Royal Oak Burial Park
5 Operational Training Unit - Detachment, Abbotsford, British Columbia.
At approximately 03:00 in the morning, Liberator EW127 code letter "V" with a crew of eleven RAF airmen of Course 6 went missing. It was later discovered that the four engine bomber had crashed some seven miles East of Duncan, 12 miles N.W of Patricia Bay, Vancouver Island. Although only three bodies were identified it was concluded that all eleven members perished in the crash. The wreckage was such that the only way air-force investigators were able to be sure it was EW127 was from a data plate serial number off the remains of the No. 1 engine. All remains were interned at the Royal Oak Cemetery, Victoria, B.C. Please see below for links to the other airmen killed in this crash. Text by Michael DesMazes.
Mitchell, Ewart Cecil (Pilot Officer)
Killed in Flying Accident 1944-October-04
Birth Date: 1924
Born:
Son of Douglas Norris Mitchell and Laura May Mitchell, of Swindon, Wiltshire, England.
Home:
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: Unknown
Service
RAFVR
Unit
5 OTU- Operational Training Unit
Base
Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada
Rank
Pilot Officer
Position
Pilot Officer
Service Numbers
165516
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)Crew or Other Personnel
Liberator EW127
Liberator serial: EW127
(DND Photos via James Craik) (Source Harold A Skaarup Web Page)
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.
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 PageAircraft Images
Liberator EW127
Liberator B. Mk. VI EW127
Ex USAAF B-24J-15-CF, serial number 42-99793. With No. 5 Operational Training Unit at RCAF Stations Boundary Bay and/or Abbotsford, BC. Coded "V". Crashed on Salt Spring Island on 4 October 1944, due to in flight fire. 11 killed. Cause of fire never determined. To No. 3 Repair Depot in November 1944 for write off.1944-05-20 Taken on Strength Western Air Command 2019-08-20
1944-October-04 Accident: 5 Operational Training Unit Loc: Abbotsford British Columbia Names: Barker | Birrell | Davidson | Jenkins | Jordan | Langley | Laws | Metcalfe | Mitchell | Rockliffe | Willets
1944-12-04 Struck off Strength 2019-08-20
Unit Desciption
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.
NO5 OTU Boundary Bay
RCAF.Info