Hilchie, Ralph Howard
Killed in Flying Accident 1942-11-23
Birth Date: 1914
Born:
Son of Angus H. Hilchie and Etta M. Hilchie, of Pope's Harbour, Halifax Co., Nova Scotia.
Home: Sheffield Mills, Pope's Harbor, Halifax County, Nova Scotia
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: Unknown
Service
RCAF
Unit
4 BGS- Bombing & Gunnery School
Base
Fingal, Ontario, Canada
Rank
Corporal
Position
Corporal
Service Numbers
R/76059
First Burial
Ottawa Memorial, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
www.findagrave.comThis incident involved multiple aircraft:
- Lysander Mk. IIIA TT Serial: 2332
All the above aircraft in the above list are referenced in this report.
Westland Lysander
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
Westland Aircraft of Yeovil, UK, started to design an Army Cooperation aircraft for the British Air Ministry, in June 1935. The first Lysander flew a year later and demonstrated a remarkable short field performance that today would be seen in a STOL aircraft. At the outbreak of war in September 1939, seven RAF squadrons equipped with Lysanders were sent to France in support of the British Army. In May-June 1940, 118 Lysanders were destroyed in action and 120 aircrew were killed or taken prisoner. These severe losses showed that the old ideas about army support aircraft were out of date and the future lay in fighters like the Hurricane.
The most daring use of Lysanders in WW II was with the Special Operations Executive, which supported the Resistance in German occupied France and Belgium, by flying in agents and picking up escapees. It was during these night operations, that the Lysander came into its own, using its remarkable STOL capabilities to fly into the small fields marked out by the Resistance.
The first Canadian built Lysanders rolled out of National Steel Car factory at Malton, Ontario in September 1939 and later were delivered to RCAF No. 110 (Army Co-operation) Squadron at Rockcliffe, Ontario. In February 1940, No. 110 became the first RCAF squadron to be ordered overseas to Britain, becoming No. 400 Sqn..
By late 1941, most Canadian built Lysanders had been transferred to the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), where they were used for target towing at gunnery training schools. National Steel Car, which became Victory Aircraft, stopped building Lysanders in September 1942, as it started to gear up to manufacture Lancaster bombers. 1,652 Lysanders were built between 1938 and 1943; 225 of them in Canada. Lysanders served with the RAF, RCAF and the RAAF, as well as the air forces of seven other nations.Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
Lysander
Wikipedia Lysander 
Harold A Skaarup Web Page 
Lysander - Kestrel Publications
4 BGS (4 Bomb and Gunnery School)
The Bombing and Gunnery School (B&GS) offered instruction in the techniques of bomb aiming and aerial machine gunnery to Air Observers, Bomb Aimers, and Wireless Air Gunners. These schools required large areas to accommodate their bombing and gunnery ranges, and were often located near water. The Avro Anson, Fairey Battle, Bristol Bolingbroke, and Westland Lysander were the standard aircraft used at B&GS schools.
RCAF.info - RCAF Station Fingal Ontario
Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum - 4 BGS History Lysander 2332
Lysander Mk. IIIA TT 2332
Assigned to No. 1 Training Command and served with No. 4 Bombing & Gunnery School, Fingal, Ontario. Involved in fatal crash at Fingal, on 14 Oct 1942. The a/c took off on a routine target towing mission and suddenly dove into Lake Erie. Flight Sergeant R.O. Gray and Cpl R.H. Hilchie were both killed. The cause of the crash was "obscure". An elevator trim problem was later suspected.1942-04-22 Taken on Strength 2019-08-20
1942-10-14 Accident Category A 2021-12-30
1942-November-23 Accident: 4 Bomb & Gunnery School Loc: In Lake Erie Names: Gray | Hilchie
1943-02-02 Struck off Strength 2019-08-20