Crosthwaite, Thomas Banks Rendell
Killed in Flying Accident 1943-11-26
Birth Date: 1924
Born:
Mr & Mrs T B Crosthwaite, of Bournemouth, Hampshire England.
Home:
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: Unknown
Service
RAFVR
Unit
5 BGS- Bombing & Gunnery School
Base
RCAF Stn. Dafoe, Saskatchewan
Rank
Leading Aircraftman
Position
Leading Aircraftman
Service Numbers
1851121
First Burial
Municipal Cemetery, Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Canada
LAC J Barnes and Leading Aircraftman T Crosthwaite (both RAF) & Sergeant P E Galgan and Flight Sergeant W L Hill (both RCAF) took off from Dafoe in Anson 11287 and were engaged in a wind velocity exercise.
All were killed when Anson aircraft 11287 caught fire and crashed eight miles north of Leroy, Saskatchewan.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
www.findagrave.com
Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)This incident involved multiple aircraft:
- Anson Mk. II Serial: 11287
All the above aircraft in the above list are referenced in this report.
Anson 11287
Avro Anson
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
Harold A Skaarup Web Page
Avro Anson History5 BGS (5 Bomb and Gunnery School)
The Bombing and Gunnery School (B&GS) offered instruction in the techniques of bomb aiming and aerial machine gunnery to Air Observers, Bomb Aimers, and Wireless Air Gunners. These schools required large areas to accommodate their bombing and gunnery ranges, and were often located near water. The Avro Anson, Fairey Battle, Bristol Bolingbroke, and Westland Lysander were the standard aircraft used at B&GS schools.
RCAF.info - RCAF Station Dafoe SK
Saskatchewan Virtual War Memorial - 5 BGS History
Vintage Wings Ghosts Of Saskatchewan
Anson 11287
Anson Mk. II 11287
Delivered to user unit 18 December 1942. With No. 5 Bombing & Gunnery School at Dafoe, Saskatchewan when it crashed and was destroyed by post impact fire on 26 November 1943 after crashing 8 miles north of Leroy, Saskatchewan. Leading Aircraftman J. Barnes and Leading Aircraftman T. Crosthwaite, both RAF, plus Sgt. P.E. Galgan and Flight Sergeant W.L. Hill, both RCAF, killed. Allocated to No. 8 Repair Depot on 3 December 1943 for write off.1943-November-26 Accident: 5 Bomb & Gunnery School Loc: Leroy Names: Barnes | Crosthwaite | Galgan | Hill
1943-12-11 Taken on Strength No. 2 Training Command 2020-10-11
1944-01-12 Struck off Strength 2019-08-20