Croft, Walter Steven (Leading Aircraftman)

Killed in Flying Accident 1942-December-21

Male Head

Birth Date: 1911

Born:

Parents: Dr. J. T. H. Croft & Mrs. Croft. of Foleshill, Warwickshire, England.

Spouse:

Home:

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: unkown date

Service

RAFVR

Unit

7 AOS- Air Observer School

Base

RCAF Stn. Portage la Prairie, Manitoba

Rank

Leading Aircraftman

Position

student navigator

Service Numbers

1575818

Final Burial
Google MapHillside Cemetery
Lot 366 Block 2 Grave 3

Took off from 7AOS on a cross-country navigation exercise.

Aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances. All on board were KIFA>

Killed: LAC Walter Steven Croft, RAF KIFA Hillside Cemetery, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Lot 366 Block 2 Grave 3. Flight Sergeant Peter Douglas McIntyre, RCAF KIFA Hillside Cemetery, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Lot 367 Block 2 Grave 1. LAC William Edward Weatherley, RAF KIFA Hillside Cemetery, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Lot 366 Block 2 Grave 4. Civilian C B Barber, RCAF? passenger KIFA.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)

Crew or Other Personnel

Anson 6234

Civilian C B Barber RCAF

Civilian Barber, C B (RCAF)
pilot
Killed in Flying Accident
1942-December-21
cemetery unknown

Leading Aircraftman Walter Steven Croft RAFVR

Leading Aircraftman Croft, Walter Steven (RAFVR)
student navigator
Killed in Flying Accident
1942-December-21
Hillside Cemetery, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada

Flight Sergeant Peter Douglas McIntyre RCAF

Flight Sergeant McIntyre, Peter Douglas (RCAF)
Wireless Air Gunner
Killed in Flying Accident
1942-December-21
Hillside Cemetery, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada

Leading Aircraftman William Edward Weatherley RAFVR

Leading Aircraftman Weatherley, William Edward (RAFVR)
student navigator
Killed in Flying Accident
1942-December-21
Hillside Cemetery, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada

Anson serial: 6234

Avro Anson Mk. V
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
The Museum's Anson Mk. V was built by MacDonald Brothers in Winnipeg in 1944. It flew with No. 7 Photographic Wing and No. 414 Squadron in Ottawa on photo survey work until the late 1940s. In 1956, it was purchased by INCO and used for mineral surveying until 1980, when it was donated to the Museum. The exterior is painted in the yellow colour common to all BCATP trainers and is in its same wartime RCAF markings.

The Avro Anson was known by a number of nicknames including "Faithful Annie" or "Flying Greenhouse". It was the first aircraft to be flown by the Royal Canadian Air Force to have a retractable undercarriage, which was a comparative novelty in 1936. In 1940, a Canadian government owned company, Federal Aircraft Limited, was created in Montreal to manufacture the Anson for Canadian use. Nearly 3,000 Anson aircraft were produced and, in the early days of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), the Anson was the standard trainer for many pilots, observers (navigators), wireless operators and bomb aimers. More than 20,000 aircrew received training on the Anson. In Canadian service, the aircraft was substantially re-designed with the substitution of North American engines and many other airframe and equipment changes. Harold Skaarup web pages

unvetted Source Harold A Skaarup Web Page

YouTube Avro Anson History

YouTube Avro Anson Construction

Aircraft Images

Anson 6234

Anson Mk. I 6234

Ex RAF N9771. To No. 2 Training Command on 9 December 1940. To MacDonald Brothers on 5 March 1941 for installation of winterization kit, quoted cost was $558.84. Back to No. 2 Training Command for use by No. 5 Air Observer School at Winnipeg. To MacDonald Brothers on 21 May 1942, for repairs, modifications, and installation of instruments. To No. 2 Training Command on 7 July 1942, for use by No. 7 Air Observer School at Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.

1940-12-04 Taken on Strength MacDonald Brothers Aircraft 2019-08-20
1942-December-21 Accident: 7 Air Observer School Loc: 4½ Mile West Of 7 AOS Names: Barber | Croft | Mcintyre | Weatherley
1943-04-20 Struck off Strength Struck off, scrapped by No. 7 AOS 2019-08-20

Unit Desciption

7 AOS (7 Air Observer School)

Air Observers were later called "navigators". For recruits in this stream, the training path after ITS was 8 weeks at an Air Observer School (AOS), 1 month at a Bombing & Gunnery School, and finally 1 month at a Navigation School. The Air Observer schools were operated by civilians under contract to the RCAF. For example, Nos. 7, 8, and 9 were run by CP Airlines. However, the instructors were RCAF. The basic navigation techniques throughout the war years were dead reckoning and visual pilotage, and the tools were the aeronautical chart, magnetic compass, watch, trip log, pencil, Douglas protractor, and Dalton Navigational Computer. They trained in the Avro Anson.
NO7 AOS Course

Royal Canadian Air Force RCAF.info - RCAF Station Portage la Prairie Manitoba

unvetted Source Manitoba Historical Society - Portage Airport

Museum Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum - 7 AOS History

unvetted Source University of Alberta -Souvenir History Of 7 AOS

Project 44 BCATP

unvetted Source Project 44 BCATP

YouTube YouTube - Valour Canada Aerodrome of Democracy