Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum logo

Cunningham, Walter Garfield (Flying Officer)

Killed in Action 1945-March-15

Birth Date: 1924 (age 21)

Ernest L. & Annie Cunningham

Home: Fort William, Ontario (parents)

Service
RCAF
Unit
159 (BR) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Quo Non, Quando Non Wither not? when not?
Base
RAF Digri, India
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 Bomb Aimer
Service Numbers
J/43407
Prev: R/215854

Took off from Digri in Liberator KH-256 to bomb bridre(s) on the Burma/Siam Railway at Moulmein, Burma.

,p>Shot down (means not found) and crashed in target area. No Survivors.

Killed includes Cunningham: Pilot Officer Gerald Francis Greenlee RCAF J/95310 KIA Singapore Memorial, Column 457. Flight Sergeant Donald Leo Haberthur RCAF R/258143 KIA Singapore Memorial, Column 458. Flight Sergeant John William Paterson RCAF R/212692 KIA Singapore Memorial, Column 458. Flying Officer Thomas Clement Reeve RCAF J/43995 KIA Singapore Memorial, Column 456. Flying Officer William Francis Stafford RCAF J/44123 KIA Singapore Memorial, Column 456. F/Lt William Murray Tree RCAF J/12488 KIA Singapore Memorial, Column 455. Sergeant John McGibbon Fletcher RAF KIA Singapore Memorial, Panel ???.

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)

Flying Officer Walter Garfield Cunningham has no known grave.

Home
Google MapFort William, Ontario (parents)
Target
Google MapMoulmein Burma

Google MapSingapore War Memorial
Column 455

Liberator KH256

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.

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

CASPIR Aircraft Groups:
RCAF On Strength (148), RCAF 400 Squadron (19), Canadian Aircraft Losses (149), Canadian Ferried (2)
last update: 2021-09-18 19:06:22

Liberator B 24 KH256



© Canadian Warplane Heritage 2024

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