# RCAF 409 nfs



## Erich (Apr 5, 2006)

ok Canadian friends, time to do a little research if you would..........

looking for some information on the RCAF 409th Night hawks flying out of Lille in 44 and later into 1945 and what type of Mossie they were equipped with, also the total kills for the unit during WW 2 and flying bombs.

One crew on Dec. 27/28, 1944 claimed 2 Ju 88G's and damaged a third while the German craft were on evening ground attack missions during the Ardenne battles. Anyone have access to those combat reports possibly from the Canadian archiv's or where I could look for these ??

many thanks as usual






Erich ~


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## Nonskimmer (Apr 5, 2006)

Apparently 409 Sqn. flew the Mosquito Mk.XIII, their total kill tally was 61.5, and they accounted for ten V-1's shot down. This is just based on a quick search of course. Still looking for the info on Dec 27/28 '44.

http://www.rcaf.com/squadrons/400series/409squadron.php

And from:
http://www.airforce.forces.ca/hist/ww_2_e.asp

_"When the German V-1 flying-bombs began buzzing across the Channel in June 1944, two RCAF Mosquito squadrons were detailed to patrol the night skies as part of the first line of defence. No. 409 Squadron destroyed ten flying-bombs during the comparatively short time it was engaged on this work."_


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## Erich (Apr 6, 2006)

Skim thanks for that. I see there might be a possibility that two Mossie members that I am looking into still live in Nova Scotia. If so may I send you a private with their phone numbers that you may contact them to see if this is a reality ? It might be just surviving familie only but then again the pilot and radar op could still be with us. The pilot in this case was an ace with 5 kills

E


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## Nonskimmer (Apr 6, 2006)

Erich said:


> I see there might be a possibility that two Mossie members that I am looking into still live in Nova Scotia. If so may I send you a private with their phone numbers that you may contact them to see if this is a reality ?


Absolutely. I'd be very interested indeed to find out myself. 

I've had no luck yet finding the specific info you seek on Dec.27/28 1944, but I'm still hunting. I'll see if some of the fellas at the Legion might know how to best go about tracking down that kind of info.


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## Erich (Apr 6, 2006)

great Skim much appreciated, when I pull the names, and numbers out I will send you a private later today.......

E


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## pbfoot (Apr 26, 2006)

I found a link that may help you its for the Comox air museum. Comox on Vancouver Island being the base where 409 was stood down in the 90s?
but they boast that they have a large library so they may be able to assist you THeir library indicates that they have several histories for 409
http://www.comoxairforcemuseum.ca/Home.html


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## Nightfighter (Jan 23, 2007)

I realize this is an old thread , but my father was an engine mechanic in 409 Sq. in WW2. I can't remember the exact model of Mossie the used but it had the " bulb" radar nose.
There exists a photo of "A" for Able flying through the arch of the Eiffel Tower with very little clearance.


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## mhuxt (Jan 24, 2007)

Now THAT would be a picture to see!


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## brickhistory (Jan 24, 2007)

Interviewed several 409 RCAF Sq pilots and R/Os for a series of Beau articles I once did. No info about the 27/28 Dec 44 date unfortunately (I realize this is an old thread.)

However, didn't know whether to start a new thread or piggyback on this one.
Seeking info regarding a Ju 290 shootdown on the evening of the same day - 27/28 Dec 44. That was the last US Beau kill. 

Anyone have info about the Ju and/or its mission?


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## Nightfighter (Jan 25, 2007)

Somewhere I have a newspaper clipping of it that is about 10 years old .
If I can find it , I will relay it . 
That photo is in the Squadron History book that all members got after the War.
My fathers book is still in my mothers possesion.
It gives a list of all the kills made and by who !


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## mhuxt (Jan 25, 2007)

Thanks Nightfighter.


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## Erich (Jan 25, 2007)

I'd like to see that article if possible. also the Ju 290 info. as well. will check on the Ju 88G downing further ..........

keep us posted of the findings right here if you would please


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## brickhistory (Jan 25, 2007)

I'm sure Erich's wanting to see the article was about the 'Thru the Eiffel Tower' story (I'd like to see that as well!), but here's a story of RCAF night fighters of 409 Squadron (RCAF):

This is an excerpt from a series, hence RCAF and some other references that were spelled out earlier are not in this.


