Flight Lieutenant JL Baillargeon (RCAF) and Pilot Officer AWJ Drennan (RCAF) were missing, presumed killed in action
Baillargeon, Joseph Louis (Flying Officer)
Killed in Action 1944-August-17
Birth Date: 1917-October-31
Born: Gainsborough, Estevan Census Division, Saskatchewan, Canada
Parents: Son of Edmund Oliver Baillargeon and Elisabeth (nee Yuill) Baillargeon of Windsor, Ontario
Spouse:
Home: Windsor, Ontario
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: unkown date
Service
RCAF
Unit
433 (B) Sqn- Squadron
Qui S'y Frotte S'y Pique Who opposes it gets pricked
Base
RAF Skipton-on-Swale
Rank
Flying Officer
Position
Bomb Aimer
Service Numbers
J/36230
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Finadagrave.com
Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)Crew or Other Personnel
Halifax MZ899
Mission
Halifax B.Mk.III MZ899
Minelaying Kiel Bay Germany (Radishes) 1944-August-16 to 1944-August-17
433 (B) Sqn (RCAF) RAF Skipton-on-Swale
From the monthly ORB Summary:
Dull day, slight showers, cleared later in the day. Fifteen aircraft detailed for operations. It was to be extensive program of operations in the Forget-Me-Not area. At the time of the gardening there was an attack being made on Kiel. This helped the crews who had to put their vegetables in the harbour area. Thin layer cloud at 17,000 ft with 3/50th broken cloud at 4,000 ft not enough to interfere with laying vegetables. No opposition from fighters reported, moderate to heavy flak encountered. Three aircraft "I" captained by J/21433 Flight Lieutenant JC Valk, "P" captained by J/25000 Flying Officer JAW Morgan and "D" captained by R/179479 Flight Sergeant JGM Savard failed to return from this operation. For the first time we had two non-starters.
Savard's bomber was flying at 17,700 feet when it suddenly came under fire from an enemy night fighter. The enemy night fighter pilot was Oberleutnant Arnold "Fritz" Brinkmann flying a Junkers Ju 88 G-5 based at Westerland on the island of Sylt. He was with 8 Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 Squadron. Brinkmann was twenty-nine. He is believed to have survived the war with a total of sixteen bombers shot down. Halifax MZ 899 crashed into the sea with all seven crew members killed in action
excerpt from "A Halifax: Story of MZ899" by David J Bercuson, full document attached
Nachtjagd Combat Archive 1944 Part 4 24 July - 15 October by Theo Boiten, page 45
Pilot Officer Joseph G. M. Savard (all had been promoted after their deaths) washed ashore in Magleby parish on the island of Langeland, Denmark and was handed over to the Wehrmacht. He was laid to rest in Magleby Cemetery on 12 September 1944. Pilot Officer Bernard Bercuson was found near Lindelse on Langleland and was buried beside Savard on 19 September 1944. They are still together. Pilot Officer Maurice E. Fairall washed ashore on the island of Bogø and laid to rest in Bogø Cemetery on 11 October 1944. Sergeant George H. Lilley was found at Asserballeskov on the island of Als on 17 September 1944 and was buried in Aabenraa on 19 September 1944. Flying Officer Henry Grimble, Flying Officer Joseph L. Baillargeon and Sergeant Alfred W. J. Drennan were never found and their names are commemorated on the Runnymede Air Forces Memorial in Surrey, England. Excerpt from "A Halifax: The Story of MZ 899" by David J Bercuson, full document attached
There were three 433 Squadron Halifax III aircraft lost on this operation. Please see aircraft serial numbers MZ 808 BM-P and MZ 863 BM-I for information on these aircraft and crews
Final Story of Crew of MZ899 by David J Bercuson
433 Squadron Halifax III MZ899 BM-D P/O. Savard, RAF Skipton-on-...
Halifax BIII MZ899 crashed in the Baltic Sea southwest of the island o...
