Edmonton, Alberta
Home in Edmonton; enlisted there 26 May 1941. Trained at No.8 BGS (graduated 30 March 1942) and No.2 WS (graduated 28 February 1942). Incident was 23 January 1944.
168 Heavy Transport Squadron, Rockcliffe, Ontario. Fortress aircraft (9203) lost.
Addendum: - Air Force Cross - No.168 Squadron (Canada) - Award effective 5 May 1944 as per Canada Gazette of that date and AFRO 1133/44 dated 26 May 1944. Presented by Governor General at Government House, 4 July 1944. Dickson subsequently missing with No.168 Squadron, 15 December 1944; name on Ottawa Memorial. Incident described occurred 23 January 1944. Although the incident report refers specifically to the captain, Dickson was part of the crew and received his award for the same action. This officer was captain of a Fortress which was proceeding one night recently from Great Britain to Gibraltar, when about 190 miles from base, under very dark conditions in cloud, his aircraft had a violent head-on collision with an unidentified aircraft on 23 January 1944. Despite the fact that two engines were out of commission, all four propellers bent and the aircraft badly damaged, he managed to right it, after falling approximately 2,000 feet. When they were still unable to hold altitude, he directed his second pilot and crewmen to jettison the cargo and all other loose equipment. By strenuous effort and skillful flying, he was able to set course for land. Although flying with a crew previously unknown to him, he guided their efforts with such confidence that every member performed his function in a most exemplary manner. The flight back occupied approximately two hours of instrument flying, during which the aircraft was vibrating terrifically and apparently on the verge of breaking up. By careful use of radio and other aids, an aerodrome was found and a successful landing was made with no further damage to his aircraft. This officer, when faced with an almost unprecedented emergency in the air, did his job and directed his crew in an extremely laudable manner. Detail provided by H. Halliday, Orleans, Ontario.
Dickson, Cecil Alexander (Flying Officer)
Killed in Action 1944-December-15
Service
RCAF
Unit
168 (HT) Sqn- Squadron
Base
RCAF Stn. Rockcliffe, Ontario (Ottawa)
Rank
Flying Officer
Position
WOp-AG
Service Numbers
J/10870
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
www.findagrave.comCrew or Other Personnel
Flying Fortress 9203
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Flying Fortress serial: 9203
The Boeing Flying Fortress B-17
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Competing against Douglas and Martin for a contract to build 200 bombers, the Boeing entry (prototype Model 299/XB-17) outperformed both competitors and exceeded the Air Corps' performance specifications. Although Boeing lost the contract (to the Douglas B-18 Bolo) because the prototype crashed, the Air Corps ordered 13 more B-17s for further evaluation. From its introduction in 1938, the B-17 Flying Fortress evolved through numerous design advances, becoming the third-most produced bomber of all time, behind the four-engined Consolidated B-24 Liberator and the multirole, twin-engined Junkers Ju 88.
The B-17 was primarily employed by the USAAF in the daylight strategic bombing campaign of World War II against German industrial, military and civilian targets. The United States Eighth Air Force, based at many airfields in central, eastern and southern England, and the Fifteenth Air Force, based in Italy, complemented the RAF Bomber Command's night-time area bombing in the Combined Bomber Offensive to help secure air superiority over the cities, factories and battlefields of Western Europe in preparation for the invasion of France in 1944. The B-17 also participated to a lesser extent in the Pacific War, early in World War II, where it conducted raids against Japanese shipping and airfields.
From its prewar inception, the USAAC (by June 1941, the USAAF) promoted the aircraft as a strategic weapon; it was a relatively fast, high-flying, long-range bomber with heavy defensive armament at the expense of bombload. It developed a reputation for toughness based upon stories and photos of badly damaged B-17s safely returning to base. The B-17 dropped more bombs than any other U.S. aircraft in World War II. Of approximately 1.5 million tons of bombs dropped on Nazi Germany and its occupied territories by U.S. aircraft, over 640,000 tons were dropped from B-17s. In addition to its role as a bomber, the B-17 was also employed as a transport, antisubmarine aircraft, drone controller, and search-and-rescue aircraft.
The RCAF acquired six used B-17E and F aircraft from the United States in 1943. Stripped of all armament and armour, the aircraft were employed by the RCAF's No. 168 Squadron on a trans-Atlantic mail service vital to the morale of overseas forces. The aircraft were progressively modified and improved for service in this transport role, and some aircraft were subsequently stripped of paint and appeared in a polished, bare metal finish. No. 168 Squadron delivered more than two million pounds of mail between December 1943 and March 1946.
As of October 2019, nine aircraft remain airworthy, though none of them were ever flown in combat. Dozens more are in storage or on static display. The oldest of these is a D-series flown in combat in the Pacific on the first day of World War II. Wikipedia and RCAF
B.17 Flying Fortress
Wikipedia B 17 Bomber
Harold A Skaarup Web PageAircraft Images
Flying Fortress 9203
Flying Fortress Mk. IIIA 9203
Ex USAAF B-17F-45-VE, serial number 42-6101. Ordered on Purchase Order CA 000115. Taken on strength on 6 December 1943. Used by No. 168 Heavy Transport Squadron, Rockcliffe, for mail flights to Europe and Africa. First squadron trip to Egypt completed on 3 January 1944. Lost at sea between Morocco and Azores with 5 crew and 3 passengers, only a few mail bags ever found.1943-12-06 Taken on Strength 2022-02-07
1944-December-15 Accident: 168 HTS Loc: Azores Names: Bruce | Dickson | Hillcoat | Labrish | Pullar | Ruttledge | Sharpe | Wilson
1945-06-07 Struck off Strength Struck off, having been lost since 15 December 1944, see comments. 2019-08-20
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