Crosby, R G (Flying Officer)

Evader 1944-January-03

Male Head

Birth Date: unkown date

Born:

Parents:

Spouse:

Home:

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: unkown date

Decorations: MiD

Mentioned in Dispatches

Service

RCAF

Unit

56 Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Quid Si Coelum Ruat What if heaven falls

Base

RAF Martlesham Heath

Rank

Flying Officer

Position

Pilot

Service Numbers

J/22655

Target
Google MapRhubarb - North West of Hesdin

Took off from Martlesham Heath at 12:30 in Typhoon Mark Ib (Sqn code: U Fighter Command).

Attacked target West of Embray, but had to brake off attack when his starboard guns jammed. Baled out at 1,000 feet.

Landed in a clearing in a small wood West of Hucqueliers and hid in another wood nearby. At dusk he began walking in a South-Easterly direction, picked up a jacket from a scarecrow, and about 21.00 hours, he reached the outskirts of Avesnes. He was given food, a hat and a pitchfork and guided to a crossroads East of Maningham, then walked to Radingham. He later approached a man near Matrunghem, given a meal and then taken to a woman and was given clothes. Moved to Renty on 1944-01-06, although the Gestapo raided the house he has hiding in, there was a warning given and he hid in nearby fields.. Later he moved to Verchin, then on 10 March to Fauquembergues, from where the rest of the journey was arranged

Those who dared - A Comprehensive List of World War ll Allied Escapers

Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)

Typhoon serial: JP446

Source: Harold A Skaarup Web Page (IWM Photo, MH 6864)
Hawker Typhoon Mk. IB (Serial No. RB402), coded 5V-P, of No. 439 Squadron, RCAF, landing at airfield B100, Goch, Germany, ca. 1944

The Hawker Typhoon (Tiffy in RAF slang) is a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane but several design problems were encountered and it never completely satisfied this requirement.

The Typhoon was originally designed to mount twelve .303 inch (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns and be powered by the latest 2,000 hp engines. Its service introduction in mid-1941 was plagued with problems and for several months the aircraft faced a doubtful future. When the Luftwaffe brought the formidable Focke-Wulf Fw 190 into service in 1941, the Typhoon was the only RAF fighter capable of catching it at low altitudes; as a result it secured a new role as a low-altitude interceptor.

The Typhoon became established in roles such as night-time intruder and long-range fighter. From late 1942 the Typhoon was equipped with bombs and from late 1943 RP-3 rockets were added to its armoury. With those weapons and its four 20mm Hispano autocannons, the Typhoon became one of the Second World War's most successful ground-attack aircraft.

By 1943, the RAF needed a ground attack fighter more than a "pure" fighter and the Typhoon was suited to the role (and less-suited to the pure fighter role than competing aircraft such as the Spitfire Mk IX). The powerful engine allowed the aircraft to carry a load of up to two 1,000 pounds (450 kg) bombs, equal to the light bombers of only a few years earlier. The bomb-equipped aircraft were nicknamed "Bombphoons" and entered service with No. 181 Squadron, formed in September 1942. Wikipedia

Wikipedia Wikipedia Hawker Typhoon

unvetted Source Harold A.Skaarup Web Page

YouTube YouTube Hawker Typhoon in action