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Clark, Ronald (Pilot Officer)

Survived 1945-June-30

Male Head

Birth Date: unkown date (age )

Home: Staffordshire, England

Service
RAFVR
Unit
6 FU- Ferry Unit (RAF)
Base
Dorval, Quebec
Rank
Pilot Officer
Marshal
Air Chief MarshalA/C/M
Air MarshalA/M
Air Vice MarshalA/V/M
Air CommodoreA/C
Group CaptainG/C
Wing CommanderW/C
Squadron LeaderS/L
Flight LieutenantF/L
Flying OfficerF/O
Pilot OfficerP/O
Warrant Officer 1st ClassWO1
Warrant Officer 2nd ClassWO2
Flight SergeantFS
SergeantSGT
CorporalCPL
Senior AircraftmanSAC
Leading AircraftmanLAC
Aircraftman 1st ClassAC1
Aircraftman 2nd ClassAC2
Position
Bomb Aimer
Service Numbers

Liberator B 24 KN768

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

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 F/L 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. F/L 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

General [Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database]...

General Aviation Safety Network

General Clipping from The Montreal Star - Newspapers.com

General Clipping from The Montreal Star - Newspapers.com

Aircraft allocated to India but on takeoff from Dorval on delivery flight by 6FU undercarriage retracted prematurely, one propeller hit the runway and flew off, the engine cut and the aircraft crashed.

Killed: Sgt Geoffrey Frank Buers RAF KIA Mount Royal Cemetery Montreal Sec. G.943. Grave 468. F/Sgt George Edward Chappell RAF KIA (Mount Royal Cemetery Sec. G.943. Grave 467. Sgt Allan Thomas Furness RAF KIA Old Kildonan Presbyterian Cemetery Plot 356. Sec. B. Sgt Ivor Ralph Platt RAF KIA Baron De Hirsch Memorial Park, Montreal Sec. 25. Plot 21. F/O Derrick William Southwell RAF KIA Mount Royal Cemetery Sec. G.943. Grave 465. F/O John Albert Winkley RAF KIA Mount Royal Cemetery Sec. G.943. Grave 466.

Crew on Liberator B 24 KN768

Consolidated Liberator B-24 / F-7

(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

Wkikpedia Wikipedia Liberator bomber

General Harold A Skaarup Web Page

CASPIR Aircraft Groups:
RCAF On Strength (148), RCAF 400 Squadron (19), Canadian Aircraft Losses (145), Canadian Ferried (1)
last update: 2021-09-18 19:06:22

Liberator B 24 KN768

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