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Napier, Matthew Simpson (Flight Sergeant)

Killed in Action 1943-February-05

Birth Date: 1923-December-18 (age 19)

Born: Newton, Scotland

Son of James Hamilton Napier and Mima Simpson Napier, of Sandwich, Ontario.

Home: Windsor, Ontario

Enlistment: Hamilton, Ontario

Enlistment Date: 1941-07-25

Service
RCAF
Unit
50 (B) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Sic Fidem Servamus Thus we keep faith
Base
Skellingthorpe
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/114490

Lancaster Mk.I/III ED527

Bombing Turin Italy 1943-February-05 to 1943-February-05

(B) Sqn (RAF) Skellingthorpe

188 aircraft - 77 Lancasters - 55 Halifaxes - 50 Stirlings - 6 Wellingtons - 3 Lancasters lost.

156 aircraft reached and bombed Turinn, causing serious and widespread damage. The brief local report states that 29 people were killed and 53 injured. source: The Bomber Command War Diaries, Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt

50 Squadron (From Defence To Attack). Target - Turin, Italy. Lancaster aircraft ED 527 crashed north-east of Fez, near Ajnoul at Taza, French Morocco.Warrant Officer L.A. Cumming, Sergeant M.S. Napier and four of the crew, not Canadians, were also killed

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)

Flight Sergeant Matthew Simpson Napier was exhumed and reburied.

Home
Google MapWindsor, Ontario
Target
Google MapTurin Italy
First Burial
Google MapTaza, French Morocco
Re-Burial
Google MapLe Petit Lac Cemetery
Plot E Row C Grave 9

Lancaster ED527

Avro Lancaster

Avro Lancaster Mk. X RCAF Serial FM 213
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same wartime era.

The Lancaster has its origins in the twin-engine Avro Manchester which had been developed during the late 1930s in response to the Air Ministry Specification P.13/36 for a capable medium bomber for "world-wide use". Originally developed as an evolution of the Manchester (which had proved troublesome in service and was retired in 1942), the Lancaster was designed by Roy Chadwick and powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlins and in one version, Bristol Hercules engines. It first saw service with RAF Bomber Command in 1942 and as the strategic bombing offensive over Europe gathered momentum, it was the main aircraft for the night-time bombing campaigns that followed. As increasing numbers of the type were produced, it became the principal heavy bomber used by the RAF, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European countries serving within the RAF, overshadowing the Halifax and Stirling. Wikipedia

YouTube Lancaster Bomber

Wkikpedia Wikipedia

General Harold A Skaarup Web Page

last update: 2021-09-18 14:32:33

Lancaster Mk.I/III ED527

Delivered to No. 50 Sqn 26 Jan 1943. Crashed on first operation in French Morocco following a raid on Turin 4/5 Feb 1943. 5 operational hours. Last heard of at 2305 transmitting 'Making forced landing in position 3610N 0520W.

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