Unit Desciption
433 (B) Sqn Qui S'y Frotte S'y Pique ("Porcupine")
History of the Squadron during World War II (Aircraft: Halifax III, Lancaster I, III)
433 Squadron was the 14th and last bomber squadron of the RCAF to be formed overseas in WWII. It was formed in September 1943 as a unit of No 6 (RCAF) Group of Bomber Command. It flew from Skipton-on-Swale, Yorkshire, UK 
for the whole of its operational career. With the squadron code letters BM, it originally flew Handley Page Halifax Mk III heavy bombers on its bombing missions, but these were replaced by Lancaster Mks I and III in January 1945. After the cessation of hostilities the squadron was retained in England as a unit of No 1 Group RAF from August 1945, and took part in the airlift of PoWs back to England (Operation EXODUS) and the bringing back of troops from Italy (Operation DODGE). The squadron was disbanded at Skipton in October 1945.
In the course of its operations, the squadron flew 209 missions involving 2316 individual sorties for the loss of 38 aircraft , dropping 7486 tons. Awards to crew members included 132 DFCs, 2 Bars to DFC, 9 DFMs, 1 BEM, 14 MiDs and 1 Air Medal (USA). Battle Honours were: English Channel and North Sea 1944-45, Baltic 1944-45, Fortress Europe 1944, France and Germany 1944-45, Biscay Ports 1944, Ruhr 1944-45, Berlin 1944, German Ports 1944-45, Normandy 1944, Rhine, Biscay 1944.Wikipedia, Kostenuk and Griffin
Squadron History (Bomber Command Museum PDF)
Maps for Movements of 433 Squadron 1943-45
MAP 1: 433 Squadron Bases 1943-45 (marked in green). Right-click on image to display enlarged in new tab
433 Squadron History Summary 1943-45
History of the Squadron Post-WWII (Aircraft: Canuck, Freedom Fighter, Hornet)
The squadron re-formed as an All-Weather (Fighter) unit at CFB Cold Lake, Alberta , on 15 November 1954, as one of nine CF-100 squadrons to defend Canadian airspace. It moved to CFB North Bay, Ontario , in October 1955, the squadron flew CF-100 Canuck aircraft on North American air defence. However, in 1961 the Government decided to reduce the number of CF-100 squadrons from nine to five and 433 Squadron was dissolved for a second time on July 31st, 1961.
Reformed post-unification on 15 August 1968, as No. 433 Escadrille tactique de combat it was a French language squadron of Mobile Command based at CFB Bagotville, Quebec . The squadron flew the CF-5 Freedom Fighter in the tactical and reconnaissance role until it converted to the CF-188 Hornet fighter jets in 1984. The squadron was deactivated in 2005, and its assets and personnel amalgamated into 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron. Besides being originally designated as one of two bases of NATO's Rapid Reaction Force, the 433 Squadron was entrusted a NORAD role in December 1988. The 433 Squadron members in Bagotville played an important role in the Gulf War conflicts, better known under the names Operation FRICTION in 1991 and Operation ECHO in 1999. By September 2001, the Squadron was actively participating with NORAD in the fight against terrorism through Operation NOBLE EAGLE. On July 14th, 2005, the standards of the Squadron were once again laid aside almost 62 years after its initial formation. .Wikipedia
The squadron was reactivated on 9 June 2015, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on 15 September 2018.
Halifax MZ899 B.Mk.III - Minelaying Kiel Bay Germany (Radishes) - 1944-08-16 to 1944-08-17
Squadron: 433 (B) Sqn (RCAF)
Start Date: 1944-08-16
Completion Date: 1944-08-17
Mission: Minelaying
Operation: unspecified
Target City: Kiel Bay Germany (Radishes)
Target Specific:
Base: RAF Skipton-on-Swale
Take Off Time: 21:34:00
Squadron Code: BM-D
Radio Code:
Return Base:
Return Time:
Crash City: Langeland Island Denmark
Crash Specifics:
Crash Latitude: 54.74190399
Crash Longitude: 10.51868692
Crash Reason: fighter
Flak Battery:
Enemy Claim: Oberleutnant Arnold Brinkmann of 8/NLG3
War Diary Unavailable
6 Bomber Group August 16/17, 1944
144 Halifaxes from 408, 415, 420, 424, 425, 426, 427, 429, 431, 432, and 434 squadron were ordered to attack the port city of Kiel. The crews were over the target at between 16,000 and 20,000 feet, releasing 310,000 lbs of high explosives and 545,000 lbs of incendiaries. According to reports the dock area and ship-building firms were damaged.
