdon
Rank
Flight Lieutenant
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/4874

Mosquito FB.Mk VI HR351

Combat 1944-October-17 to 1944-October-18

418 (I) Sqn (RCAF) RAF Hunsdon

418 City of Edmonton Squadron (Piyautailili) RAF Hunsdon. Mosquito VI aircraft HR 351 TH-D had flown an INTRUDER operation against the airport at Piestany, Slovakia and flown on to a base at Ancona, Italy. The next morning the aircraft departed for home but was lost over Burguge (near Lanisce) Yugoslavia, cause unknown

Flight Lieutenant CG Finlayson DFC & Bar (RCAF) and Flight Lieutenant SH CotteriII DFC (RCAF) were both killed in action

General Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database

General Aviation Safety Network

Took off at 10:00 from Ieisi Airfield, Italy on a Day Ranger mission to Eastern Austria / northern Slovakia.

Aircraft failed to return. Its wreckage was found several years ago on Planik Hill about 20 km west of Rijeka, near the villages of Lanisce and Brest, Croatia.

Killed: F/Lt Stanley Herbert Ross Cotterill RCAF J/4874 pilot KIA Serbia Belgrade War Cemetery Joint grave 6. D. 3. F/Lt Colin Gowans Finlayson RCAF J/13956 KIA Belgrade War Cemetery Joint grave 6. D. 3.

Addendum: - Correct age at time of death was 25, please add the following. - Distinguished Flying Cross 7 No.418 Squadron - Award effective 1 September 1944 as per London Gazette of that date and AFRO 2373/44 dated 3 November 1944. Award presented to next-of-kin, 2 December 1946. All aerial Victories gained with Sergeant EH McKenna (RAF) as navigator. These were: 6 June 1944, three Ju52s destroyed plus One its.188 destroyed; 22/23 June 1944, two V-Is destroyed; 27/28 June 1944, one V-1 destroyed; 7/8 July 1944, one V-1 destroyed; 3 September 1944, one Bf 109 destroyed. Photos PL-29467 (in flying gear) and PL-29468 (with McKenna). The citation reads - "This officer has completed numerous sorties and has set a fine example of skill, courage and resolution. One night in June 1944 Flight Lieutenant Cotterill shot down four enemy aircraft over an area in northern France, a feat which testifies to his exceptional keenness and determination. On other occasions, Flight Lieutenant Cotterill has operated against enemy airfields and railway installations with success." Detail provided by H Halliday, Orleans, Ontario

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 MapToronto, Ontario (parents)
Burial
Google MapEnglesko Vojno Groblje
Joint Grave 6 D 3

Mosquito HR351

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