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Wills, Harold Alexander (Flight Lieutenant)

Killed in Flying Accident 1943-November-28

Birth Date: 1902-July-27 (age 41)

Son of Harvey and Elizabeth Wills; husband of Edythe Gladys Wills, of Kitchener, Ontario.

Husband of Edythe Gladys Wills, of Kitchener, Ontario.

Home: Kitchener, Ontario

Service
RCAF
Unit
45 Group (RAF)
Rank
Flight Lieutenant
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
C/5013

Harold "˜Hal' Wills was a thirty-seven-year-old schoolteacher, with a wife and young daughter when WWII began; he was forty-one when it ended for him, on 28 Nov 43.

He was well beyond the maximum age for RCAF pilots (27) and for other aircrew (33), but his wish to serve saw him halt his study toward a degree and enroll in special courses in air navigation, astronomy and spherical trigonometry, resulting in his acceptance into the RCAF in May of 1941 to become a Navigator Instructor in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP). He graduated from No. 1 Air Navigation School for instructors with the rank of Flying Officer.

Harold was an extremely popular instructor at No. 1 Air Observer School (AOS) at Malton, ON and at NO. 4 AOS at London, ON where he was promoted to Flight Lieutenant and named a Senior Instructor. In September of 1943 he went on a special course at No. 31 Operational Training Unit (OTU) at Debert, NS flying on anti-submarine patrols in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and environs.

Three weeks later Harold was sent to Montreal for a delivery flight with Ferry Command to study transatlantic navigation. Weeks of training and preparation ended on 09 November and Harold was crewed up for the delivery of a B-25 Mitchell to the UK. The crew comprised:

  • Lieutenant Erik Bertil Palm, Royal Norwegian Air Force (Pilot)
  • Sergeant Eric Hanway Swanson, RAF (Co-pilot)
  • Flight Lieutenant Harold Wills, RCAF (Navigator)
  • Pilot Officer Gerald Raymond Styles, RCAF (Wireless Operator)

They flew from Mount Joli, QC to Goose Bay, Labrador on 18 Nov in Mitchell II serial no. FV990 (USAAF serial 42-87155) and were stranded there by weather until the 23rd when they flew to Bluie West-1 base in Greenland. November 27 saw the crew take off from Bluie West-1 for Reykjavik, Iceland; an hour after take-off Gerald Styles, the wireless operator, called for a routine radio signal position check.

Nothing further was heard from them. The RAF in Iceland initiated a search but no trace of the missing Mitchell or crew was ever found.

With info from 'Ocean Bridge' by Carl A. Christie

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 Lieutenant Harold Alexander Wills has no known grave.

Home
Google MapKitchener, Ontario

Google MapOttawa War Memorial
Panel 2 Column 3

Mitchell FV990

Pilot Officer Styles, Gerald Raymond (RCAF)
Wireless Air Gunner
Killed in Flying Accident
1943-November-28
Ottawa War Memorial, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Male Head

Sergeant Swanston, Eric Hanway (RAF)

Killed in Flying Accident
1943-November-28
cemetery unknown

Flight Lieutenant Wills, Harold Alexander (RCAF)
Navigator
Killed in Flying Accident
1943-November-28
Ottawa War Memorial, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

North American Mitchell B-25 B-25D B-25J

North American B-25J Mitchell Mk. III
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in every theater of World War II, and after the war ended, many remained in service, operating across four decades. Produced in numerous variants, nearly 10,000 B-25s were built.

The North American B-25 Mitchell was flown by the RCAF during and after the Second World War. The RCAF flew the B-25 Mitchell for training during the war and continued flying operations after the war, in Canada with most of 162 Mitchells received. The first B-25s had originally been diverted to Canada from RAF orders. These included one Mitchell Mk. I, 42 Mitchell Mk. IIs, and 19 Mitchell Mk. IIIs. No 13 (P) Squadron was formed unofficially at RCAF Station Rockcliffe in May 1944 and flew Mitchell Mk. IIs on high-altitude aerial photography sorties. No. 5 OTU (Operational Training Unit) at Boundary Bay, British Columbia and Abbotsford, British Columbia, operated the B-25D Mitchell in a training role together with B-24 Liberators for Heavy Conversion as part of the BCATP. The RCAF retained the Mitchell until October 1963.

No. 418 (Auxiliary) Squadron received its first Mitchell Mk. IIs in January 1947. It was followed by No. 406 (Auxiliary), which flew Mitchell Mk. IIs and Mk. IIIs from April 1947 to June 1958. No. 418 Operated a mix of Mk. IIs and Mk. IIIs until March 1958. No. 12 Squadron of Air Transport Command also flew Mitchell Mk. IIIs along with other types from September 1956 to November 1960. In 1951, the RCAF received an additional 75 B-25Js from USAF stocks to make up for attrition and to equip various second-line units.. Wikipedia and Harold Skaarup web page

YouTube Mitchell Bomber

Wkikpedia Wikipedia Mitchell Bomber

General Harold A Skaarup Web Page

last update: 2021-09-23 15:53:49

Mitchell Mitchell II FV990



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