Hill, Arthur William David
Killed in Flying Accident 1945-06-01
Birth Date: 1924
Born:
Son of William Bucknell Hill and Frances Irene Hill, of Falmouth, Cornwall, England.
Home:
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: Unknown
Service
RAFVR
Unit
5 OTU- Operational Training Unit
Base
RCAF Stn. Abbotsford, British Columbia
Rank
Flying Officer
Position
Flying Officer
Service Numbers
164394
First Burial
Ottawa Memorial, Ottawa, Ontario
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
www.findagrave.com
Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)This incident involved multiple aircraft:
- Liberator B. Mk. VI Serial: KK241
All the above aircraft in the above list are referenced in this report.
Liberator KK241
Consolidated Liberator B-24 / F-7
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
Liberator bomber
Wikipedia Liberator bomber 
Harold A Skaarup Web Page 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.
RCAF.Info Liberator KK241
Liberator B. Mk. VI KK241
Ex USAAF B-24J-95-CF serial 44-44312, ex RAF KK241. Delivered to stored reserve, issued to No. 5 Operational Training Unit, Boundary Bay, BC on 21 May 1945. Reported missing on cross country flight on 1 June 1945. Ownership to No. 3 Repair Depot on 5 June 1945, for write off. Wreckage later found on Mount Welch, BC (East of Chilliwack, now known as Welch Peak).1944-11-23 Taken on Strength Western Air Command 2019-08-20
1945-June-01 Accident: 5 Operational Training Unit Loc: Unknown Names: Aldridge | Broadbent | Dale | Drummond | Gibbons | Hammond | Hill | Langlands | Long | Murray | Swatton
1945-07-06 Struck off Strength 2020-09-28