Wik, Henry "Hank" (Warrant Officer 1st Class)

Prisoner of War 1942-August-19

Male Head

Birth Date: 1914-November-27

Born:

Parents:

Spouse:

Home: Kimberley, British Columbia

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: unkown date

Service

RCAF

Unit

43 (F) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Gloria Finis Glory the aim

Base

RAF Tangmere

Rank

Warrant Officer 1st Class

Position

Pilot

Service Numbers

R/60583
PoW: 26844

Mission

Hurricane Mk. IIB or IIC BD721

Ranger Dieppe France 1942-August-19 to 1942-August-19

43 (F) Sqn (RAF) RAF Tangmere

Operation Jubilee

43 Squadron RAF (Gloria finis) RAF Tangmere. Warrant Officer 1st Class Henry "Hank" Wik (RCAF), flying Hurricane IIb aircraft BD 712 FT-Z was engaged in a Ranger sortie over Dieppe France as part of Operation Jubilee when he was shot down by ground-fire. The Hurricane crashed in a field beyond Dieppe and Warrant Officer Wik survived to become a Prisoner of War. He was sent to Stalag 344 until liberated and returned safely to the UK 1945-04-19

The Greatest Air Battle, Dieppe, 19th August 1942 by Norman Franks, pages45,230

unvetted Source Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database

unvetted Source France-Crashes 39-45 Search

Hurricane serial: BD712

Hawker Hurricane Mk IIc.
Source BBMF

The Hawker Hurricane is a single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s"“1940s that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). The Hurricane developed through several versions, as bomber-interceptors, fighter-bombers, and ground support aircraft in addition to fighters. Versions designed for the Navy were popularly known as the Sea Hurricane, with modifications enabling their operation from ships. Some were converted to be used as catapult-launched convoy escorts. By the end of production in July 1944, 14,487 Hurricanes had been completed in Britain and Canada.

A major manufacturer of the Hurricane was Canadian Car and Foundry at their factory in Fort William (now Thunder Bay), Ontario. The facility's chief engineer, Elsie MacGill, became known as the "Queen of the Hurricanes". The initiative was commercially led rather than governmentally, but was endorsed by the British government; Hawker, having recognized that a major conflict was all but inevitable after the Munich Crisis of 1938, drew up preliminary plans to expand Hurricane production via a new factory in Canada. Under this plan, samples, pattern aircraft, and a complete set of design documents stored on microfilm, were shipped to Canada; the RCAF ordered 20 Hurricanes to equip one fighter squadron and two more were supplied to Canadian Car and Foundry as pattern aircraft but one probably did not arrive. The first Hurricane built at Canadian Car and Foundry was officially produced in February 1940. As a result, Canadian-built Hurricanes were shipped to Britain to participate in events such as the Battle of Britain. Canadian Car and Foundry (CCF) was responsible for the production of 1,451 Hurricanes. Wikipedia and Harold A Skaarup Web Page


YouTube Hurricane

Wikipedia Wikipedia Hurricane

unvetted Source Harold A Skaarup Web Page

Kestrel Publications Hurricane - Kestrel Publications