“Win Some, Lose Some”

William “Bill” Vincent joined the RCAF as soon as he graduated from school in 1940. Another product of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, he won his pilot wings in March 1942. His graduating class was another where 90 percent of the pilots were made NCOs and 10 percent were commissioned. They were also all graduates of the twin-engine course.
Bill recalls that most of his class was posted to England and into Bomber Command since their arrival coincided with the beginnings of that Command’s introduction of four-engined aircraft and the establishment of many new bomber squadrons.
He, however, was posted to nightfighters. He was introduced to the Beaufighter in the Mk II Merlin-powered version at No. 54 OTU at Charter Hall. This version had an even greater reputation for ground looping due to the longer nacelles needed to contain the Merlins as compared to the shorter, Hercules radials. His most memorable flight in the Mk II had nothing to do with ground operations however.
In Bill’s words, “I had about 20 hours in the Beau and was out practicing A.I. (airborne interception) intercepts. We would fly out in pairs, one aircraft acting as the target for a while, then swap roles and conduct our own intercepts on the other aircraft and under GCI (ground control intercept) control.
“On Friday, November 13, 1942, I had a mid-air collision with another Mk II. I was acting as the target and the ‘fighter’ was vectored onto me. As he completed his curve pursuit intercept he did not complete the breakaway properly. He was supposed to pull off to either the left or the right. Instead, he came right underneath my aircraft and pulled up right in front of me.
“He misjudged his pull up and my starboard engine chopped off his left elevator. He was trying to throw me into his slipstream, which would make it very difficult to maintain control of my aircraft. As it was, the collision and prop wash flipped me upside down and it took a lot of altitude to regain control.
“The other guy was unable to regain any control and went straight in. Neither he nor his nav got out.
“I was having my own troubles just then, however. The propeller blades of the Mk II were wooden, variable pitch ones. When the accident occurred, the blades just shattered and wood went flying everywhere. Fortunately, none broke through the cockpit plexiglass. If it had, I would have been skewered.
“I lost a lot of height getting my aircraft back to level flight. I had to watch not over-G’ing the plane because my starboard engine had been bent sharply off center. The supports and brackets were really stressed and I didn’t think the engine would stay on the wing. It did, however, and I was able to recover and land.
“They conducted an investigation and I was found not to be at fault. Seems the other pilot had a history of such ‘pull ups’ but had never been reported. This time he cut it too close and killed himself. Unfortunately, he took his navigator in with him and almost my crew as well.”
Bill finished his night fighter training and was subsequently posted to No. 409 Squadron (RCAF) located at an airfield named Coleby Grange just south of the city of Lincoln in central England. The squadron was equipped with Mk VI Beaufighters. In December 1942, Bill was commissioned as a pilot officer. As he puts it, “I wasn’t commissioned because I was exceptional but rather because Canada wanted to ‘Canadianize’ their overseas squadrons by eliminating or replacing the RAF and other Commonwealth squadron members in the Canadian units. No matter, it put me on a more equal footing with my Canadian nav, who already was a commissioned officer.”
Due to the decline in relative numbers of the Luftwaffe and the growth in numbers of night fighter squadrons, 409 had relatively little trade in their sector.
Lacking said enemy activity, in April 1944, the squadron moved to the south to the famous night fighter field of West Malling. In addition to a new airfield, the Canadians were switching to a new aircraft, the Mosquito and designated as a D-Day invasion squadron.
On that day, June 6 1944 and after, there was plenty of enemy activity associated with the invasion of France. Numerous Ju 88 and Ju 188 aircraft were active laying mines in the invasion beach waters and the squadron racked up an impressive number of kills against these aircraft. During this time, V-1 ‘Flying Bombs’ were also being fired from the Calais area towards London; these pilotless aircraft often flew right over 409’s airfield and disrupted squadron activity transiting to and from their patrol area. 
Eventually the squadron was moved from West Malling to RAF Hunsden, northeast of London. They were assigned against the V-1s for about a month. Although 409 enjoyed little success intercepting the V-1s, they did a brisk business against the pesky minelayers. Crews were obviously eager to join in during this burst of trade.
By this time in the war, Bill recalls that it took six kills to earn a DFC. He never earned a DFC, but he did achieve one kill. On the evening of June 26, 1944 Bill and his nav were on patrol over the Normandy beaches. A GCI site located on a barge near the French town of Fecamp picked up an intruder flying the same profile as earlier minelayers and vectored Bill onto it. 
The GCI controller continued giving vectors for the crew to steer until the nightfighter’s radar made contact with the bogey (an unindentified radar contact). Picking up the chase, Bill’s navigator brought Bill into visual range. All A.I. intercepts had to go to a visual identification to avoid shooting down a friendly aircraft. Bill gained such a ‘visual,’ sighting a Ju 188.
Bill picks up the story, “He was just turning towards the beachhead when I laid on some deflection and gave him a short two second burst of cannon fire which hit him in the port engine near the wing root and he went down, creating a large fireball when the aircraft hit the water.
“The GCI controller radioed me that he saw the Jerry hit the water.”
“Recently an RAF officer researching the fates of German aircraft that failed to return from missions against the invasion and beaches contacted me about this engagement. Evidently some of the Ju’s crew did bail out and were fished out of the water by the Royal Navy. They spent the rest of the war as POWs.
“This officer was able to pinpoint the exact latitude and longitude as well as the precise date and time of the kill - one minute past midnight, June 27, 1944!”
In July 1944, Bill was tour expired and was posted to No 54 nightfighter OTU for a rest. It was here that he became reacquainted with the Beaufighter. He instructed new crops of eager crews in the aerial tactics required for successful nightfighting. He went later back to operations with 410 Squadron (RCAF) in France again flying Mosquitoes. He flew from numerous fields there and in Belgium, Holland, and Germany until the end of the war.
Bill remained in the RCAF after the war eventually rising to the rank of Major General. He remained an active military pilot until his retirement in 1976. He was a driving force in the establishment of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a joint US-Canadian air and space defense of the northern hemisphere. Since his military career, he has been very active in local government- being elected an alderman for his hometown of Comox for 18 consecutive years, helped with numerous charities, and served as Chairman, Canadian Fighter Pilots Association, Western Region


