Home in Edmonton; enlisted there 7 November 1940. Trained at No1 ITS (graduated 14 March 1941), No10 EFTS (graduated 16 May 1941), and No2 SFTS (graduated 8 August 1941). Killed in Action 13 August 1944; buried in France.
441 Silver Fox Squadron (Stalk And Kill) RAF Digby, Spitfire LF IX aircraft NH 178 was shot down by flak during an armed evening reconnaissance sortie to Flers, NW France. The spitfire spun in and crashed east of Vire, France
Flight Lieutenant WWL Brown MiD (RCAF) was killed.
Addendum: Mention in Despatches 441 Squadron (deceased) Award effective 1 January 1946 as per London Gazette of that date and AFRO 418/46 dated 18 April 1946. Credited with a share of a FW190 destroyed (22 June 1944) and two FW190s destroyed (17 July 1944). Certificate sent to his mother, 1 November 1948. No citation. Detail provided by H Halliday, Orleans, Ontario and aircrewremembered.com
Brown, William Wood Lindsay (Flight Lieutenant)
Killed in Action 1944-August-13
Birth Date: 1916-August-18
Born:
Parents: Son of Thomas Wood Brown and Nellie Brown, of Edmonton, Alberta.
Spouse:
Home: Edmonton, Alberta
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: unkown date
Service
RCAF
Unit
441 Sqn- Squadron
Stalk and Kill
Base
RAF B.19 Lingevres, France
Rank
Flight Lieutenant
Position
Pilot
Service Numbers
J/16571
Home
Edmonton, Alberta
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Finadagrave.com
Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)Unit Desciption
441 Sqn Stalk and Kill ("Silver Fox")
History of the Squadron before and during World War II (Aircraft: Spitfires of several Mks, Mustang III)
No 441 (F) Squadron was formed in Sydney, NS as No. 125 (F) Squadron RCAF on 20 April 1942. It flew Hawker Hurricane aircraft on East Coast air defence. It was the fourth of six home squadrons transferred overseas without its aircraft, and was re-designated No. 441 (F) Squadron RCAF at Digby, Lincolnshire, UK on February 8 1944. It flew Spitfire aircraft in offensive and defensive operations in the preparation for D-Day, and afterwards gave close support to the ground troops. It moved with the ground troops through France and Belgium, and returned to the UK in October 1944 and flew from various bases there until the end of hostilities in Europe. In May 1945 the squadron was re-equipped with Mustang aircraft, to provide fighter cover for long-range bomber groups, but were never operational in this role. The squadron was disbanded at Molesworth, Huntingdonshire, UK on August 7, 1945.
In the course of operations, the squadron flew 3148 sorties for the loss of16 pilots, of whom 2 were killed, 7 presumed dead and 6 POWs. They accounted for 56 enemy aircraft confirmed destroyed and 12 damaged. In ground attacks they were credited with 500-plus vehicles. The squadron had 3 aces: Flight Lieutenant D.H. Kimball, DFC; Flight Lieutenant G.E. Mott, DFC and Flight Lieutenant T.A. Brannigan DFC. The squadron amassed 9 DFCs, 1 Croix de Guerre (France) and 3 MiDs. Battle Honours were: Defence of Britain 1945, Fortress Europe 1944, France and Germany 1944-45, Normandy 1944, Arnhem, Walcheren.Wikipedia, Kostenuk and Griffin
Maps for Movements of 441 Squadron 1944-45
MAP 1: 441 Squadron Movements 1944-45 (right-click on image to display enlarged in new tab)
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MAP 2: 441 Squadron Movements 1944-45 (Detail of Map 1)
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MAP 3: 441 Squadron Movements in Europe 1944-45
441 Squadron History Summary 1944-45
441 Squadron History Summary 1944-45 Page 2
History of the Squadron Post-WWII (Aircraft: Vampire III, Sabre 2, 5, 6, Starfighter, Hornet)
No 441 Squadron reformed at RCAF Station St. Hubert on 1 March 1951, flying de Havilland Vampire III and later Canadair Sabre Mks. 2, 5 and 6. They joined No 1 (Fighter) Wing, then located at RAF North Luffenham, in Rutland, England on 13 February 1952. The squadron was temporarily situated at 3 Wing Zweibrücken, Germany on 21 December 1954, before moving to their intended destination, RCAF Station Marville, France . It was selected as one of the eight squadrons to be re-equipped with the CF-104 Starfighter, so it was deactivated on 1 September 1963 at Marville and then reactivated (reformed) as No 441 Strike/Attack squadron on 15 September. It then moved with 1 Wing to CFB Lahr, Germany in April 1967. On 1 February 1968 the squadron was integrated into the Canadian Armed Forces. In 1971 the squadron moved to CFB Baden-Soellingen and changed its name to 441 Tactical Fighter Squadron. They disbanded again in 1986 and then finally reformed at 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alberta on 26 June 1986, flying CF-18 Hornet aircraft. The squadron flew mostly close air support and battlefield air interdiction missions over Kosovo and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, under Task Force Aviano, 5 Allied Tactical Air Force from 12 April to 10 June 1999.
On 6 July 2006, No 441 Squadron was finally stood down (disbanded), and its crews amalgamated with 416 Tactical Fighter Squadron at CFB Cold Lake and re-formed as 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron. The squadron's colours and battle honours have been placed in Sydney, Nova Scotia, where it first operated.