Spencer, David William James
Killed in Flying Accident 1942-10-31
Birth Date: 1918
Born:
Son of William David and Emily Gay Spencer of Llanelly, Carmarthenshire
Home: Llanelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: Unknown
Service
RAF
Unit
511 (T) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Surely and Quickly
Base
RAF Takali, Malta
Rank
Sergeant
Position
Sergeant
Service Numbers
539216
First Burial
Gibraltar War Memorial, Gibraltar
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
www.findagrave.com
Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)Liberator C. Mk. II AL516
Transport 1942-October-31 to 1942-October-31
511 (T) Sqn (RAF) Malta
#511 Squadron RAF (Surely and Quickly) Alexandria, Egypt. Liberator II AL516 was transporting a mix of passengers and crew of RCAF, RAF and RAAF very experienced, wounded and end-of-tour fighter pilots as well as some civilians, including military wives and two children, from Malta to Gibraltar. Arriving at Gibraltar in a thunderstorm, the Liberator overshot it's landing and crashed into the sea, killing fourteen aboard and various injuries to most survivors. The flight had intended to travel from Malta to Gibraltar before continuing to England. Some aboard were missing, not recovered but are commemorated on the Gibraltar Memorial (Shores, Cull & Malizia; Dennis Burke www.rafcommands.com)
The Liberator in Royal Air Force and Commonwealth Service by James D Oughton, page 100
Aircraft accidents in Yorkshire
[Royal Air Force Serials and Image Database]...
Killed:
- Warrant Officer 2 Rupert Henry Davey (RCAF)
- Flying Officer Edwin Herbert Glazebrook DFC (RCAF)
- Pilot Officer John William Williams DFC (RCAF)
- Flight Sergeant Charles Edward Mutch (RCAF)
- Flight Lieutenant Erik Lawson Hetherington DFC (RAF)
- Sergeant David William James Spencer (RAF)
- Mr Edward James Rowe BEM age 40
- Mrs Hannah Eunice Rowe age 44
- Mrs Elizabeth Pricilla Sheldon (widow of Herbert Sheldon)
- Mrs Mabel Hucklebridge age 30
- Mrs Isabella Josephine Aston and her baby son Simon Aston, age 2 (Isabella was Maltese wife of FAA Pilot)
- Mrs Edna Patricia Chase age 27 and her baby son Thomas Chase
Survived:
- Flight Lieutenant Rae Walton (RAF - crew, injured)
- Pilot Officer GWR. Frampton (RAF - crew, injured)
- Pilot Officer EJ Sanders (RAF - crew)
- Sergeant EJ Booker (RAF-crew)
- Flight Sergeant I Watson (RAF - crew)
- Flight Sergeant J McCulloch (RAF - crew)
- Mrs DW Spencer, injured
- Mrs J Neighbours, injured
- Flight Sergeant LG Pow (RCAF)
- Flight Lieutenant AF Roscoe DFC (RCAF) (USA),
- Pilot Officer GF 'Buzz' Beurling DSO DFC DFM and Bar RAF (Canada)
- Warrant Officer 2 GHT 'Gord' Farquharson (RCAF)
- Wing Commander AH Donaldson DSO DFC AFC (RAF)
- Flying Officer FR Johnson (RAAF)
- Flying Officer AS Yates (RAAF)
- Flying Officer CAM Barbour (RAF)
- Flying Officer JGW Farmer (RAF)
- Flying Officer JAH Pinney (RAF)
- Pilot Officer FD Thomas (RAF)
- Pilot Officer LS Reid (RAAF)
- Pilot Officer CF Bush (RAF)
- Flight Sergeant DA Bye (RAF)
- Flight Sergeant AW Varey (RAF)
- Flight Sergeant EL Mahar (RAAF)
- Sergeant KR Mitchell (RAAF)
- Sergeant FW Clewley (RAAF)
Liberator AL516
Consolidated Liberator B-24 / F-7
Consolidated Liberator G.R. Mk. VIII, RCAF (Serial No. 11130) ex-USAAF Consolidated (Vultee) B-24L Liberator USAAF (44-50154)
ex-RAF (Serial No. 5009), ex-Indian Air Force (Serial No. HE773).
Currently preserved in the Canada Aviation and Space Museum Ottawa Ontario.