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## Nightfighter (Jan 25, 2007)

http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=38779&stc=1&d=1169776942
409.jpg
409 Mossie , Left to right , Bill Raven , Al Sherwood , Harold Fowler ( my father ) all members of "A" Flight Ground Crew.


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## Bernhart (Jan 25, 2007)

I used to correspond with a fellow who processed the flight films of the bomb runs and gun tapes, unfortunatley he passed away a few years ago, i might have some info on where they were stationed that sorta thing will have a look


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## Erich (Jan 25, 2007)

Night fighter may I ask what is above the radome and in front of the cockpit-colour ? or is it another tarp ? also the motiff which must be a personal one on the left side / pilot/radar op names ?

great pic. Is your father still with us ?

Erich ~


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## Erich (Jan 25, 2007)

I am going to have to dig but think Mark helped me with the combat reports from Britten and Fownes.

1 Ju 88G-6 was shot down by the 409sq crew near Kaldenkirchen. Ju 88G-6 from 3./NJG 2, werk nummer 620591. 3 man crew, two wounded the thrid bailed out. German report mentions it was from Flak.
1 Ju 88G-6 shot down by Flak hits through German reports but found it was from a Mossie Night fighter. Ju 88G-6 coded: 4R+OH from 1./NJG 2 shot down near Grathem. The pilot and rear gunner were KIA, the Radar operator bailed out and captured by the English.

27/28 of December was a bad night for the German night fighter force with some 9 losses, Bf 110G-4 and Ju 88G variants. Four of the losses are for missing a/c and crews. As most combat for the Germans in the Ardenne was night ground attack to aide the German advance or retreat on the ground.


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## Nightfighter (Jan 25, 2007)

Hi Eric , I think it is just another tarp , as the cockpit is tarpped.
I could never make out exactly what the figure / logo was but above it is 3 Kills and 2 Probables.
Sorry to say my father passed on 20 years ago ,but I still remember some of the stories he told !


