Thompson, Reginald Edwin

Killed in Flying Accident 1942-12-25

Male Head

Birth Date: 1921

Born:

Son of Frederick John and Dorothy Thompson, of Bourneville, Birmingham

Home: Bourneville, Birmingham, England

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: Unknown

Service

RAF

Unit

45 (Ferry) Group (RAF)

Base

RAF Bermuda

Rank

Sergeant

Position

Sergeant

Service Numbers

572339

Canso FP266

Ferry Flight 1942-December-25 to 1942-December-25

() Ferry Command (RAF) Bermuda

RAF Ferry Command Catalina Ib aircraft FP 266 was lost on a trans-Atlantic delivery flight from Bermuda to the United Kingdom, cause unknown

FS DO Bevan (RCAF), Sergeant G Craven (RAAF), Sergeant R Harding (RAF), Sergeant R Thompson (RAF), US Civilian Pilot Capt. BH Pierce, and Canadian Civilian Radio Operator JH Auld were all missing, believed killed in this flying accident

The missing have no known grave and all are commemorated on the Ottawa Memorial

Ocean Bridge, The History of RAF Ferry Command by Carl A Christie pages 316,359

General Aviation Safety Network

General [Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database]...

General In Memoriam - Those Air Force Pilots/Crews who died on this day i...

This incident involved multiple aircraft:

  1. Canso Serial: FP266

All the above aircraft in the above list are referenced in this report.

Consolidated Canso Catalina PBY PB2B A-10 OA-10 Black Cat

RCAF Canso A (Serial No. 9754), No. 162 Squadron, F/L David Ernest Hornell aircraft.
Hornell pby Yarmouth 1943 (003).jpg image not found

The Consolidated Catalina and Canso were close cousins. The Canso was the true amphibious version of the design and therefore included a conventional undercarriage to allow for either water or land use. The Canso provided more than two decades of valuable service to the RCAF. The Catalina variant came first and was produced beginning in 1935 for the United States Navy. The amphibious version, designated PBY-5A, came in service early in 1941 and the RCAF began using the aircraft on anti-submarine patrols that same year. After the Second World War, the RCAF used Cansos for search and rescue, Arctic survey missions and various transport operations.RCAF

YouTube Canso PBY

Wikipedia Wikipedia Canso PBY

General Harold A Skaarup Web Page


Canso FP266

Canso FP266



1942-December-25 Accident: RAF Ferry COMMAND Loc: Names: Bevan | Craven | Hamilton | Harding | Pierce | Thompson