Guignion, James William (Flying Officer)

Prisoner of War 1944-April-23

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Service

RCAF

Unit

433 (B) Sqn- Squadron
Qui S'y Frotte S'y Pique Who opposes it gets pricked

Base

RAF Skipton-on-Swale

Rank

Flying Officer

Position

Bomb Aimer

Service Numbers

J/25586
PoW: 11047

Took off from Skipton-on-Swale at 22:22 in Halifax MK III (Sqn code BM-E Bomber Command) on an operation to Dusseldorf Germany.

First damaged by flak then downed by a night fighter and crashed near Walheim, 10 km SW of Aachen, Germany.

Killed: Pilot Officer John Arthur Bourgeault RCAF J/89284 pilot KIA (was unable to escape the damaged bomber before it crashed) Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany, Plot 8. Row K. Grave 25.

POWs: Sergeant Derek Reginald Claude Bowerman RAF POW Stalag 357 Kopernikus (Poland) POW# 3575. Flying Officer James William Guignion RCAF J/25586 POW Stalag 6G (near Bonn, Germany) , POW# 11047. Sergeant Joseph Edouard Charles Roland Laframboise RCAF R/202087 POW Stalag Luft L3 Sagan & Belaria, POW# 4191. Warrant Officer Class 2 Thomas Alder Miller RCAF R/128889 POW Stalag Luft 6, Heydekrug., POW# 3597. Sergeant Joseph Jean Wilfrid Lucien Plante RCAF R/164776 POW Stalag Luft 6, Heydekrug, POW# 3596.

Evader: Warrant Officer Class 2 William George Dennstedt RCAF R/86155 Evader

Footprints on the Sands of Time, RAF Bomber Command Prisoners of War in Germany 1939-45 by Oliver Clutton-Brock page 307

Mission

Halifax B.Mk.III LV840

Bombing Dusseldorf Germany 1944-April-22 to 1944-April-23

433 (B) Sqn (RCAF) RAF Skipton-on-Swale

433 Porcupine Squadron (Qui s'y frotte, s'y pique) RAF Skipton-on-Swale. Halifax BIII aircraft LV 840 BN-E was hit by flak and then attacked and shot down by a Dornier night fighter during an operation against targets in Dusseldorf, Germany. On fire and with the loss of an engine, pilot Pilot Officer Bourgeault gave the order to abandon the aircraft. The crew managed to escape but sadly, Pilot Officer Bourgeault was unable to get out and went down with the Halifax when it crashed near the village of Walheim, 10 km southwest of Aachen/Aix-La-Chapelle, Germany

Pilot Officer JA Bourgeault (RCAF) was killed in action

Sergeant JJ Plante (RCAF), Flying Officer JW Guignion (RCAF), Sergeant JE Laframboise (RCAF), Warrant Officer Class 2 TA Miller (RCAF) and Sergeant DR Bowerman (RAFVR) survived and all were taken as Prisoners of War

Warrant Officer Class 2 WG Dennstedt (RCAF) survived and became an Evader until liberated by American Forces, 1944-09-08

There were three 433 Squadron Halifax aircraft lost on this operation. Please see aircraft serials HX 291 BM-W and LV 990 BM-J for additional information

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

Unit Desciption

433 (B) Sqn Qui S'y Frotte S'y Pique ("Porcupine")

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

433 Squadron was the 14th and last bomber squadron of the RCAF to be formed overseas in WWII. It was formed in September 1943 as a unit of No 6 (RCAF) Group of Bomber Command. It flew from Skipton-on-Swale, Yorkshire, UK for the whole of its operational career. With the squadron code letters BM, it originally flew Handley Page Halifax Mk III heavy bombers on its bombing missions, but these were replaced by Lancaster Mks I and III in January 1945. After the cessation of hostilities the squadron was retained in England as a unit of No 1 Group RAF from August 1945, and took part in the airlift of PoWs back to England (Operation EXODUS) and the bringing back of troops from Italy (Operation DODGE). The squadron was disbanded at Skipton in October 1945.

In the course of its operations, the squadron flew 209 missions involving 2316 individual sorties for the loss of 38 aircraft , dropping 7486 tons. Awards to crew members included 132 DFCs, 2 Bars to DFC, 9 DFMs, 1 BEM, 14 MiDs and 1 Air Medal (USA). Battle Honours were: English Channel and North Sea 1944-45, Baltic 1944-45, Fortress Europe 1944, France and Germany 1944-45, Biscay Ports 1944, Ruhr 1944-45, Berlin 1944, German Ports 1944-45, Normandy 1944, Rhine, Biscay 1944.Wikipedia, Kostenuk and Griffin

Squadron History (Bomber Command Museum PDF)

Maps for Movements of 433 Squadron 1943-45

MAP 1: 433 Squadron Bases 1943-45 (marked in green). Right-click on image to display enlarged in new tab

433 Squadron History Summary 1943-45

History of the Squadron Post-WWII (Aircraft: Canuck, Freedom Fighter, Hornet)

The squadron re-formed as an All-Weather (Fighter) unit at CFB Cold Lake, Alberta , on 15 November 1954, as one of nine CF-100 squadrons to defend Canadian airspace. It moved to CFB North Bay, Ontario , in October 1955, the squadron flew CF-100 Canuck aircraft on North American air defence. However, in 1961 the Government decided to reduce the number of CF-100 squadrons from nine to five and 433 Squadron was dissolved for a second time on July 31st, 1961.

Reformed post-unification on 15 August 1968, as No. 433 Escadrille tactique de combat it was a French language squadron of Mobile Command based at CFB Bagotville, Quebec . The squadron flew the CF-5 Freedom Fighter in the tactical and reconnaissance role until it converted to the CF-188 Hornet fighter jets in 1984. The squadron was deactivated in 2005, and its assets and personnel amalgamated into 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron. Besides being originally designated as one of two bases of NATO's Rapid Reaction Force, the 433 Squadron was entrusted a NORAD role in December 1988. The 433 Squadron members in Bagotville played an important role in the Gulf War conflicts, better known under the names Operation FRICTION in 1991 and Operation ECHO in 1999. By September 2001, the Squadron was actively participating with NORAD in the fight against terrorism through Operation NOBLE EAGLE. On July 14th, 2005, the standards of the Squadron were once again laid aside almost 62 years after its initial formation. .Wikipedia

The squadron was reactivated on 9 June 2015, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on 15 September 2018.