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## Erich (Jan 25, 2007)

so sorry to hear of your father passing ! please if anything comes to mind on the squadron please post
seeing a copy or a listing of kills, probs and damages for the squadron would be choice. If dates are included we may be able to match up German losses to Squadron crews


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## Nightfighter (Jan 25, 2007)

I certainly will do Eric....just bear with me , I seem to have misplaced a bunch of material.
I have spent the last couple of years researching my grandfathers WW1 history ,so things got put away some where ??


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## Erich (Jan 25, 2007)

I can be patient...........now to find the combat report(s) of the above RCAF crew that I first mentioned ......

417nfs crew shot down the Ju 290 mentioned on the December 44 date, but brick you probably have this info. Most likely the Ju 290A was on agent dropping mission(s)


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## brickhistory (Jan 28, 2007)

A Keen 24 Year Old

Jack Roff became an aviation addict in 1927. The then 12 year old saw his first airplane when a yellow-painted floatplane conducting aerial surveys flew over his small town on the coast of British Columbia. From then on, he was hooked on anything related to flying.
As he grew up, however, the pressing needs of earning a living superseded his dream of flying. He worked at times as a lumberjack and in various factories for 15-30 cents per hour, glad frankly to have a job during the Depression. All that changed, however, in March 1939 when Jack spied an advertisement in the newspaper for young men to apply for RAF pilot training.
Taking the train to Ottawa, he was accepted for the program and was given a ticket to England. Jack and several other hopefuls were told that if they didn’t make it into the RAF as flyers, their trip home would also be paid for.
After 12 hours in an Anson Cadet bi-plane, Jack was deemed as “unlikely to become a proficient service pilot.” He was politely, but firmly, put out of the RAF’s care. Asking about the “free trip home” he had been promised, no one in authority seemed to know anything about it. So Jack was stuck.
Fortunately, his RAF screening had been conducted near Coventry. With war imminent, it was now June 1939; many industries were gearing up to produce military equipment so jobs were plentiful. Jack worked for eight months before be able to head back to Canada in April 1941.
He enlisted in the RCAF that same month, hoping to become an observer. Also sharing the common experiences concerning ITS and navigation school as did the other RCAF flyers in this article, Jack did his time in navigation, bombing, and air gunnery courses. After seven months, he won his navigator wings and by February 1942 found himself in a two-ship convoy attended by tow destroyers, one brand new, one an old ‘four stacker’ borrowed from WWI surplus American stocks, bound for England. 
Two hours after leaving Halifax harbor, the new destroyer was torpedoed and blew up and sank near the stern of Jack’s transport. The other ‘four stacker’ soldiered on however, and the convoy proceeded. Jack says of this trip, “I was never so scared for the rest of my war!”
Obviously, Jack’s ship made it to England where he and the other fledgling aircrew were placed in one of several manning depots. There he waited and waited. As mentioned in Bill Vincent’s story of the massive buildup of heavy bomber squadrons, most of the airmen expected to go to Stirlings, Halifxes or Lancasters. Due to delays in new aircraft reaching squadrons, however, new aircrew languished for months sometimes waiting for a posting.
Jack escaped his purgatory by volunteering for a ‘secret job.’ He and several hundred other navigators were briefed of a need for volunteers for a “job with danger and full of action.” The incentive was that the posting would be almost immediate. Almost to a man, the group stepped forward. So it was that Jack found himself sent off to A.I school in Scotland. Considered so secret at the time, Jack says he still has trouble speaking about it today. The RAF was still responding to the vital need to bolster its night defenses.
It was in Scotland that Jack first flew in a Beaufighter and learned to operate the A.I. radar, in his case the first really operational version, the Mk IV A.I. The Mk IV had several eccentricities that made it challenging for its operators. The Mk IV displayed target information on two separate scopes, one for height and one for range. In addition to extrapolating target intentions from both scopes, the Mk IV was hindered by its inability to blank out ‘clutter’ or interference caused by the radar waves reflecting from the earth’s surface. The lower the Mk IV was to the surface, the more the two displays were swamped by interference. This problem was greatly reduced in later A.I. radars but for now, Jack just had to cope with the limitation.
Another early Beau quirk foisted on a navigator’s shoulders was the necessity to manually reload the four 20 mm cannons. The breeches of the cannons were located just aft of the pilot and were fed by ammunition drums. Imagine ack-ack guns being fed by a gunner’s assistant and one has a fair approximation of the job required. Now add in the fact that it is night and one’s pilot, having emptied the guns at a target, is having to follow an alert, maneuvering enemy by throwing the Beaufighter around the sky. Not a fun job for the navigator at all! Thankfully, later Beau marks had automated ammunition feeds.
Jack was also posted to 409 Squadron in July 1942. For the next 18 months, he flew dozens of patrols, guarding Britain’s skies from the Wash north to the Hebrides and over to Norway and the Skaggerat and chasing contacts over the North Sea. Too often, however, Jack’s crew had to abandon the chase as the quarry made the safety of occupied territory. The RAF had issued strict instructions that A.I aircraft were NOT to be risked over enemy territory.
Recalling one situation where he was unable to help, he tells of a sortie to escort a group of Norwegian fishing boats making a dash to freedom across the North Sea. “ We were at our limit for fuel when we found them and couldn’t stick around. We found out later that the Jerries really worked them over soon after we left.”
Jack really liked the strength of the Beaufighter. He recounted on experience of a crew returning from a sortie and losing its brakes. He says of the affected Beau, “It ran off the runway, through a stone wall and into a flock of sheep. It only required a couple of new props and it was back on operations.”
Jack’s first combat tour ended in May 1944. He went back to Canada for a rest and started another tour with No. 410 Squadron (RCAF) flying Mosquitoes in France.
He makes a comparison between the Beaufighter and De Havilland’s product thusly, “The Mossy was a pretty bird. A different craft than the Beau, light and maneuverable with a better radar but a difficult kite to get out of in a hurry. The Beau was much more rugged and heavily armored, but not nearly as much fun to fly.”


