Southwell, Derrick William (Flying Officer)
Killed in Flying Accident 1945-June-30
Birth Date: 1923
Born:
Parents: Son of George Herbert and Caroline Southwell, of Hednesford, Staffordshire
Spouse:
Home: Hednesford, Staffordshire, England
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: unkown date
Service
RAFVR
Unit
45 Group (RAF)
Base
RCAF Stn. Dorval, Quebec
Rank
Flying Officer
Position
Pilot
Service Numbers
153243
Hednesford, Staffordshire, England
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)Crew or Other Personnel
Liberator KN768
Mission
Liberator B 24 KN768
Ferry Flight 1945-June-30 to 1945-June-30
45 (T) Group (RAF) Dorval, Quebec
45 Group RAF Transport Command, Dorval Quebec. Liberator BVIII KN 768, leaving for a trans-Atlantic ferry flight to the UK, rotated and raised the undercarriage too early, which caused a propeller to strike the runway and come off. That engine cut-out and although the bomber lifted off the runway, it crashed in flames with the loss of six of the eleven crew aboard. Six crew members survived (from a quoted crew of 12, although many sites list 4 killed from this accident). Limited detail on the survivors has been found to date. All aboard KN768 were part of 6 Ferry Unit
The rescue efforts were immediate and one of the first to respond was Flight Lieutenant DP Varden (RCAF), on leave from RCAF Yarmouth and staying at a house near the crash site. Varden leapt into action, entering the flaming wreckage time and again to try to get the crew out, despite burning his hands in the process. Flight Lieutenant Varden was awarded the George Medal for his bravery
Ocean Bridge, The History of RAF Ferry Command by Carl A Christie page 329
The Liberator in Royal Air Force and Commonwealth Service by James D Oughton, with John Hamlin and Andrew Thomas, page 243
[Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database]...
Liberator serial: KN768
(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 bomberAircraft Images
Liberator KN768
Liberator B 24 KN768
1945-June-30 Accident: 45 GROUP Loc: Dorval Names: Buers | Chappell | Clark | Furness | Hourston | McCallum | Mullin | Platt | Southwell | Squibb | Winkley | Woods