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Craig, Alfred Burton (Flight Sergeant)

Killed in Action 1942-August-13

Birth Date: 1920-July-26 (age 22)

Born: Saint John, New Brunswick

Home: St John, New Brunswick

Service
RCAF
Unit
120 (AS) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Base
RAF Coastal Command Ballykelly, Northerm Ireland
Rank
Flight Sergeant
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
R/50369

Took off from Ballykelly on a daytime anti-submarine patrol of the North Atlantic.

Returning from a patrol where they had attacked and been damaged by sub U 256, a type VII U-boat commanded by Odo Loewe. The aircraft ditched in the sea off the coast of N.I. after all 4 engines stopped after dropping three depth charges at low level, thirty miles south-west of Tory Island, north-west of County Donegal, Ireland

Detail from: (discussion page www.rafcommands.com and D Burke, http://www.ww2irishaviation.com/lv341.htm)

Killed includes Craig: Pilot Officer Victor Dennis James RNZAF KIA Runnymede Memorial Panel 116. Sergeant Seymour Clare RAF KIA Runnymede Memorial Panel 80. Flight Sergeant Kenneth Henry Watson RAF KIA Runnymede Memorial Panel 76.

Survivors: Sergeant H V F Archer RAF Sergeant P F George RAF Sergeant W C Gordon RAF Sergeant F N Hollies RAF were rescued by the trawler, GLENAGILL from Fleetwood, Ireland.

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)

Flight Sergeant Alfred Burton Craig has no known grave.

Home
Google MapSt John, New Brunswick

Google MapRunnymede Memorial Surrey
Panel 103

Liberator LV341

Consolidated Liberator B-24 / F-7

(DND Photos via James Craik) (Source Harold A Skaarup Web Page)
Consolidated Liberator G.R. Mk. VIII, RCAF (Serial No. 11130) ex-USAAF Consolidated (Vultee) B-24L Liberator USAAF (44-50154)
ex-RAF (Serial No. 5009), ex-Indian Air Force (Serial No. HE773).
Currently preserved in the Canada Aviation and Space Museum Ottawa Ontario.

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber flown by the RCAF during the Second Word War. It was designed with a shoulder-mounted, high aspect ratio Davis wing which gave the Liberator a high cruise speed, long range and the ability to carry a heavy bomb load. Early RAF Liberators were the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean as a matter of routine. In comparison with its contemporaries the B-24 was relatively difficult to fly and had poor low speed performance; it also had a lower ceiling compared with the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Of the roughly 18,500 B-24s built in the USA during the war, 148 were flown by the RCAF on long range anti-submarine patrols, with the B-24 serving an instrumental role in closing the Mid-Atlantic gap in the Battle of the Atlantic. The RCAF also flew a few B-24s post war as transports.

Roughly half of all (RAF) Liberator crews in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theatre were Canadian by the end of the war. John Muir of Vancouver flew the longest mission of the war: 24hrs, 10mins from Ceylon to Burma and back. (Kyle Hood) Harold Skaarup web page


YouTube Liberator bomber

Wkikpedia Wikipedia Liberator bomber

General Harold A Skaarup Web Page

last update: 2021-09-18 19:06:22

Liberator GRlll LV341



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