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Connelly, Joseph James (Sergeant)

Survived 1943-July-14

Male Head

Birth Date: unkown date (age unknown)

Service
RAF
Unit
408 (B) Sqn- Squadron
For Freedom
Base
RAF Leeming
Rank
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
Flight Engineer
Service Numbers
619879

Halifax B/GR.Mk.II JD174

Ferry Flight Aachen Germany 1943-July-13 to 1943-July-14

408 (B) Sqn (RCAF) Leeming

408 Goose Squadron (For Freedom) RAF Leeming, Halifax II aircraft JD 174 EQ-A outbound on a raid to Auchen, Germany was attacked by a night fighter. The attack left the bomber's hydraulic system inoperable, with the bomb doors unable to open and the landing gear unable to be lowered. The stricken aircraft was able to limp back to England but then, with a full bomb load and inoperable landing gear, the crew had little choice but to bale out. The crew and then the pilot abandoned the Halifax which then crashed and exploded in the Arden Woods between the villages of Hawnby and Kepwick, Yorkshire, England. There were no air crew losses

Pilot Bain, who broke his leg on landing, was accosted by the family whose land the aircraft had crashed on, who were suspicious of his accent, and dragged him painfully at shotgun point to their house where he was able to convince them he was an ally. He was later awarded a DFC for this sortie. The rest of the crew, Labow, Haugen, Wood, Magson, Acorn and Connolly (RAF) survived.

General Aircraft accidents on the North Yorkshire Moors

General Daily Operations 6bombergroup.ca

General JD174 408 Sqdn Halifax

General Aircraft accidents on the North Yorkshire Moors.

Took off from Leeming at 00:09 in Halifax Mk II (Sqn code EQ-A Bomber Command) on an operation to Aachen Germany.

They were badly shot about by a night fighter and on return to base the Halifax, with its bomb-load intact (no hydraulics to open the bomb bay doors), was abandoned and crashed onto a wooded hillside at 05:50 near Arden Hall, between the villages of Hawnby and Kepwick It then exploded.

Killed: Flying Officer Donald Thomas Bain DFC RCAF J/9412 pilot KIA. Sergeant James Joseph Connolly RAF KIA Sergeant Ernest Henry Wood RCAF J/19016 KIA Pilot Officer Philip John Ashworth Magson RCAF J/20912 KIA Sergeant George Warburton Acorn RCAF R/112252 KIA Sergeant John Irvin Labow RCAF R/96223 KIA Sergeant Willard Melvin Haugen RCAF R/114914 KIA

Target
Google MapAachen Germany

Halifax JD174

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/GR.Mk.II JD174

EQRAF RoundelA
Operated by No. 408 Squadron, RCAF, coded "EQ*A", from 25 May 1943. During attack on Aachen on 13 / 14 July 1943 was attacked by an enemy aircraft, damaging hydraulics and making it impossible to release bombs. Returned to base with the bomb load and crew bailed out over UK, 12 miles from Leeming. Pilot injured in crash landing near Arden Hall, Hawnby. Some bombs exploded, but not all. Pilot Flying Officer P.T. Bain received DFC, retired from RCAF in 1957 as a W/C.

408 (B) Sqn For Freedom ("Goose")

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

The squadron was the second Canadian bomber squadron to be formed in WWII. It was formed at Lindholme, Yorkshire, UK in June of 1941 as part of Bomber Command No 5 Group, flying Handley Page Hampden Mk I bombers from Syerston, Nottinghamshire, Balderton, Newark and North Luffenham, Rutland. Its squadron code letters were EQ. In September 1942 the squadron was moved to No 4 Group, re-equipping with Halifax Mk II aircraft and flying from Leeming, Yorkshire. On January 1, 1943, by this time equipped with Lancaster Mk II bombers, the squadron joined No. 6 Group (RCAF) and flew from Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire from August 27 1943 to the end of WWII. In September 1944 it converted to Halifax Mk III and VII aircraft and flew these for the remainder of hostilities. It was slated to be part of the "Tiger Force" to attack Japan and had re-equipped with Lancaster Mk X aircraft, but the Japanese surrender ended all plans for the Tiger Force and the squadron was disbanded in September 1945 at Greenwood, Nova Scotia .

Altogether, the squadron logged 4610 operational sorties with 25,500 operational hours, in the course of which 11,430 tons of bombs were dropped. 146 aircraft were lost in the course of these operations. Awards included 161 DFC's and 6 bars to DFC, 32 DFM's, 1 MBE and 10 MiD's. Battle Honours were: English Channel and North Sea 1941-43, Baltic 1941-43, Fortress Europe 1941-44, France and Germany 1944-45, Biscay Ports 1941-44, Ruhr 1941-45, Berlin 1943-44, German Ports 1941-45, Normandy 1944, Rhine, Biscay 1942-43. Wikipedia, Moyes, Kostenuk and Griffin

Squadron History (Bomber Command Museum PDF)

Maps for Movements of 408 Squadron 1941-45

MAP 1: 408 Squadron Movements 1941-45 (right-click on image to display enlarged in new tab)
MAP 2: 6 Group Bomber Bases in Durham and Yorkshire 1943-45

408 Squadron History Summary

408 Squadron History Summary Page 2

History of the Squadron Post-WWII (Aircraft: Lancaster X, Canso A, Norseman VI, Otter, Dakota III & IV, Boxcar, Silver Star, Hercules, Griffon, Chinook)

On 10 January 1949, the squadron was reformed as 408 (Photographic) Squadron at RCAF Station Rockcliffe, Ontario . Equipped with eight Lancaster Mark X photographic aircraft equipped with SHORAN, a short-range navigational device. It was tasked with the mapping of Canada, specifically the far North. It also flew Canso, Norseman, Otter and Dakota aircraft on this mission, for photography and to maintain the SHORAN stations. Once the task was complete, the squadron was re-designated 408 (Reconnaissance) Squadron and flew Lancasters on Arctic surveillance patrols. In 1964, equipped with the Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar, it was again re-designated 408 (Transport Support and Aerial Reconnaissance) Squadron and moved to Rivers, Manitoba. In 1964, the squadron formed a flight of Canadair CT-133 Silver Star aircraft. In 1965, the Boxcars were replaced by CC-130 Hercules aircraft.

On January 1, 1971, 408 Squadron was once again re-activated at Namao in Edmonton, Alberta , as a tactical helicopter squadron (THS) and equipped with CH-135 Twin Huey and CH-136 Kiowa helicopters. Its primary tasking is to provide tactical aviation to the army. The mission includes air mobile assault, air ambulance, air observation, reconnaissance insertions, troop movement, airborne command and control platform and dropping paratroopers. In September 1996, the squadron was re-equipped with CH-146 Griffon helicopters. Personnel from 408 Squadron deployed to Afghanistan nearly continually from 2006 until 2011. Initially forming a Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV) detachment using the CU-161 Sperwer. From 2008, 408 members were deployed to Kandahar airfield operating the CH-146 Griffon and CH-147D helicopters as part of the Joint Task Force Afghanistan Air Wing. The primary role of the JTF-A Air Wing was to provide transportation, reconnaissance, armed escort, and fire support to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). In July of 2018, 408 THS deployed to Mali as part of Task Force Mali on Operation Presence. In Mali, 408 THS operated the CH-146 Griffon in the armed escort role, providing support to MEDEVAC and utility missions. 408 THS completed its tour in Mali in January of 2019, having participated in 7 medical evacuation missions. It is now co-located with 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group at the 3rd Canadian Division Support Base, Edmonton, Alberta.

General 408 “Goose” Squadron Association

General Government of Canada RCAF Website

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