Robert Frederick Leavitt DFC Rank: Flight Lieutenant Status: Killed in Flying Accident 1941-09-21

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"A" Able flying through the Eiffel Tower? (although this event likely happened, this photograph is likely fake.) It is signed by the late Bill Bryant RAF who was the navigator of that aircraft piloted by Bob Boorman RCAF. The caption reads "This Stars Stripes photograph was taken on 14 September 1944 and shows a Mosquito Mk XIII of 409 Squadron RCAF. Pilot - W/O Bob Boorman RCAF Navigator F/S Bill Bryant RAF Flying through the Eiffel Tower."
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Leavitt, Robert Frederick DFC (Flight Lieutenant)

Killed in Flying Accident 1941-September-21

Birth Date: 1916-June-17 (age 25)

Born: Saskatoon, Saskatoon Census Division, Saskatchewan, Canada

Son of Sherman E and Clara B Leavitt, of Regina, Saskatchewan.

Home: Regina, Saskatchewan

Enlistment Date: 1939-03-06

Decorations: DFC

Service
RAF

Unit
Ferry Command- Ferry Command (RAF)

Base
Dorval, Quebec

Rank

Flight Lieutenant

Marshal
Air Chief Marshal	A/C/M
Air Marshal	A/M
Air Vice Marshal	A/V/M
Air Commodore	A/C
Group Captain	G/C
Wing Commander	W/C
Squadron Leader	S/L
Flight Lieutenant	F/L
Flying Officer	F/O
Pilot Officer	P/O
Warrant Officer 1st Class	WO1
Warrant Officer 2nd Class	WO2
Flight Sergeant	FS
Sergeant	SGT
Corporal	CPL
Senior Aircraftman	SAC
Leading Aircraftman	LAC
Aircraftman 1st Class	AC1
Aircraftman 2nd Class	AC2

Position
Pilot

Service Numbers
42238

Hudson Mk. III AE545

Ferry Flight 1941-September-21 to 1941-September-21

RAF Ferry Command, Dorval, Quebec. Hudson III aircraft AE545 was lost without a trace on a flight between Gander, Newfoundland and Prestwick, Scotland

Flight Lieutenant RF Leavitt (RAF)(Can), Sergeant EW McFall (RCAF) and Canadian civilian Radio Officer RD Anderson were all missing, presumed killed in this flying accident

The missing have no known graves and all are commemorated on memorials in Canada and the UK

Ocean Bridge, The History of RAF Ferry Command by Carl A Christie, pages 311, 389n27

General [Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database]...

Pilot Flight Lieutenant RF Leavitt (RAF)(Can) had previously flown Spitfires with the 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit. In April of 1941, F/L Leavitt's aircraft was hit by flak off the Norwegian Coast, but he returned to base, despite suffering a concussion and head injuries. He was awarded a DFC for this operation

Canadians in the Royal Air Force by Les Allison page 160

General The short, adventurous life of Regina Pilot Bobby - Leavitt ...

Canada Source Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Find-A-Grave.com

Saskatchewan Virtual War Memorial

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

Flight Lieutenant Robert Frederick Leavitt has no known grave.

Home

Regina, Saskatchewan

Runnymede Memorial Surrey, UK
Panel 29

Crew on Hudson Mk. III AE545

Civilian Radio Officer Anderson, Robert Desmond (RAF)
Wireless Operator
Killed in Flying Accident
Age: 28

Flight Lieutenant Leavitt, Robert Frederick (RAF)
Pilot
Killed in Flying Accident
Age: 25
Runnymede Memorial Surrey, UK - Panel 29

Sergeant McFall, Elwood Wallace (RCAF)
Navigator
Killed in Flying Accident
Age: 25
Ottawa War Memorial, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada - Panel 1 Column 2

Lockheed Hudson A-28 A-29 AT-18

Lockheed Hudson
Source National Air Force Museum of Canada.

The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force (RAF) shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter. The Hudson served throughout the war, mainly with Coastal Command, but also in transport and training roles, as well as delivering agents into occupied France. They were also used extensively with the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) anti-submarine squadrons. National Air Force Museum of Canada.

YouTube Hudson