Varden, Dennis Peter (Flight Lieutenant)

Survived 1945-June-30

Male Head

Birth Date: unkown date

Born:

Parents:

Spouse:

Home:

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: unkown date

Decorations: GM

Service

RCAF

Unit

45 Group (RAF)

Base

RCAF Stn. Dorval, Quebec

Rank

Flight Lieutenant

Position

1st Responder

Service Numbers

J/24596

Liberator KN 768 crashed at the aerodrome in Dorval, Quebec, near the house where pilot Flight Lieutenant DP Varden was staying while on leave from RCAF Station Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. He immediately entered the burning wreck and pulled out two crewmen who had been killed. A second survivor was pinned by wreckage that was too hot to handle. A third attempt pulled out a survivor. Flight Lieutenant Varden's wife brought him water which was used to cool the metal, but Flight Lieutenant Varden's hands were still burned releasing the trapped airmen and only ceased his rescue attempts when other people arrived to take over

For his efforts Flight Lieutenant Dennis Peter Varden (RCAF) was awarded the George Medal (Awards)

unvetted Source Microsoft Word - 16 - GM George Medal.docx

Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)

Crew or Other Personnel

Liberator KN768

Sergeant Geoffrey Frank Buers RAFVR

Sergeant Buers, Geoffrey Frank (RAFVR)
Wireless Operator
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-June-30
Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Flight Sergeant George Edward Chappell RAFVR

Flight Sergeant Chappell, George Edward (RAFVR)
Flight Engineer
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-June-30
Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Pilot Officer Ronald Clark RAFVR

Pilot Officer Clark, Ronald (RAFVR)
Bomb Aimer
Survived
1945-June-30
cemetery unknown

Sergeant Allan Thomas Furness RAFVR

Sergeant Furness, Allan Thomas (RAFVR)
Air Gunner
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-June-30
Kildonan Presbyterian Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Sergeant Alexander McCallum RAFVR

Sergeant McCallum, Alexander (RAFVR)
Air Gunner
Survived
1945-June-30
cemetery unknown

Flight Lieutenant Derek Mullin RAFVR

Flight Lieutenant Mullin, Derek (RAFVR)
Navigator
Survived
1945-June-30
cemetery unknown

Sergeant Ivor Ralph Platt RAFVR

Sergeant Platt, Ivor Ralph (RAFVR)
Air Gunner
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-June-30
Baron De Hirsch Cemetery, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Sergeant Gordon T H Sinclair RAFVR

Sergeant Sinclair, Gordon T H (RAFVR)
Air Gunner
Survived
1945-June-30
cemetery unknown

Flying Officer Derrick William Southwell RAFVR

Flying Officer Southwell, Derrick William (RAFVR)
Pilot
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-June-30
Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Pilot Officer Patrick E Squibb RAFVR

Pilot Officer Squibb, Patrick E (RAFVR)
Air Gunner
Survived
1945-June-30
cemetery unknown

Flight Lieutenant Dennis Peter Varden RCAF

Flight Lieutenant Varden, Dennis Peter (RCAF)
1st Responder
Survived
1945-June-30
cemetery unknown

Pilot Officer John Albert Winkley RAFVR

Pilot Officer Winkley, John Albert (RAFVR)
Pilot/1st Officer
Killed in Flying Accident
1945-June-30
Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Sergeant Ralph H Woods RAF

Sergeant Woods, Ralph H (RAF)
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner
Survived
1945-June-30
cemetery unknown

Mission

Liberator B 24 KN768

Ferry Flight 1945-June-30 to 1945-June-30

45 (T) Group (RAF) Dorval, Quebec

45 Group RAF Transport Command, Dorval Quebec. Liberator BVIII KN 768, leaving for a trans-Atlantic ferry flight to the UK, rotated and raised the undercarriage too early, which caused a propeller to strike the runway and come off. That engine cut-out and although the bomber lifted off the runway, it crashed in flames with the loss of six of the eleven crew aboard. Six crew members survived (from a quoted crew of 12, although many sites list 4 killed from this accident). Limited detail on the survivors has been found to date. All aboard KN768 were part of 6 Ferry Unit

The rescue efforts were immediate and one of the first to respond was Flight Lieutenant DP Varden (RCAF), on leave from RCAF Yarmouth and staying at a house near the crash site. Varden leapt into action, entering the flaming wreckage time and again to try to get the crew out, despite burning his hands in the process. Flight Lieutenant Varden was awarded the George Medal for his bravery

Ocean Bridge, The History of RAF Ferry Command by Carl A Christie page 329

The Liberator in Royal Air Force and Commonwealth Service by James D Oughton, with John Hamlin and Andrew Thomas, page 243

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

unvetted Source Aviation Safety Network

unvetted Source Clipping from The Montreal Star - Newspapers.com

Liberator serial: KN768

(DND Photos via James Craik) (Source Harold A Skaarup Web Page)
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

YouTube Liberator bomber