Watts, John Bradford
Killed in Flying Accident 1944-07-03
Birth Date: 1922
Born:
Son of Edward John and Alice Mary Watts, of Burwood, Victoria, Australia.
Home:
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: Unknown
Service
RAAF
Unit
1 BGS- Bombing & Gunnery School
Base
RCAF Stn. Jarvis, Ontario
Rank
Flight Sergeant
Position
Flight Sergeant
Service Numbers
419978
First Burial
Knox Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Jarvis, Ontario
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
www.findagrave.com
Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)This incident involved multiple aircraft:
- Anson Mk. I Serial: 6086
All the above aircraft in the above list are referenced in this report.
Anson 6086
Avro Anson
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
The Museum's Anson Mk. V was built by MacDonald Brothers in Winnipeg in 1944. It flew with No. 7 Photographic Wing and No. 414 Squadron in Ottawa on photo survey work until the late 1940s. In 1956, it was purchased by INCO and used for mineral surveying until 1980, when it was donated to the Museum. The exterior is painted in the yellow colour common to all BCATP trainers and is in its same wartime RCAF markings.
The Avro Anson was known by a number of nicknames including "Faithful Annie" or "Flying Greenhouse". It was the first aircraft to be flown by the Royal Canadian Air Force to have a retractable undercarriage, which was a comparative novelty in 1936. In 1940, a Canadian government owned company, Federal Aircraft Limited, was created in Montreal to manufacture the Anson for Canadian use. Nearly 3,000 Anson aircraft were produced and, in the early days of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), the Anson was the standard trainer for many pilots, observers (navigators), wireless operators and bomb aimers. More than 20,000 aircrew received training on the Anson. In Canadian service, the aircraft was substantially re-designed with the substitution of North American engines and many other airframe and equipment changes.Harold Skaarup web pages
Harold A Skaarup Web Page 
Avro Anson History1 BGS (1 Bomb and Gunnery School)
The Bombing and Gunnery School (B&GS) offered instruction in the techniques of bomb aiming and aerial machine gunnery to Air Observers, Bomb Aimers, and Wireless Air Gunners. These schools required large areas to accommodate their bombing and gunnery ranges, and were often located near water. The Avro Anson, Fairey Battle, Bristol Bolingbroke, and Westland Lysander were the standard aircraft used at B&GS schools.
RCAF.info - RCAF Station Jarvis Ontario Anson 6086
Anson Mk. I 6086
Ex RAF R9892. Delivered to stored reserve. To No. 1 Training Command on 20 September 1940. To No. 2 Training Command at Winnipeg on 11 November 1940. Winter conversion kit installed by 3 July 1941. In storage from 11 April to 6 May 1942. Later with No. 38 Service Flying Training School at Estevan, Saskatchewan. Category C14 damage at 16:20 on 11 May 1942, at Estevan. Collided with Anson W1997 (RCAF ?) on the ground while being parked. To MacDonald Brothers Aircraft in Winnipeg for overhaul, 11 June to 12 August 1942. To Eastern Air Command when completed, for use by No. 1 General Reconnaissance School at Summerside, PEI. To Canada Car & Foundry at Amherst, NS for crash repairs on 26 August 1943. To No. 1 Training Command on 13 November 1943. Category A crash on 7 July 1944, while with No. 1 Bombing & Gunnery School at Jarvis, Ontario. Starboard wing caught fire shortly after takeoff from Jarvis, aircraft exploded in flight while attempting forced landing. Three fatalities, LACs G.C. Best and R. Waller, both RAF and Flight Sergeant J.B. Watts, RAAF. To No. 6 Repair Depot for inspection and to be held pending decision on repairing.1940-09-11 Taken on Strength No. 6 Repair Depot 2019-08-20
1942-May-11 Accident: 38 Service Flying Training School Loc: Aerodrome Names: Cole | Patterson
1943-August-22 Accident: 1 General Reconnaissance School Loc: Moncton Aerodrome Names: Lyle | Phaneuf
1944-March-22 Accident: 1 Bomb & Gunnery School Loc: Aerodrome Names: Illney | Thompson | Ward
1944-July-03 Accident: 1 Bomb & Gunnery School Loc: Aerodrome Names: Best | Waller | Watts
1944-07-26 Struck off Strength Struck off, reduced to spares and produce 2019-08-20