Charles, John Frederick (Pilot Officer)

Prisoner of War 1945-January-05

Male Head

Birth Date: 1924-July-31

Born:

Parents:

Spouse:

Home:

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: unkown date

Service

RCAF

Unit

432 (B) Sqn- Squadron
Saeviter Ad Lucem Ferociously toward the light

Base

RAF East Moor

Rank

Pilot Officer

Position

Air Gunner (Rear)

Service Numbers

R/265207
Prev: R/265207
PoW: 7720

Target
Google MapHannover Germany

Took off from East Moor at 16:48 in Halifax Mk VII (Sqn code QO-C Bomber Command) on an operation to Hannover Germany

Shot down (means not found) and crashed at 19:15 at Mehringen 2 km N of Hoya which straddles the Weser 15 km SSW of Verden.

Killed: Pilot Officer Colin Harvey McInnes RCAF J/95355 KIA Hanover War Cemetery grave 3. G. 2. F/Lt James Ernest Sales RCAF J/22024 pilot KIA Hanover War Cemetery grave 3. G. 1.

POWs: Flight Sergeant Stanley John Aikens RCAF R/77762 POW Stalag Luft L1 Barth Vogelsang. Warrant Officer Class 2 Robert John Pearte Young R/174426 POW Stalag Luft L1 Barth Vogelsang. Pilot Officer J L Marcille RCAF J/39898 POW camp not listed. Sergeant John Frederick Charles RCAF R/265207 POW camp not listed. Sergeant John Dalton RAF POW camp not listed.

Pilot Officer Charles was safely back in the UK 1945-05-13

Footprints on the Sands of Time, RAF Bomber Command Prisoners of War in Germany 1939-45 by Oliver Clutton-Brock page 264

Crew or Other Personnel

Halifax NP759

Pilot Officer Stanley John Aikens RCAF

Pilot Officer Aikens, Stanley John (RCAF)
Bomb Aimer
Prisoner of War
1945-January-05
cemetery unknown

Pilot Officer John Frederick Charles RCAF

Pilot Officer Charles, John Frederick (RCAF)
Air Gunner (Rear)
Prisoner of War
1945-January-05
cemetery unknown

Sergeant John Dalton RAF

Sergeant Dalton, John (RAF)
Flight Engineer
Prisoner of War
1945-January-05
cemetery unknown

Flying Officer J L Marcille RCAF

Flying Officer Marcille, J L (RCAF)
Navigator
Prisoner of War
1945-January-05
cemetery unknown

Pilot Officer Colin Harvey McInnes RCAF

Pilot Officer McInnes, Colin Harvey (RCAF)
Air Gunner (Mid-Upper)
Killed in Action
1945-January-05
Judischer Friedhof (Hoyerhagen), Vorberg, Hoyerhagen, Germany

Flight Lieutenant James Ernest Sales RCAF

Flight Lieutenant Sales, James Ernest (RCAF)
Pilot
Killed in Action
1945-January-05
CWG Cemetery, Hanover, Germany

Pilot Officer Robert John Pearte Young RCAF

Pilot Officer Young, Robert John Pearte (RCAF)
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner
Prisoner of War
1945-January-05
cemetery unknown

Mission

Halifax B.Mk.VII NP759

Bombing Hanover Germany 1945-January-05 to 1945-January-05

432 (B) Sqn (RCAF) East Moor

664 aircraft - 340 Halifaxes, 3IO Lancasters, 14 Mosquitoes - of 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups. 23 Halifaxes and 8 Lancasters lost, 4·7 per cent of the force.

This was the first large raid on Hannover since October 1943. Bombs fell all over the city and the local report, based on messages from 16 of the 18 police districts, shows that 493 buildings, containing 3,605 flats/apartments, were destroyed and that approximately 250 people were killed. No further details are available

432 Leaside Squadron (Saeviter ad Lucem) RAF East Moor. Halifax BVII aircraft NP 759 QO-C, named "Canada Kid" failed to return from an operation against targets in Hannover, Germany. The bomber was most likely lost to flak and exploded in mid-air, killing two crew members. The bomber crashed at Lichtenhorst-Steimbke, near Hoya, Germany

Flight Lieutenant JE Sales (RCAF) and Pilot Officer CH McLinnes (RCAF) were killed in action

Flying Officer JL Marcille (RCAF), Pilot Officer SJ Aikens (RCAF), Pilot Officer JF Charles (RCAF), Pilot Officer RJP Young (RCAF) and Sergeant J Dalton (RAF) survived to be taken as Prisoners of War

There were two 432 Squadron Halifax VII aircraft lost on this operation. Please see aircraft serial NP 817 QO-D for further information on this aircraft and crew

source: The Bomber Command War Diaries, Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt

RAF & RCAF Aircraft Nose Art in World War II by Clarence Simonsen, pages 75, 79

Metal Canvas, Canadians and World War II Aircraft Nose Art by Stephen M Fochuk, page 142,

Unvetted Source [Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database]...

Unvetted Source Aviation Safety Network

Unvetted Source Canada Kid - Bomber Command Museum of Canada

Unvetted Source Daily Operations

Unvetted Source 628a3cc80f64b64a34c08407_1945 NachjagdCAsamplepages.pdf

Unit Desciption

432 (B) Sqn Saeviter Ad Lucem ("Leaside")

History of the Squadron during World War II (Aircraft: Wellington X, Lancaster II, Halifax III, VII)

The Squadron was the twelfth RCAF bomber squadron to be formed overseas in WWII. It was formed on May 1, 1943 at Skipton-on-Swale, Yorkshire, UK as a unit of No 6 (RCAF) Group of RAF Bomber Command: indeed, it was the first bomber squadron to be formed directly into No 6 Group. Using the squadron identification letters QO it flew Vickers Wellington Mk X medium bombers until it moved to East Moor, Yorkshire on 19th September 1943, when it re-equipped with Avro Lancaster Mk II aircraft. East Moor was part of No 62 (RCAF) Base. The squadron re-equipped with Handley Page Halifax Mk III aircraft in February 1944, and with Halifax Mk VII in July of that year, and continued with them until the squadron was disbanded at East Moor on May 15, 1945.

In the course of operations the squadron flew 246 missions, involving 3130 individual sorties, for the loss of 73 aircraft. 8980 tons of bombs were dropped. Awards to squadron members included 2 DSOs, 119 DFCs,1 Bar to DFC, 1 CGM, 20 DFMs and 1 Croix de Guerre (France). Battle Honours were: English Channel and North Sea 1943, Fortress Europe 1943-44, France and Germany 1944-45, Biscay Ports 1944, Ruhr 1943-45, Berlin 1943-44, German Ports 1943-45, Normandy 1944, Rhine, Biscay 1943.Moyes, Kostenuk and Griffin

Squadron History (Bomber Command Museum PDF)

Maps for Movements of 432 Squadron 1943-45

MAP 1: 432 Squadron Bases 1943-45 (marked in green). Right-click on image to display enlarged in new tab

432 Squadron History Summary 1943-45

History of the Squadron Post-WWII (Aircraft: Canuck)

The squadron was re-formed at Bagotville, Quebec as an All-Weather Fighter unit on 1 October 1954. The squadron flew Avro CF-100 Canuck aircraft on North American Air Defence until it was disbanded on 15 October 1961.