Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum logo

McElheran, John Archibald (Pilot Officer)

Killed in Action 1944-June-13

Birth Date: unkown date (age unknown)

George Harrison McElheran & Henrietta McElheran

Home: Hamilton, Ontario (parents)

Service
RCAF
Unit
432 (B) Sqn- Squadron
Saeviter Ad Lucem Ferociously toward the light
Base
RAF East Moor
Rank
Pilot 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
Pilot
Service Numbers
J/86482
Prev: R/156974

Halifax B.Mk.III MZ601

Bombing Cambrai France 1944-June-12 to 1944-June-13

432 (B) Sqn (RCAF) RAF East Moor

671 aircraft- 348 Halifaxes, 285 Lancasters, 38 Mosquitoes-of 4, 5, 6 and 8 Groups to attack communications, mostly railways, at Amiens/St-Roch, Amiens/Longueau, Arras, Caen, Cambrai and Poitiers. (It is interesting to note that, with the exception of Caen, all of these targets were the sites of well-known battles of earlier wars and Caen was soon to be the scene of fierce fighting,)

Bomber Command's records state that the Poittiers attack by Group 5 was the most accurate of the night and that the 2 raids at Amiens and the raid at Arras w, of reasonable accuracy. The target at Cambrai was hit but many bombs also fell the town. The most scattered attack (also by 5 Group) was at Caen.

23 aircraft - 17 Halifaxes and 6 Lancasters - were lost from these raids; all these losses were from 4 and 6 Groups. A Canadian airman, Pilot Officer Andrew Charles Mynarski from Winnipeg, was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for bravery on the Cambrai raid. His Lancaster, of 419 Squadron, was attacked by night fighter and set on fire and the crew were ordered to abandon the aircraft. Mynarski was about to jump when he saw that the tail gunner was trapped in this turret and he went through fierce flames to help. The rear turret was so bac jammed that it could not be freed and the trapped gunner eventually waved Mynarski: away. By the time he left the aircraft, Mynarski's clothing and parachute were on fire and he died while being cared for by French civilians soon after he landed. The tail gunner was fortunate to survive the crash and his report on Mynarski's courage led to the award of the Victoria Cross. Pilot Officer Mynarski is buried in the srnall village cemetery at Meharicourt, east of Amiens.

source: The Bomber Command War Diaries, Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt

Halifax III aircraft MZ 601 QO-A missing during a night trip to Cambrai, France, shot down by a combination of flak and night fighter attack. The crash location was not determined

Pilot Officer JA McElheran (RCAF), Pilot Officer GA Dieno (RCAF), Pilot Officer WL Blanchard (RCAF), Pilot Officer RL Botsford (RCAF), Sergeant AL Mellor (RAFVR) and Sergeant PM Steers (RAFVR) were all killed in action

Sergeant JA Ludwig (RCAF) survived and was taken as Prisoner of War

Sergeant RP Irwin (RAF)(Eire) survived and became an Evader

There were two 432 Squadron Halifax aircraft lost on this operation. Please see aircraft serial LW 616 QO-R for additional information

General Research of France-Crashes 39-45

General Halifax BIII MZ601 [Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database]...

Canada Source Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Commonwealth War Graves Commission International Bomber Command Centre

Find-A-Grave.com Finadagrave.com

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

Home
Google MapHamilton, Ontario (parents)
Target
Google MapCambrai France
Burial
Google MapDunkirk Town Cemetery
Plot 2 Row 14 Coll Grave 34

Halifax MZ601

Read More ....
Read More ....

© Canadian Warplane Heritage 2025

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