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MacFarlane, David William (Flight Sergeant)

Killed in Action 1943-May-26

Birth Date: 1921-May-31 (age 21)

Born: Truro, Nova Scotia

Son of Frederick J. and Zylpha Cindrilla (nee Wheaton) MacFarlane, of Truro, Nova Scotia.

Home: Truro, Nova Scotia

Enlistment: Halifax, Nova Scotia

Enlistment Date: 1941-05-01

Service
RCAF
Unit
77 (B) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Esse Potius Quam Videri To be, rather than to seem
Base
Elvington
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
Air Gunner
Service Numbers
R/88370
77 Squadron (Esse Polius Ouam Videri). Halifax II JB 837 KN-D attacked by a night fighter over Germany and exploded, the explosion bringing down two Stirling bombers flying above it. Flight Sergeant J.F Laurence and five RAF crew members, not Canadians, were also killed. Addendum: The squadron was based at Elvington when Halifax aircraft JB 837-D was lost during night operations to Dusseldorf, Germany . The five RAF members of the crew who were also killed were: Sergeants R. Lewis, W.R.L. Codd, J.H. Waterston, J.W. Richardson, and J. Kershaw. This completes this crew list. Detail from "Some of the Many" by Roy Walker, Kent, England. . The aircraft exploded and the bulk of the wreckage fell near Koln, Germany. FS. J.F.R. Laurence, Sgt.s R. Lewis (RAF), W.R.L. Codd (RAF), J.H. Waterston (RAF), J.W. Richardson (RAF), and J. Kershaw (RAF) were also killed.

Canada Source Canadian Virtual War Memorial

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

Home
Google MapTruro, Nova Scotia
Target
Google MapDusseldorf Germany
Burial
Google MapSoldaten Friedhof Alliierte Piloten 2WK
Coll grave 4 D 5-20

Halifax JB837

Handley Page Halifax

(RAF Photo, 1942)(Source Harold A Skaarup Web Page)A Royal Air Force Handley Page Halifax Mk. II Series I (Serial No. W7676), coded TL-P, of No. 35 Squadron, RAF, based at Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire in the UK, being piloted by Flight Lieutenant Reginald Lane, (later Lieutenant-General, RCAF), over the English countryside. Flt Lt Lane and his crew flew twelve operations in W7676, which failed to return from a raid on Nuremberg on the night of 28/29 August 1942, when it was being flown by Flt Sgt D. John and crew.

The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester.

The Halifax has its origins in the twin-engine HP56 proposal of the late 1930s, produced in response to the British Air Ministry's Specification P.13/36 for a capable medium bomber for "world-wide use." The HP56 was ordered as a backup to the Avro 679, both aircraft being designed to use the underperforming Rolls-Royce Vulture engine. The Handley Page design was altered at the Ministry to a four-engine arrangement powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine; the rival Avro 679 was produced as the twin-engine Avro Manchester which, while regarded as unsuccessful mainly due to the Vulture engine, was a direct predecessor of the famed Avro Lancaster. Both the Lancaster and the Halifax would emerge as capable four-engined strategic bombers, thousands of which would be built and operated by the RAF and several other services during the War.

On 25 October 1939, the Halifax performed its maiden flight, and it entered service with the RAF on 13 November 1940. It quickly became a major component of Bomber Command, performing routine strategic bombing missions against the Axis Powers, many of them at night. Arthur Harris, the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Bomber Command, described the Halifax as inferior to the rival Lancaster (in part due to its smaller payload) though this opinion was not shared by many of the crews that flew it, particularly for the MkIII variant. Nevertheless, production of the Halifax continued until April 1945. During their service with Bomber Command, Halifaxes flew a total of 82,773 operations and dropped 224,207 tons of bombs, while 1,833 aircraft were lost. The Halifax was also flown in large numbers by other Allied and Commonwealth nations, such as the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Free French Air Force and Polish forces. Wikipedia

YouTube Halifax Heavy Bomber WWII

General Harold A Skaarup Web Page

Wkikpedia Wikipedia Halifax Bomber

Museum National Air Force Museum of Canada

last update: 2023-12-08 20:34:11

Halifax B/GR.Mk.II JB837

Failed to Return, Dusseldorf, 25.5.43
Unit 77

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