Bellis, Robert Samuel

Killed in Flying Accident 1945-03-27

Birth Date: 1925

Born:

Son of Edward Parry Bellis and Mary Hannah Bellis, of Lancaster, Ontario, Canada.

Home: Lancaster, Ontario

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: Unknown

Service

RCAF

Unit

56 OTU- Operational Training Unit (RAF)

Base

RAF Sutton Bridge

Rank

Flying Officer

Position

Flying Officer

Service Numbers

J/44062
Prev: R/224488

Home
Google MapLancaster, Ontario
First Burial
Google MapStonefall Cemetery, Wetherby Road, Harrogate, Yorkshire, Uk
56 Operational Training Unit (Prelude To Proficiency) Typhoon Ib aircraft MN 532 crashed at Carbide, Scotland. Flying Officer RS Bellis (RCAF) was killed when he flew into the south eastern flank of Stony Hill, near Muirkirk in Ayrshire. The wrecked aircraft lay undiscovered until the 30th March. On the 3rd April Flying Officer Bellis was laid to rest at Stonefall Cemetery in Harrogate, along with another airman from No.56 OTU who had died as the result of a separate flying accident on the 27th March. In 1982 the Napier Sabre engine from MN532 was recovered by the Dumfries & Galloway Aviation Museum, this is engine on display in the former control tower at Dumfries, Scotland.(www.peakdistrictaircrashes.co.uk)

Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)

Typhoon MN532

Flying Officer Bellis, Robert Samuel (RCAF)
Pilot
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-March-27
Stonefall Cemetery, Wetherby Road, Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK

Hawker Typhoon

Source: Harold A Skaarup Web Page (IWM Photo, MH 6864)
Hawker Typhoon Mk. IB (Serial No. RB402), coded 5V-P, of No. 439 Squadron, RCAF, landing at airfield B100, Goch, Germany, ca. 1944
60f818241461fc6f15e7b1e5_Hawker-Typhoon-Mk-IB---RB402--5V-P--of-No--439-Squadron-RCAF--landing-at-B100--Goch--Germany---1945---RCAF-Photo.jpg image not found

The Hawker Typhoon (Tiffy in RAF slang) is a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane but several design problems were encountered and it never completely satisfied this requirement.

The Typhoon was originally designed to mount twelve .303 inch (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns and be powered by the latest 2,000 hp engines. Its service introduction in mid-1941 was plagued with problems and for several months the aircraft faced a doubtful future. When the Luftwaffe brought the formidable Focke-Wulf Fw 190 into service in 1941, the Typhoon was the only RAF fighter capable of catching it at low altitudes; as a result it secured a new role as a low-altitude interceptor.

The Typhoon became established in roles such as night-time intruder and long-range fighter. From late 1942 the Typhoon was equipped with bombs and from late 1943 RP-3 rockets were added to its armoury. With those weapons and its four 20mm Hispano autocannons, the Typhoon became one of the Second World War's most successful ground-attack aircraft.

By 1943, the RAF needed a ground attack fighter more than a "pure" fighter and the Typhoon was suited to the role (and less-suited to the pure fighter role than competing aircraft such as the Spitfire Mk IX). The powerful engine allowed the aircraft to carry a load of up to two 1,000 pounds (450 kg) bombs, equal to the light bombers of only a few years earlier. The bomb-equipped aircraft were nicknamed "Bombphoons" and entered service with No. 181 Squadron, formed in September 1942.Wikipedia

Wikipedia Wikipedia Hawker Typhoon

General Harold A Skaarup Web Page

YouTube YouTube Hawker Typhoon in action