Charlesworth, William James
Prisoner of War 1942-10-11
Birth Date: 1919-April-25
Born:
Home: Toronto, Ontario
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: 1940-10-23
Service
RCAF
Unit
203 (R) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Occidens Oriensque East and west
Base
Rank
Warrant Officer 1st Class
Position
Sergeant
Service Numbers
R/78416
PoW: 808
Toronto, Ontario
MI9 PoW Release Interrogation 
Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)Maryland Mk. II AH280
Reconnaissance 1942-October-11 to 1942-October-11
203 (R) Sqn (RAF) Heraklion Crete
Shipping search, north of Crete.
1942-October-11 Maryland AH280 was hit by enemy flak as it circled a convoy while sending out signals for a striking force to home in on. They ditched off the southwest corner of Crete. Escaping the sinking aircraft the crew of four drifted in a two 1-man dinghies for eighteen hours before being picked up by a Dornier flying boat from the 7th Seenotstaffel. A Bristol Beaufighter flying out of Malta had directed the German flying boat to the rafts. In 2000, Hickson was contacted by the German pilot that saved them and many details of the rescue were exchanged.
The following crew members also failed to return:
- Lieutenant FJ Bergh, pilot, SAAF
- Sergeant W Mitchell, RAF
Martin Maryland
Martin 167 Maryland. Flown by RCAF aircrew serving with the RAF.
The Martin Model 167 Maryland was an American-designed light bomber that first flew in 1939. It saw action in World War II with France and the United Kingdom.
Many of the aircraft were shipped to Egypt and Malta in time for the 1941 fighting there. The RAF used the aircraft mainly for photo-reconnaissance operations in North and East Africa, it being faster than the Bristol Blenheim. A Maryland bomber photographed the Italian fleet before and after the Battle of Taranto on 11 November 1940. The pilot, Adrian Warburton, scored his five confirmed kills with the Maryland's forward-firing guns.
Three Maryland Mk.Is were transferred to the British Fleet Air Arm and were mainly used for target towing duties.. On 22 May 1941, a Maryland of 771 Naval Air Squadron based at Hatston in the Orkney Islands, reported that the German battleship Bismarck had left Bergen, confirming that she was breaking out into the Atlantic.Wikipedia
Maryland Bomber
Wikipedia Maryland Bomber 
Harold A Skaarup Web Page Maryland AH280 Mk. II - Reconnaissance - 1942-10-11 to 1942-10-11
6 Group Unavailable
Shipping search, north of Crete.
1942-October-11 Maryland AH280 was hit by enemy flak as it circled a convoy while sending out signals for a striking force to home in on. They ditched off the southwest corner of Crete. Escaping the sinking aircraft the crew of four drifted in a two 1-man dinghies for eighteen hours before being picked up by a Dornier flying boat from the 7th Seenotstaffel. A Bristol Beaufighter flying out of Malta had directed the German flying boat to the rafts. In 2000, Hickson was contacted by the German pilot that saved them and many details of the rescue were exchanged.
The following crew members also failed to return:
- Lieutenant FJ Bergh, pilot, SAAF
- Sergeant W Mitchell, RAF