Birth Date: 1918-April-14
Born: Toronto, Ontario
Parents: Son of George Wellington and Rita (nee Strahmayer) McGill of Toronto, Ontario.
Spouse:
Home: Toronto, Ontario
Enlistment: Toronto, Ontario
Enlistment Date: 1940-September-03
Service
RCAF
Unit
103 Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Noli Me Tangere Touch me not
Base
Rank
Flight Lieutenant
Position
Observer
Service Numbers
J/5312
Toronto, Ontario
103 Squadron (Noli Me Tangere). Wellington aircraft Z1142 was enroute to the target on January 10, 1942 when it was hit in the bomb bay and caught on fire. The pilot ordered the crew to bail out a few miles west of the target and the fire was extinguished about ten minutes later by the second pilot.
Flight Lieutenant McGill was taken Prisoner of War and imprisoned in Stalag Luft 9A. He was one of six Canadians shot by the Gestapo in an attempted escape from Stalag Luft 3.
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson, a key feature of the aircraft is its geodetic airframe fuselage structure, which was principally designed by Barnes Wallis. Development had been started in response to Air Ministry Specification B.9/32, issued in the middle of 1932, for a bomber for the Royal Air Force. This specification called for a twin-engined day bomber capable of delivering higher performance than any previous design.
The Wellington was used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, performing as one of the principal bombers used by Bomber Command. During 1943, it started to be superseded as a bomber by the larger four-engined "heavies" such as the Avro Lancaster. The Wellington continued to serve throughout the war in other duties, particularly as an anti-submarine aircraft.
It holds the distinction of having been the only British bomber that was produced for the duration of the war, and of having been produced in a greater quantity than any other British-built bomber. The Wellington remained as first-line equipment when the war ended, although it had been increasingly relegated to secondary roles. The Wellington was one of two bombers named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, the other being the Vickers Wellesley.
In August 1936, an initial order for 180 Wellington Mk I aircraft, powered by a pair of 1,050 hp (780 kW) Bristol Pegasus radial engines, was received by Vickers; it had been placed so rapidly that the order occurred prior to the first meeting intended to decide the details of the production aircraft. In October 1937, another order for a further 100 Wellington Mk Is, produced by the Gloster Aircraft Company, was issued; it was followed by an order for 100 Wellington Mk II aircraft with Rolls-Royce Merlin X V12 engines. Yet another order was placed for 64 Wellingtons produced by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. With this flurry of order and production having been assured by the end of 1937, Vickers set about simplifying the manufacturing process of the aircraft and announced a target of building one Wellington per day.
A total of 180 Wellington Mk I aircraft were built; 150 for the RAF and 30 for the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) (which were transferred to the RAF on the outbreak of war and used by 75 Squadron). In October 1938, the Mk I entered service with 9 Squadron. The Wellington was initially outnumbered by the Handley Page Hampden (also ordered by the Ministry to B.9/32) and the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley (to B.34/3 for a 'night' bomber) but outlasted both rival aircraft in service. The Wellington went on to be built in 16 separate variants, in addition to two training conversions after the war. The number of Wellingtons built totalled 11,462 of all versions, a greater quantity produced than any other British bomber. On 13 October 1945, the last Wellington to be produced rolled out. Wikipedia
The Movie by the same name implies that The Great Escape was an American operation. It was not. It was primarily a British Commonwealth Operation and Canadian airmen had a very prominent role. In fact six Canadian airmen who were captured after escape were executed by German forces.
The True Story Of The Great Escape
Seventy-six Allied Officers escape from Prisoner of War Camp Stalag Luft 3. 50 were subsequently murdered in retaliation for their escape attempt on the order of Adolph Hitler. 15 were recaptured, and 11 escaped.
6 - RCAF
4 - RAAF
2 - RNZAF
2 - SAAF
2 - Norway (RAF)
1 - France (RAF)
1 - Greece (RAF)
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32 - RAF
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Canadian Virtual War Memorial
www.findagrave.com
Wikipedia Vickers Wellington
RCAF - Vickers Wellington