Birth Date: 1922-July-01
Born:
Son of Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Batley, of Lowerhouses, Huddersfield, England.
Home:
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: Unknown
Decorations: DFC
Service
RAF
Unit
5 OTU- Operational Training Unit
Base
RCAF Stn. Abbotsford, British Columbia
Rank
Flying Officer
Position
Flying Officer
Service Numbers
176230
5 Operational Training Unit - RCAF Stn. Abbotsford, British Columbia. Died when Liberator KG 880 (stationary) and Liberator KH 107 (on takeoff run on incorrect runway) collided on the runway at Abbotsford.
crew losses: On KG880: 4 RAF crewmen, 3 KIFA, 1 injured but survived. On KH107: 5 RAF crewmen, all KIFA.
All the above aircraft in the above list are referenced in this report.
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber flown by the RCAF during the Second Word War. It was designed with a shoulder-mounted, high aspect ratio Davis wing which gave the Liberator a high cruise speed, long range and the ability to carry a heavy bomb load. Early RAF Liberators were the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean as a matter of routine. In comparison with its contemporaries the B-24 was relatively difficult to fly and had poor low speed performance; it also had a lower ceiling compared with the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Of the roughly 18,500 B-24s built in the USA during the war, 148 were flown by the RCAF on long range anti-submarine patrols, with the B-24 serving an instrumental role in closing the Mid-Atlantic gap in the Battle of the Atlantic. The RCAF also flew a few B-24s post war as transports.
Roughly half of all (RAF) Liberator crews in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theatre were Canadian by the end of the war. John Muir of Vancouver flew the longest mission of the war: 24hrs, 10mins from Ceylon to Burma and back. (Kyle Hood) Harold Skaarup web page
Hazelwood Cemetery
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
www.findagrave.com
Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)
Liberator bomber
Wikipedia Liberator bomber
Harold A Skaarup Web Page
RCAF.Info