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## Gnomey (Jan 29, 2007)

Interesting story, thanks for sharing.


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## rafnav (Oct 5, 2008)

Nightfighter said:


> I realize this is an old thread , but my father was an engine mechanic in 409 Sq. in WW2. I can't remember the exact model of Mossie the used but it had the " bulb" radar nose.
> There exists a photo of "A" for Able flying through the arch of the Eiffel Tower with very little clearance.



I have a copy of a photo of "A" Able flying thru the Eiffel Tower. It is signed by the late Bill Bryant RAF, an old friend of mine, who was the navigator of that aircraft piloted by Bob Boorman RCAF. The caption reads as follows" This Stars Stripes photograph was taken on 14 September 1944 and shows a Mosquito Mk XIII of 409 Squadron RCAF. Pilot - W/O Bob Boorman RCAF ,Navigator F/S Bill Bryant RAF Flying through the Eiffel Tower. How the picture came to be taken is another story told to me before Bill Bryant died!!!
Nic Shelley, Sqn Ldr RAF (Ret'd)


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## Nightfighter (Oct 5, 2008)

rafnav .... good to hear from you , please post the photo if you can , and do tell us the story please !!!


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## Erich (Oct 5, 2008)

yes please post the photo if you would sir when time permits

Erich ~


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## mhuxt (Oct 6, 2008)

Lordy, yes, post post post!


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## Airframes (Oct 6, 2008)

Agreed! That is one photo I'd DEFINITELY like to see!


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## kenanrdk (May 12, 2009)

Saw some reference here to the Eiffel Tower shot from the WW2 scrapbook - does any one know the real story of "Could this be A for Able"??? (photo attached) OR perhaps some info about my Uncle, J. Deryck Hore-Kennard?? kit.kennard-AT-sympatico.ca


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## Nightfighter (May 13, 2009)

Yes this is the same photo that appears in the 409 Squadron hard cover history book that was printed in late 1945 or 1946. Although I have not seen my father's book since my last visit several years ago , I do remember this photo very well. Thanks for posting it kenanrdk


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## pbfoot (May 13, 2009)

I've read some where it was possibly a 410 bird


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## 3rd Generation Nighthawk (Oct 16, 2009)

Hi guys, 
My names Matthew Bouchard. My grandfather was a Corporal in the 409 from 1941-45. I just got into doing some research. I was wondering if anyone had found a list from the squadron, seen his name, or anything. I assume he was ground crew. I have some pictures I could upload as well. Might be of some interest. Can anyone help me out?


