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Wiggins, William Thomas (Pilot Officer)

Killed in Flying Accident 1944-February-02

Birth Date: 1922-July-07 (age 21)

Born: Toronto, Ontario

Son of William James Wiggins, II and Olive May (ne Flowers) Wiggins, of Toronto, Ontario. Brother of Norman Edward Wiggins. Pilot Officer Wiggins attended Pauline Public School and Bloor Collegiate In

Home: Toronto, Ontario

Enlistment: Toronto, Ontario

Enlistment Date: 1942-08-07

Service
RCAF
Unit
7 BGS- Bombing & Gunnery School
Base
Paulson, Manitoba, Canada
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/37553
Assigned to No. 2 Training Command and to an unknown unit in western Canada. Collided with Bolingbroke 9890 on 2 February 1944. Both aircraft with No. 7 Bombing & Gunnery School at Paulson, Manitoba. Leading Aircraftman R.H. Pickering RCAF was 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)

Home
Google MapToronto, Ontario
Burial
Google MapPark Lawn Cemetery
Sec T Lot 453 Grave 3

Lysander 2392

Westland Lysander

Westland Lysander Mk. IIIA
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

Westland Aircraft of Yeovil, UK, started to design an Army Cooperation aircraft for the British Air Ministry, in June 1935. The first Lysander flew a year later and demonstrated a remarkable short field performance that today would be seen in a STOL aircraft. At the outbreak of war in September 1939, seven RAF squadrons equipped with Lysanders were sent to France in support of the British Army. In May-June 1940, 118 Lysanders were destroyed in action and 120 aircrew were killed or taken prisoner. These severe losses showed that the old ideas about army support aircraft were out of date and the future lay in fighters like the Hurricane.

The most daring use of Lysanders in WW II was with the Special Operations Executive, which supported the Resistance in German occupied France and Belgium, by flying in agents and picking up escapees. It was during these night operations, that the Lysander came into its own, using its remarkable STOL capabilities to fly into the small fields marked out by the Resistance.

The first Canadian built Lysanders rolled out of National Steel Car factory at Malton, Ontario in September 1939 and later were delivered to RCAF No. 110 (Army Co-operation) Squadron at Rockcliffe, Ontario. In February 1940, No. 110 became the first RCAF squadron to be ordered overseas to Britain, becoming No. 400 Sqn..

By late 1941, most Canadian built Lysanders had been transferred to the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), where they were used for target towing at gunnery training schools. National Steel Car, which became Victory Aircraft, stopped building Lysanders in September 1942, as it started to gear up to manufacture Lancaster bombers. 1,652 Lysanders were built between 1938 and 1943; 225 of them in Canada. Lysanders served with the RAF, RCAF and the RAAF, as well as the air forces of seven other nations. Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

YouTube Lysander

Wkikpedia Wikipedia Lysander

General Harold A Skaarup Web Page

Kestrek Publications Lysander - Kestrel Publications

General Century of Flight Web Page

CASPIR Aircraft Groups:
RCAF On Strength (328), RCAF 400 Squadron (1), Canadian Aircraft Losses (26), Canadian Museum(2)
last update: 2022-11-15 18:46:26

Lysander Mk. IIIA TT 2392

Assigned to No. 2 Training Command and to an unknown unit in western Canada. Collided with Bolingbroke #9890 on 2 February 1944. Both aircraft with No. 7 Bombing & Gunnery School at Paulson, Manitoba. 2 fatalities in this aircraft, Pilot Officer W.T. Wiggins RCAF and Leading Aircraftman R.H. Pickering RCAF.

1942-07-11 Taken on Strength 2019-08-20
1944-02-02 Accident Category A 2022-01-09
1944-February-26 Accident: 7 Bomb & Gunnery School Loc: 1st Meridian Manitoba Names:
1944-05-02 Struck off Strength reduced to spares and produce 2022-01-09

7 BGS (7 Bomb and Gunnery School)

The Bombing and Gunnery School (B&GS) offered instruction in the techniques of bomb aiming and aerial machine gunnery to Air Observers, Bomb Aimers, and Wireless Air Gunners. These schools required large areas to accommodate their bombing and gunnery ranges, and were often located near water. The Avro Anson, Fairey Battle, Bristol Bolingbroke, and Westland Lysander were the standard aircraft used at B&GS schools.

RCAF Roundel RCAF.Info - RCAF Station Paulson Manitoba

General BCATP History - 7 BGS

Museum Manitoba Historical Society - Paulson Airport

General Staff Pilots 7 BGS Paulson MB

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