Birth Date: 1922-July-01
Born:
Parents: Son of Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Batley, of Lowerhouses, Huddersfield, England.
Spouse:
Home:
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: unkown date
Service
RAF
Unit
5 OTU- Operational Training Unit
Base
RCAF Stn. Abbotsford, British Columbia
Rank
Flying Officer
Position
pilot
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.
This accident involved 2 aircraft on 1945-July-03. They are: Liberator s/n KG880, Liberator s/n KH107.
This accident involved 15 people. Allen AK, Batley T, Brandon DF, Gunter PF, Morris GW, Murphy JW, Sinclair JA, Suggate AC, Thomas JE, Avery RH, Brown GR, Elding GH, Scarborough C, Kennedy T, Whitaker AG
This accident had 8 fatalities. Sergeant John William Murphy RAF Killed in Flying Accident service no:1083884 Liberator KG880, Sergeant Robert Hardy Avery RAFVR Killed in Flying Accident service no:1672928 Liberator KG880, Sergeant John Evan Thomas RAFVR Killed in Flying Accident service no:1836183 Liberator KG880,Flying Officer Arthur Kenneth Allan RAFVR Killed in Flying Accident service no:167796 Liberator KH107, Flying Officer Peter Foley Gunter RAFVR Killed in Flying Accident service no:188973 Liberator KH107, Sergeant Alfred Cecil Suggate RAFVR Killed in Flying Accident service no:1607162 Liberator KH107, Flight Lieutenant John Allen Sinclair RAFVR Killed in Flying Accident service no:110579 Liberator KH107, Flying Officer Garnet Wilfred Morris RAFVR Killed in Flying Accident service no:156771 Liberator KH107
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