Niemi, Harold John
Killed in Flying Accident 1945-02-04
Birth Date: 1920
Born:
Son of Esa and Albertina Niemi. of Malartic.
Home: Malartic, Quebec
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: Unknown
Service
RCAF
Unit
5 OTU- Operational Training Unit
Base
Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada
Rank
Sergeant
Position
Sergeant
Service Numbers
R/117196
Home
Malartic, Quebec
First Burial
Protestant Cemetery, Noranda, Quebec
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
www.findagrave.comThis incident involved multiple aircraft:
- Liberator B. Mk. VI Serial: EW134
All the above aircraft in the above list are referenced in this report.
Liberator EW134
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 EW134
Liberator B. Mk. VI EW134
Ex USAAF B-24J-20-CF, serial number 42-99820. With No. 5 Operational Training Unit at RCAF Stations Boundary Bay and/or Abbotsford, BC. Coded "G". Category A crash on Thorn Hill, near Whonnock, BC (12 miles north-west of Abbotsford, on the Fraser River) on 4 February 1945. 7 fatalities. To No. 3 Repair Depot on 8 February 1945 for write off.1944-04-13 Taken on Strength Western Air Command 2019-08-20
1945-February-04 Accident: 5 Operational Training Unit Loc: Whennock British Columbia Names: Beveson | Carscadden | Maynard | Niemi | Schneeberger | Therien | Weiss
1945-03-14 Struck off Strength 2019-08-20