Prest, Frank Burdett (Leading Aircraftman)

Killed in Action 1941-August-31

Leading Aircraftman Frank Burdett Prest RAFVR

Birth Date: 1921-January-21

Born: Arcola, Saskatchewan

Parents: Son of Frank Bismark Prest and Elsie Victoria Prest, of Winnipeg, Manitoba

Spouse:

Home: Winnipeg, Manitoba

Enlistment: Winnipeg, Manitoba

Enlistment Date: 1939-September-01

Service

RAFVR

Unit

44 (B) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Fulmina Regis Lusta The king's thunderbolts are righteous

Base

RAF Waddington

Rank

Leading Aircraftman

Position

Observer

Service Numbers

1408408

Home
Google MapWinnipeg, Manitoba
Final Burial
Google MapSt Michael Cemetery

Mission

Hampden I AD939

Operational 1941-August-31 to 1941-August-31

44 (B) Sqn (RAF) RAF Waddington

44 Rhodesia Squadron (Fulmina regis lusta) RAF Waddington. Hampden I aircraft AD 939 lost in a mid-air collision with 412 squadron RCAF Spitfire IIa aircraft P 8586 with the loss of all three aircrew members on the Hampden as well as the pilot of the Spitfire

Leading Aircraftman F B Prest (RAFVR) (Can), Pilot Officer P R Owen (RAFVR) and Flight Sergeant D G Forbes (RAFVR) all on Hampton AD 939 as well as Pilot Officer W R Hughes (RCAF) were killed in this flying training accident

The Hampton crashed in fields just off White Lane near RAF Waddington, while the Spitfire crashed into the nearby North Sea

unvetted Source Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database

unvetted Source Aviation Safety Network

unvetted Source Crash of a Handley Page HP 52 Hampton I at RAF Waddington: 3...

Hampden serial: AD939

(RCAF Photo via Chris Charland)(Source Harold A Skaarup Web Page)
Handley Page Hampden (Serial No. P5428), of No. 32 Operational Training Unit at RCAF Patricia Bay, British Columbia, in the torpedo-bomber training role between May 1942 and February 1944.

Handley Page developed a modern stressed-skin mid-wing monoplane, powered by Bristol Pegasus radial air cooled engines, with its first flight in 1936. It had the most advanced wings available at the time, giving it a remarkably low landing speed of 73 mph for an aircraft of its size, with a top speed of 265 mph. The Hampden had a short, narrow but tall main fuselage with a very slender tail unit. This configuration led to the nicknames "Flying Panhandle" and "Flying Suitcase". At the end of the war, no complete or partial Hampden aircraft were retained for museum display.

The Hampden served in the early stages of the war, bearing the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and in the first 1000-bomber raid on Cologne. In Canada, Hampdens were built by six companies that formed Associated Aircraft. There were three in Ontario and three in Quebec, hence they were identified as the Ontario Group and Quebec Group. They supplied all the the components to the two assembly plants. The Ontario Group's assembly plant was at the Malton Airport, while the Quebec group's assembly plant was at the St. Hubert Airport. Canadian Museum of Flight and Harold A Skaarup web page

YouTube Handley Page Hampden in Flight

Wikipedia Wikipedia Hampden Bomber

unvetted Source Harold A Skaarup Web Page

Kestrel Publications Hampden - Kestrel Publications