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## 3rd Generation Nighthawk (Oct 16, 2009)

Oh, and does anyone know of anywhere in Montreal I could get a hand on that 409 Squadron history book?


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## 3rd Generation Nighthawk (Oct 16, 2009)

Oh and, of course his name was Marcel Bouchard, R. 73730.


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## Wayne Forest Fisher (Dec 12, 2009)

Nightfighter said:


> I realize this is an old thread , but my father was an engine mechanic in 409 Sq. in WW2. I can't remember the exact model of Mossie the used but it had the " bulb" radar nose.
> There exists a photo of "A" for Able flying through the arch of the Eiffel Tower with very little clearance.



I know this is an old post but I have a copy of the 409 WW II year book that has a great photo of flying under the Eiffel tower


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## kenanrdk (Mar 22, 2011)

I found an original copy of the Journal documenting RCAF 409 in WWII - crew photos, aerial photos etc etc it's about 40 pages. This has been scanned in high resolution format. Please contact me if you require a copy. Includes COULD THIS BE A FOR ABLE. Contact me at kit.kennard-AT-sympatico.ca


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## mhuxt (Mar 23, 2011)

Check email Kit.


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## greatercaper (Nov 3, 2011)

Erich said:


> Skim thanks for that. I see there might be a possibility that two Mossie members that I am looking into still live in Nova Scotia. If so may I send you a private with their phone numbers that you may contact them to see if this is a reality ? It might be just surviving familie only but then again the pilot and radar op could still be with us. The pilot in this case was an ace with 5 kills




My grandfather was the pilot of the mossie that night he had 2 kills on that night JU88s I do believe.

here is a link:

Ralph Britten


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## DB999 (Jun 5, 2014)

Hi, this thread stretches back some years, but this may be of interest regarding the 409 Squadron RCAF Mosquito photographed flying through the legs of the Eiffel Tower? 

I'm the son of F/S Bill Bryant (navigator) who, flown by his pilot W/O Bob Boorman, was in the aircraft photographed. My father passed away a few years ago, after a happy and fulfilled life, but had told me at lhow this event came to take place.

The squadron had been the first nightfighter squadron into Europe after D-Day and had supported the Allied landforces' advances over the following weeks, moving from airfield to airfield in France and Belgium before crossing the Rhine. 

One evening, after the liberation of Paris, the two men decided to enjoy an evening in the city and were enjoying (several) drinks in the Hotel Trocadéro when they were joined by a reporter and photographer from the Stars Stripes (US Forces) newspaper. After several more drinks, the Americans asked the flyers if they were planning to fly the next day, to which they replied that they were due to be on patrol over Paris the following morning.

The Americans then suggested that a shot of their aircraft flying between the legs of the Eiffel Tower, visible just a few hundred yards away, would make a good picture! After further discussions about wingspans and clearances while standing (unsteadily) on the balcony looking across at the Tower, Bob and Bill, slightly the worse for wear at this stage, agreed to give it a go! The Americans promised to be in place and, having taken their squadron details, bade them a good night.

The following morning, with somewhat sore heads, the two were flying over Paris when Bob asked Bill if he fancied taking up the challenge suggested the previous night. “You must be joking!” protested Bill. After further protests, he agreed that they ought to at least go and take a look. Flying around the Tower a few times, they agreed that there was in fact greater width and height than one might expect, and decided to go for it.

Bill told me that the flight through went without a hitch, but that they had got a shock as the hotel came quickly into full view and they had to pull up sharply to avoid ploughing straight into it at 250mph! (See a modern day view at https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...0x47e66ffb6657fd9d:0x1d5d0efffa176a12!6m1!1e1 )

They heard nothing from the two Americans for some time, as the squadron continued to move forward from airfield to airfield towards Germany. However, after a few weeks a brown-paper parcel caught up with them and it was opened to reveal the photo in question. The two men did not want their names publicly attributed to the event at the time as this would undoubtedly have been a court-marshal offence, but word soon got around unofficially. I also have a copy of the photo, inscribed as has been previously mentioned by one of dad's former Aircrew Association colleagues (whom I hope is still with us!), on my study wall in front of me as I type.

