Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum logo

Lowry, Peter Sydney (Sergeant)

Killed in Action 1943-November-18

Male Head

Birth Date: 1922-April-08 (age 21)

Albert Sydney and Alice Ethel Lowry

Home: Chiswick, Middlesex, England

Service
RAFVR
Unit
431 (B) Sqn- Squadron
The Hatiten Ronteriios Warriors of the Air: Iroquois
Base
Tholthorpe
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
Wireless Operator
Service Numbers
1321590

Halifax B/Met.Mk.V LK640

Bombing Ludwigshafen Germany 1943-November-18 to 1943-November-19

(B) Sqn (RCAF) Tholthorpe

Battle of Berlin

395 aircraft - 248 Halifaxes, 114 Stirlings, 33 Lancasters - of 3, 4, 6 and 8 Groups were on this major diversionary raid. German fighters successfully engaged the bomber force and 23 aircraft - 12 Halifaxes, 9 Stirlings, 2 Lancasters -were lost, 5·8 per cent of the force.

Cloud was present over the target area and much of the bombing was scattered. Mannheim reports that the majority of the damage was in the north of the city. 4 industrial buildings were destroyed and 11 seriously damaged, the most serious being the Daimler-Benz car factory which suffered a 90 per cent production loss for 'an unknown period'. 325 other buildings were destroyed and 335 seriously damaged, including 2 churches and 3 schools. 4 army barracks and the airfield at Sandhofen were all hit. 21 people were killed, 154 injured and 7,500 bombed out. Many bombs fell outside the city and the local report lists much damage and loss at farms.This was the last major raid on the much-bombed city of Mannheim for 15 months. ORB identifies the target as Ludwigshaven

source: The Bomber Command War Diaries, Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt

Halifax V aircraft LK 640 SE-Q was returning from a mission to Mannheim, Germany when it was hit by flak over Abbeville, France. The Halifax crashed in the English Channel and the entire crew was lost

Flying Officer GO Carefoot (RCAF), Sergeant EE Case (RCAF), Pilot Officer CE McGillivray (RCAF), Sergeant RWM Cowan (RAFVR), Sergeant PS Lowry (RAFVR) and Sergeant JK Shipp (RAFVR) were killed in action

These air crew members are buried at various cemeteries in England and France, indicating that they drifted in the current and washed ashore in various locations after the crash

Sergeant AE Roden (RCAF),missing, believed killed in action and commemorated on the Runnymede War Memorial

There was a second 431 Squadron Halifax V lost on this same operation. Please see Gilchrist, F for information on Halifax LK 632 SE-M

General Daily Operations 6bombergroup.ca

General Search for France-Crashes 39-45

431 Iroquois Sqn (The Hatiten Ronteriios) RAF Tholthorpe, Halifax V aircraft LK 640 SE-Q 'Q-Queenie', returning from a operation to Mannheim, Germany was shot down by flak and crashed into the English Channel

Sergeant PS Lowry (RAFVR) was killed in action

Commonwealth War Graves Commission International Bomber Command Centre

Find-A-Grave.com Finadagrave.com

Home
Google MapChiswick, Middlesex, England
Target
Google MapLudwigshafen Germany
Burial
Google MapMarquise Communal Cemetery
Plot 1 Row D Grave 8

Halifax LK640

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/Met.Mk.V LK640

SERAF RoundelQ


1943-11-19 Failed to Return Failed to return from attack on Mannheim. All were killed. 2019-08-20

431 (B) Sqn The Hatiten Ronteriios ("Iroquois")

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

The Squadron was formed in November 1942 as the RCAF's 11th bomber squadron to be formed overseas, at Burn, Yorkshire, UK , as a bomber unit of No 4 Group of RAF Bomber Command. With squadron code letters SE it flew Vickers Wellington Mk X aircraft. In July 1943 it moved to Tholthorpe, Yorkshire , to become part of No 6 (RCAF) Group, at the same time re-equipping with Handley Page Halifax Mk V bombers. It moved again in December 1943 to become part of No 64 (RCAF) Base at Croft, Yorkshire , where it remained until the end of the war. Another change of aircraft, to Halifax Mk. III was made in March of 1944, and finally the squadron was equipped with Canadian-built Avro Lancaster Mk X aircraft from October 1944. After the termination of hostilities in Europe, it was earmarked to form part of the Tiger Force to attack Japan and left for Canada in June 1945. The Japanese surrender following the dropping of the atomic bombs made Tiger Force redundant, and the squadron was disbanded at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia in September of 1945.

In the course of operations the squadron flew 2584 sorties (including 11 bringing PoWs back to England) at a cost of 72 aircraft destroyed. Approximately 14000 tons of bombs were dropped. Aircrew awards were 1 DSO, 63 DFCs, 10 DFMs, 2 CGMs and 1 MiD. Battle Honours were: English Channel and North Sea 1943-44, Baltic 1943-44, Fortress Europe 1943-44, France and Germany 1944-45, Biscay Ports 1943-44, Ruhr 1943-45, Berlin 1943-44, German Ports 1943-45, Normandy 1944, Rhine, Biscay 1944.Moyes, Kostenuk and Griffin

Squadron History (Bomber Command Museum PDF)

Maps for Movements of 431 Squadron 1942-45

MAP 1: 431 Squadron Bases 1942-45 (marked in green). Right-click on image to display enlarged in new tab

431 Squadron History Summary 1942-45

History of the Squadron Post-WWII (Aircraft: Tutor)

No. 431 (Fighter) Squadron re-formed at RCAF Station Bagotville, Quebec on 18 January 1954, using the new Canadair Sabre. The squadron was formed on a temporary basis until there were enough new CF-100s available to fulfill RCAF squadron needs. No. 431's duties included aerial combat training and displaying the capabilities of jet operations to the public at air shows: the team from No. 431 Squadron consisted of four Sabres and a solo aircraft. This was the first Sabre team to be authorized to perform formation aerobatics in Canada. 431 squadron was disbanded on 1 October 1954.

In 1969, Colonel O.B. Philp, base commander of CFB Moose Jaw and former leader of the defunct Golden Centennaires aerobatic team, considered using several of the leftover Golden Centennaire CT-114 Tutor aircraft for another team. These Tutors were still fitted for aerobatic flying. Philp, at this point, did not receive approval to form the new team; however, approval had been given for single Tutors to provide simple flypasts at local football games. To further the cause of an aerobatic team, Philp began informal enhanced formation practice for the instructors at 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School with the aim of providing multi-aircraft flypasts at special events. In 1970, four-aircraft formations began providing flypasts at fairs and festivals, as well as Armed Forces Day at CFB Moose Jaw . In July 1970, a white Tutor was introduced to the formation for flypasts. Four white Tutors were finally flown together at the Abbotsford Air Show, followed by a flypast in Winnipeg. Known as the "2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School Formation Team", or informally as the "Tutor Whites", the team grew in size to seven aircraft in 1971 using eleven pilots, and gradually gained recognition. Formation flypasts were replaced with more complicated manoeuvres, and more aircraft were added as the team matured. A contest to give the air demonstration team a formal name was held at Bushell Park Elementary School at CFB Moose Jaw, and resulted in the name "Snowbirds”, which was formally adopted on 25 June 1971. The Snowbirds were officially authorized to be designated the "Canadian Forces Air Demonstration Team" on 15 January 1975, and were formed into their own squadron by reactivating 431 Squadron (renamed 431 Air Demonstration Squadron) on 1 April 1978. .Wikipedia

And the rest is history……………………

© Canadian Warplane Heritage 2024

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