While some of the group was attacking Kiel, 419 and 428 sent 27 Lancasters on an attack at Stettin. The crews were over the target at between 17,000and 18,000 feet, releasing 50,000 lbs of high explosives and 150,000 lbs of incendiaries on the port and dock area. According to reports, it was an accurate attack.
While most of the group was off to Kiel and Stettin, 18 Halifaxes from 429 and 433 squadrons were ordered on a mining operation to Kiel Bay.The crews were over the garden at 14,000 feet, sowing 54@1500 lb mines. Richard Koval (6bombergroup.ca)
From the monthly ORB Summary:
Dull day, slight showers, cleared later in the day. Fifteen aircraft detailed for operations. It was to be extensive program of operations in the Forget-Me-Not area. At the time of the gardening there was an attack being made on Kiel. This helped the crews who had to put their vegetables in the harbour area. Thin layer cloud at 17,000 ft with 3/50th broken cloud at 4,000 ft not enough to interfere with laying vegetables. No opposition from fighters reported, moderate to heavy flak encountered. Three aircraft "I" captained by J/21433 Flight Lieutenant JC Valk, "P" captained by J/25000 Flying Officer JAW Morgan and "D" captained by R/179479 Flight Sergeant JGM Savard failed to return from this operation. For the first time we had two non-starters.
Savard's bomber was flying at 17,700 feet when it suddenly came under fire from an enemy night fighter. The enemy night fighter pilot was Oberleutnant Arnold "Fritz" Brinkmann flying a Junkers Ju 88 G-5 based at Westerland on the island of Sylt. He was with 8 Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 Squadron. Brinkmann was twenty-nine. He is believed to have survived the war with a total of sixteen bombers shot down. Halifax MZ 899 crashed into the sea with all seven crew members killed in action
excerpt from "A Halifax: Story of MZ899" by David J Bercuson, full document attached
Nachtjagd Combat Archive 1944 Part 4 24 July - 15 October by Theo Boiten, page 45
Pilot Officer Joseph G. M. Savard (all had been promoted after their deaths) washed ashore in Magleby parish on the island of Langeland, Denmark and was handed over to the Wehrmacht. He was laid to rest in Magleby Cemetery on 12 September 1944. Pilot Officer Bernard Bercuson was found near Lindelse on Langleland and was buried beside Savard on 19 September 1944. They are still together. Pilot Officer Maurice E. Fairall washed ashore on the island of Bogø and laid to rest in Bogø Cemetery on 11 October 1944. Sergeant George H. Lilley was found at Asserballeskov on the island of Als on 17 September 1944 and was buried in Aabenraa on 19 September 1944. Flying Officer Henry Grimble, Flying Officer Joseph L. Baillargeon and Sergeant Alfred W. J. Drennan were never found and their names are commemorated on the Runnymede Air Forces Memorial in Surrey, England. Excerpt from "A Halifax: The Story of MZ 899" by David J Bercuson, full document attached
There were three 433 Squadron Halifax III aircraft lost on this operation. Please see aircraft serial numbers MZ 808 BM-P and MZ 863 BM-I for information on these aircraft and crews
Final Story of Crew of MZ899 by David J Bercuson
433 Squadron Halifax III MZ899 BM-D P/O. Savard, RAF Skipton-on-...
Halifax BIII MZ899 crashed in the Baltic Sea southwest of the island o...