Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum logo

Landers, Kenneth Williams (Flying Officer)

Prisoner of War 1945-January-05

Male Head

Birth Date: 1923-July-04 (age 21)

Service
RCAF
Unit
420 (B) Sqn- Squadron
Pugnamus Finitum We fight to the finish
Base
RAF Tholthorpe
Rank
Flying 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/39400

Halifax B.Mk.III MZ471

Bombing Hannover Germany 1945-January-04 to 1945-January-05

420 (B) Sqn (RCAF) RAF Tholthorpe

420 Snowy Owl Squadron (Pugnamus Finitum) RAF Tholthorpe. Halifax BIII aircraft MZ 471 PT-V was shot down six miles north of Wunstorf at Ottemhagen, Germany during a night operation against targets in Hannover, Germany. The bomber was most likely shot down by night fighter pilot Hptm Herman Greiner of Stab 4/NJG1 but there are also multiple flak battery claims for this loss

Pilot Officer JW Vandenberg (RCAF), Flight Lieutenant LW Brand (RCAF), and Pilot Officer GW Walker DFC (RAFVR) were killed in action

Pilot Officer CD Noble (RCAF) was severely wounded but managed to evade for a time until being captured and died from his wounds in a German hospital

Flying Officer KW Landers (RCAF), Pilot Officer DO Palmer (RCAF)(Nfld) and Pilot Officer JH Warren (RCAF) survived and were taken as Prisoners of War

General [Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database}...

General Daily Operations

General 628a3cc80f64b64a34c08407_1945 NachjagdCAsamplepages.pdf

Flying Officer Landers was safe back in the UK 1945-05-12

Footprints on the Sands of Time, RAF Bomber Command Prisoners of War in Germany 1939-45 by Oliver Clutton-Brock, page 340
Target
Google MapHannover Germany

Halifax MZ471

Flight Lieutenant Brand, Lorne William (RCAF)
Pilot
Killed in Action
1945-January-05
CWG Cemetery, Hanover, Germany

Male Head

Flying Officer Landers, Kenneth Williams (RCAF)
Navigator
Prisoner of War
1945-January-05
cemetery unknown

Pilot Officer Noble, George Adrian (RCAF)
Air Gunner (Mid-Upper)
Prisoner of War Died
1945-January-05
Durnbach War Cemetery, Gmund am Tegernsee, Germany

Male Head

Pilot Officer Palmer, Douglas Osborne (RCAF)
Air Gunner (Rear)
Prisoner of War
1945-January-05
cemetery unknown

Pilot Officer Vandenbergh, John Wilton (RCAF)
Bomb Aimer
Killed in Action
1945-January-05
CWG Cemetery, Hanover, Germany

Pilot Officer Walker, George William (RAFVR)
Flight Engineer
Killed in Action
1945-January-05
cemetery unknown

Male Head

Pilot Officer Warren, John Harry (RCAF)
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner
Prisoner of War
1945-January-05
cemetery unknown

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

CASPIR Aircraft Groups:
RCAF Owned (5) RCAF 6 Group (1594) RCAF 400 Squadrons (1595) Canadian Crewed (2352) Canadian Museum (2)
last update: 2023-12-08 20:34:11

Halifax B.Mk.III MZ471

PTRAF RoundelV
Failed to Return, Hannover, 5.1.45
Unit 420

420 (B) Sqn Pugnamus Finitum ("Snowy Owl")

History of the Squadron during World War II (Aircraft: Hampden I, Wellington III, X, Halifax III, Lancaster X)

420 Squadron RCAF was the fourth RCAF bomber unit formed overseas in WWII. It was formed at Waddington, Lincolnshire, UK on December 19, 1941 as a unit of No 5 Group of RAF Bomber Command flying Handley Page Hampden Mk 1 aircraft, with the squadron code letters PT. In early August 1942 the squadron transferred to No 4 Group of Bomber Command, and was based at Skipton-on-Swale, Yorkshire : at this time it was equipped with Vickers Wellington Mk. III aircraft. In October 1942 it moved to Middleton St. George, Durham , where on January 1, 1943 it became a unit of the newly-created no. 6 (RCAF) Group of Bomber Command. It remained there until May 1943, when, by now flying tropicalized Wellington Mk X aircraft, it flew to Tunisia in North Africa to join No 331 (RCAF) Wing of No. 205 Group. From the bases of Kairouan/Zina and Hani East Landing Ground (both locations approximate)it attacked targets in Sicily and Italy as part of the invasion force. In October, the squadron returned by sea to England, leaving its aircraft behind, and rejoined 6 Group at Dalton, Yorkshire, re-equipping with Handley Page Halifax Mk. III aircraft. The squadron finally moved to Tholthorpe, Yorkshire in December 1943, where it remained until the end of hostilities in Europe. From April 1945 the squadron re-equipped with Lancaster Mk. X aircraft, although they were not used operationally. In June 1945 the squadron flew its aircraft to Debert, Nova Scotia , where it disbanded in September of 1945

In the course of hostilities, the squadron flew 4186 sorties for the loss of 65 aircraft. 9771 tons of bombs were dropped. The squadron won 38 DFC's, 1 Bar to DFC, and 9 DFM's. Battle Honors were: English Channel and North Sea 1942-44, Baltic 1942, Fortress Europe 1942-44, France and Germany 1944-45, Biscay Ports 1942-44, Ruhr 1942-45, Berlin 1944, German Ports 1942-45, Normandy 1944, Rhine, Biscay 1942-43, Sicily 1943, Italy 1943, SalernoWikipedia, Kostenuk and Griffin, Moyes

Museum 420 Squadron History (Bomber Command Museum (Large PDF)

Museum 420 Tholthorpe Airfield Operations Record Book

Museum 420 Squadron Operations Record Book

Maps for Movements of 420 Squadron 1941-45

MAP 1: 420 Squadron Movements in England 1941-45 (right-click on image to display enlarged new tab)
MAP 2: 420 Squadron Movements in Yorkshire and Durham 1942-45
MAP 3: 420 Squadron Movements in Tunisia, North Africa 1943

420 Squadron History Summary 1941-45

420 Squadron History Summary 1941-45 Page 2

History of the Squadron Post-WWII (Aircraft: Harvard, Mustang, Silver Star, Tracker)

No. 420 Squadron reformed at London, Ontario on 15 September 1948, and flew North American Mustang and Harvard aircraft in a fighter role until the squadron disbanded on 1 September 1956. The squadron was re-formed as an Air Reserve squadron based initially at CFB Shearwater, Nova Scotia flying the de Havilland Canada Tracker aircraft that had once been the backbone of the Canadian Naval Air's anti-submarine program. As an Air Reserve Squadron it participated with regular fisheries patrols. It was one of the few active Air Reserve Squadrons in Canada and was paired with the Regular Force's 880 Squadron. The Squadron was rebased to CFB Summerside, Prince Edward Island when their base was downsized. No 420 Squadron was reduced to nil strength on 15 May 1995.

© Canadian Warplane Heritage 2024

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