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Kightley, Eric Leslie (Warrant Officer)

Rescued 1945-May-02

Birth Date: unkown date (age unknown)

Born: Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England

Home: Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England

Enlistment: Coventry, England

Enlistment Date: 1941-06-07

Service
RAFVR
Unit
355 (B) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Liberamus Per Caerula We liberate through tropical skies
Base
RAF Salbani, West Bengal, India
Rank
Warrant 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
Air Gunner (Nose)
Service Numbers
1480397

Liberator B 24 KH210

Bombing Rangoon, Burma 1945-May-02 to 1945-May-02

355 (B) Sqn (RAF) RAF Salbani, West Bengal, India

355 Squadron (Liberamus per caerula) RAF Salbani, India. The crew of Liberator VI aircraft KH 210 "R" left Salbani for an operation to bomb gun emplacements at Rangoon, Burma but over the Bay of Bengal, the Liberator's outer-port engine caught fire. The propeller was feathered and bomb-load jettisoned before they reversed course in an attempt to return to base. The aircraft was unable to maintain altitude and the captain gave the ditching warning, but at 200 feet the aircraft rolled, dropped the starboard wing and crashed into the sea, killing 10 of the 12 crew aboard the aircraft

Sergeant Robert Taylor Bell (RAFVR), Flying Officer John Calland (RAFVR), Flight Sergeant Donald Urquhart Cameron (RAFVR), Squadron Leader Gerald Anthony De Souza (RAFVR), Sergeant Laurence Helsby (RAFVR), Flying Officer Brian Hill (RAFVR), Flight Sergeant Donald Tofft Nicolson (RAAF), Wing Commander James Brindley Eric Nicolson VC DFC (3 TAF/HQ) and Pilot Officer Jack Spillard (RAFVR) were all missing, presumed killed in action. The missing have no known grave and they are all commemorated on the Singapore Memorial

Only one body was recovered from the crew members killed in action, Canadian Flight Sergeant Samuel Arthur Doherty (RCAF), the second Wireless Operator, who was buried in Calcutta, India

Two crew members, Flight Sergeant Michael Henry Pullen (RAAF) and Warrant Officer Eric Leslie Kightly (RAFVR) were both injured but survived to be rescued by an Air-Sea Rescue Catalina after clinging to floating pieces of their aircraft wreckage for more than 16 hours

The Liberator in Royal Air Force and Commonwealth Service by James D Oughton with John Hamlin and Andrew Thomas, page 207

General Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database

General Aviation Safety Network

YouTube (19) Eric Kightley, James Nicolson VC Ditching of Liberator KH210 355...

Nicolson VC The full and authorized biography of James Brindley Nicolson, The only pilot in Fighter Command in World War II to be awarded the Victoria Cross by Peter D Mason page 119,120

General Who is Eric L Knightley I Key Aero

Home
Google MapNuneaton, Warwickshire, England
Target
Google MapRangoon (Yangon) Burma (Myanmar) (Rangoon)

Liberator KH210

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