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Smith, Harry Alexander Edward Gordon (Pilot Officer)

Killed in Action 1944-March-04

Birth Date: 1910-September-02 (age 33)

Born: Victoria, British Columbia

Son of Alexander Gordon Smith and Delphia Mary Smith, of Saanichton, British Columbia. M.C.B.A.

Home: Saanichton, British Columbia

Enlistment: Vancouver, British Columbia

Enlistment Date: 1941-12-08

Service
RCAF
Unit
624 (SD) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Base
Blida
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
Navigator
Service Numbers
J/89245
Prev: R/143428

624 (Special Duties) Squadron RAF, Blida, Algeria

The crew of Halifax II aircraft BB 386 was engaged in special operations when they encountered a sudden heavy rain storm shortly after take-off and crashed five miles north-west of the aerodrome at Blida, Algeria, believed due to an engine failure

Pilot Officer HAEG Smith (RCAF), Flying Officer G Mundell (RCAF), Flying Officer FI Elliott (RCAF), Warrant Officer Class 2 GT Jackson (RCAF), FS RW Moller (RCAF), Sergeant DG Browne (RAFVR) and Sergeant WD Hazeldine (RAFVR) were all killed in action

General Squadron losses page 1 I 624 Squadron

General Aircraft-lost-on Allied-Forces-Special-Duty-Operations.pdf

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)

Pilot Officer Harry Alexander Edward Gordon Smith was exhumed and reburied.

Home
Google MapSaanichton, British Columbia
Target
Google MapSOE Mediterranean
First Burial
Google MapDely Ibraham War Cemetery, Algiers, Algeria
Re-Burial
Google MapDely Ibrahim War Cemetery
4 C 15

Halifax BB386

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.Mk.II BB386

Crashed after take-off 5 miles Northwest of Blida 4.3.44
Overseas Aircraft Preparation Group/301 Ferry Transfer Unit/178/462/624

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