Best wishes to all former wartime members of 409 – it would be wonderful to hear from any although I suspect almost all have gone on to ‘touch the face of God’ by now. Kindest regards to all relatives of these heroes too.

[See RCAF Squadron 409: The Nighthawks for a copy of the 409's wartime story, published soon after the war. Lots of excellent photos, including the Eiffel Tower one, and plenty of information.]


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## kenanrdk (Jun 9, 2014)

Mr. Bryant (DB999) - 

Thanks very much for this 

The RCAF 409 Nighthawks 1941-1945 on AirCrew Remembered http://www.aircrewremembered.com/Nighthawks/nighthawksstory.html has very recently been published and made text searchable from the original that I submitted from a copy held by by my Aunt Pat, widow of Flt./Lt. J. Deryck Hore-Kennard J.9309

I am currently wiring an Appendix and will include your backgrounder in it . GREAT stuff. Do you have any other published references or official records to use? I contacted the Stars and Stripes archive in Washington DC, they had nothing. Assuming, of course that they looked hard enough !!

If you or anyone else has related background for the Appendix I would be very glad to see it. This and related family history in published on KITKENNARD.COM

Kit Kennard

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## DB999 (Jul 31, 2014)

Hi Kit. No, I'm afraid I don't have any further published references. This is the reason I started searching online for any other sources. 

I do have a VHS tape, though, that was sent to my dad some years ago by a former squadron colleague, Bill Marr. Unfortunately, I can't view it - just white noise - which I suspect is something to do with the difference in Zone formats between North America and Europe. The sticker on the front reads: "409 Sqdn - 1993 Winnipeg Reunion. Note - VHS Format! Home camcorder - Author unknown. Bill Marr. Canadian Mosquito Teo (Tony) Televi - Eiffel Tower fly-through story." 

Dad never viewed it either, so I must see if I can get a professional to look at it and transcribe it to a digital format. If I get any success, I'll get back to you.

Best wishes

David Bryant


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## DB999 (Jul 31, 2014)

I'm sure someone has already posted about this somewhere, but you may be interested in this:

MIDNIGHT IS STILL NOON FOR NIGHTHAWKS
The history of No. 409 Squadron
by FLIGHT LIEUTENANT F. J. HATCH RCAF Air Historical Section

www.manitobamilitaryaviationmuseum.com/PDF/409squadron.pdf


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## mossiefan (Nov 12, 2014)

Hi. My father (Les Richards) also served as an engine mechanic in 409 Squadron in WW2 and my family would visit with yours from time to time. If you see this post please reply, I would enjoy chatting with you as it's been over 50 years.


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## mossiefan (Nov 12, 2014)

mossiefan said:


> Hi. My father (Les Richards) also served as an engine mechanic in 409 Squadron in WW2 and my family would visit with yours *Nightfighter* from time to time. If you see this post please reply, I would enjoy chatting with you as it's been over 50 years.



This message was directed to "Nightfighter"


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## Crimea_River (Nov 12, 2014)

He hasn't posted in over 5 years so you may not get an answer. Welcome aboard though. So what makes you a "mossie fan"?


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## thisbuds4u (Mar 3, 2015)

Hello all I recently acquired my deceased grandfathers trunk from the war, Cpl. Newt Coppel was a member of the ground crew A.E.M. and had taken a huge amount of photos during his time overseas. I can post some pictures of members and planes from the squadron if anyone is interested. Here's a few let me know if you want me to post any more.

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## Crimea_River (Mar 4, 2015)

More please! Love this kind of stuff.


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## Airframes (Mar 5, 2015)

Yep, m ore please. I've seen that pic with the rifle before somewhere, probably on this forum.


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## John Reid (Jun 18, 2018)

My dad was CO of this SQDN overseas in1944-45 when his tour finished.


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