Cooke, James Frederick (Pilot Officer)

Killed in Flying Accident 1944-November-11

Pilot Officer James Frederick Cooke RAFVR

Birth Date: unkown date

Born:

Home:

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: Unknown

Service

RAFVR

Unit

5 OTU- Operational Training Unit

Base

RCAF Stn. Abbotsford, British Columbia

Rank

Pilot Officer

Position

Pilot Officer

Service Numbers

165715

Temporary Burial
Google MapBuried at Crash Site
Final Burial
Google MapCrash Site
Panel 3 Column 2

Aircraft reported missing on the morning of 1944-11-11, and wreckage was not found for a year. It was located on a mountain on Vancouver Island at the east end of Nitinat Lake. The aircraft carried the code "AT" when it crashed. All crew aboard were killed.

Killed includes Cooke, only Canadian: Pilot Officer Frederick Edward Brown RAF KIFA Ottawa Memorial Panel 3. Column 2. Sergeant Frederick Douglas Hafford RAF KIFA Ottawa Memorial Panel 3. Column 3. Sergeant Sidney Helper RAF KIFA Ottawa Memorial Panel 3. Column 3. Sergeant Glyn Ivor Jones RAF KIFA Ottawa Memorial Panel 3. Column 3. Flying Officer John Victor Kingdon RAF KIFA Ottawa Memorial Panel 3. Column 2. Sergeant Thomas MacDonald RAF KIFA Ottawa Memorial Panel 3. Column 3. Sergeant Ronald May RAF KIFA Ottawa Memorial Panel 3. Column 3. Flying Officer Morris Morganstein RAF KIA Ottawa Memorial Panel 3. Column 2. Sergeant David Peggie Westwater RAF KIFA Ottawa Memorial Panel 3. Column 3.

Other BC Crashes and Losses notes they were buried at the crash site. (www.pacificwrecks.com). Cemetery block information refers to where their names are listed on Ottawa Memorial wall.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

www.findagrave.com

Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)

Liberator serial: KH108

(DND Photos via James Craik) (Source Harold A Skaarup Web Page)
Consolidated Liberator G.R. Mk. VIII, RCAF (Serial No. 11130) ex-USAAF Consolidated (Vultee) B-24L Liberator USAAF (44-50154)
ex-RAF (Serial No. 5009), ex-Indian Air Force (Serial No. HE773).
Currently preserved in the Canada Aviation and Space Museum Ottawa Ontario.

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


YouTube Liberator bomber

Wikipedia Wikipedia Liberator bomber

unvetted Source Harold A Skaarup Web Page

Unit Desciption

5 OTU (5 Operational Training Unit)

The Operational Training Unit (OTU) was the last stop for aircrew trainees. They spent 8 to 14 weeks learning to fly operational aircraft (Hawker Hurricane or Fairey Swordfish, e.g.). The instructors had experience in actual operations, and often were posted to OTUs after their operational tour.
NO5 OTU Boundary Bay
5 Operational Training Unit was established at RCAF Station Boundary Bay, British Columbia. The former station is now the Boundary Bay Airport. More information on the RCAF Station at Boundary Bay can be found at

Royal Canadian Air Force RCAF.Info

A Detachment of 5 Operational Training Unit was established at RCAF Station Abbotsford, British Columbia. The former Station is now the Abbotsford International Airport. More information on the RCAF Station at Abbotsford can be found at

Royal Canadian Air Force RCAF.Info

Project 44 BCATP

unvetted Source Project 44 BCATP

YouTube YouTube - Valour Canada Aerodrome of Democracy