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber flown by the RCAF during the Second Word War. It was designed with a shoulder-mounted, high aspect ratio Davis wing which gave the Liberator a high cruise speed, long range and the ability to carry a heavy bomb load. Early RAF Liberators were the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean as a matter of routine. In comparison with its contemporaries the B-24 was relatively difficult to fly and had poor low speed performance; it also had a lower ceiling compared with the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Of the roughly 18,500 B-24s built in the USA during the war, 148 were flown by the RCAF on long range anti-submarine patrols, with the B-24 serving an instrumental role in closing the Mid-Atlantic gap in the Battle of the Atlantic. The RCAF also flew a few B-24s post war as transports.
Roughly half of all (RAF) Liberator crews in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theatre were Canadian by the end of the war. John Muir of Vancouver flew the longest mission of the war: 24hrs, 10mins from Ceylon to Burma and back. (Kyle Hood) Harold Skaarup web page
Liberator bomber
Wikipedia Liberator bomber Liberator AL516 C. Mk. II - Transport - 1942-10-31 to 1942-10-31
6 Group Unavailable
#511 Squadron RAF (Surely and Quickly) Alexandria, Egypt. Liberator II AL516 was transporting a mix of passengers and crew of RCAF, RAF and RAAF very experienced, wounded and end-of-tour fighter pilots as well as some civilians, including military wives and two children, from Malta to Gibraltar. Arriving at Gibraltar in a thunderstorm, the Liberator overshot it's landing and crashed into the sea, killing fourteen aboard and various injuries to most survivors. The flight had intended to travel from Malta to Gibraltar before continuing to England. Some aboard were missing, not recovered but are commemorated on the Gibraltar Memorial (Shores, Cull & Malizia; Dennis Burke www.rafcommands.com)
The Liberator in Royal Air Force and Commonwealth Service by James D Oughton, page 100 Aircraft accidents in Yorkshire
[Royal Air Force Serials and Image Database]...
Killed:
- Warrant Officer 2 Rupert Henry Davey (RCAF)
- Flying Officer Edwin Herbert Glazebrook DFC (RCAF)
- Pilot Officer John William Williams DFC (RCAF)
- Flight Sergeant Charles Edward Mutch (RCAF)
- Flight Lieutenant Erik Lawson Hetherington DFC (RAF)
- Sergeant David William James Spencer (RAF)
- Mr Edward James Rowe BEM age 40
- Mrs Hannah Eunice Rowe age 44
- Mrs Elizabeth Pricilla Sheldon (widow of Herbert Sheldon)
- Mrs Mabel Hucklebridge age 30
- Mrs Isabella Josephine Aston and her baby son Simon Aston, age 2 (Isabella was Maltese wife of FAA Pilot)
- Mrs Edna Patricia Chase age 27 and her baby son Thomas Chase
Survived:
- Flight Lieutenant Rae Walton (RAF - crew, injured)
- Pilot Officer GWR. Frampton (RAF - crew, injured)
- Pilot Officer EJ Sanders (RAF - crew)
- Sergeant EJ Booker (RAF-crew)
- Flight Sergeant I Watson (RAF - crew)
- Flight Sergeant J McCulloch (RAF - crew)
- Mrs DW Spencer, injured
- Mrs J Neighbours, injured
- Flight Sergeant LG Pow (RCAF)
- Flight Lieutenant AF Roscoe DFC (RCAF) (USA),
- Pilot Officer GF 'Buzz' Beurling DSO DFC DFM and Bar RAF (Canada)
- Warrant Officer 2 GHT 'Gord' Farquharson (RCAF)
- Wing Commander AH Donaldson DSO DFC AFC (RAF)
- Flying Officer FR Johnson (RAAF)
- Flying Officer AS Yates (RAAF)
- Flying Officer CAM Barbour (RAF)
- Flying Officer JGW Farmer (RAF)
- Flying Officer JAH Pinney (RAF)
- Pilot Officer FD Thomas (RAF)
- Pilot Officer LS Reid (RAAF)
- Pilot Officer CF Bush (RAF)
- Flight Sergeant DA Bye (RAF)
- Flight Sergeant AW Varey (RAF)
- Flight Sergeant EL Mahar (RAAF)
- Sergeant KR Mitchell (RAAF)
- Sergeant FW Clewley (RAAF)