Rowe, Roy
Killed in Action 1943-08-25

Birth Date: 1917
Born:
Son of Alfred Rowe and of Alice (nee Tyler) Rowe
Home: Hamilton, Auckland, New Zealand
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: Unknown
Service
RNZAF
Unit
519 (RAF)
Base
RAF Wick
Rank
Pilot Officer
Position
Pilot Officer
Service Numbers
414720
Hampden Mk. I P5334
Meteorological 1943-August-25 to 1943-August-25
519 (Met) Sqn (RAF) RAF Wick
519 Squadron (Undaunted by Weather) RAF Wick. Hampden I aircraft P 5334 lost without a trace during a meteorological flight over the North Sea. A distress signal was received at 13:25 hours and a final message ten minutes later. No further contact was made and no trace of the aircraft or crew was found. A second Hampden I aircraft P2118 was lost later that night when it flew into high ground during a thunderstorm at Ben Loyal, Sutherlands, Scotland. There was only one survivor from the crew of P2118
Pilot Officer ED Bonin (RCAF), Flight Sergeant DL McNichol (RCAF), Pilot Officer FD Findlater (RAAF) and Pilot Officer R Rowe (RNZAF) were all missing presumed killed in action. The missing have no known grave and all are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial
Hampden P5334
Handley Page Hampden

Handley Page Hampden (Serial No. P5428), of No. 32 Operational Training Unit at RCAF Patricia Bay, British Columbia, in the torpedo-bomber training role between May 1942 and February 1944.
Handley Page developed a modern stressed-skin mid-wing monoplane, powered by Bristol Pegasus radial air cooled engines, with its first flight in 1936. It had the most advanced wings available at the time, giving it a remarkably low landing speed of 73 mph for an aircraft of its size, with a top speed of 265 mph. The Hampden had a short, narrow but tall main fuselage with a very slender tail unit. This configuration led to the nicknames "Flying Panhandle" and "Flying Suitcase". At the end of the war, no complete or partial Hampden aircraft were retained for museum display.
The Hampden served in the early stages of the war, bearing the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and in the first 1000-bomber raid on Cologne.In Canada, Hampdens were built by six companies that formed Associated Aircraft. There were three in Ontario and three in Quebec, hence they were identified as the Ontario Group and Quebec Group. They supplied all the the components to the two assembly plants. The Ontario Group's assembly plant was at the Malton Airport, while the Quebec group's assembly plant was at the St. Hubert Airport. Canadian Museum of Flight and Harold A Skaarup web page