Help identifying Canadian grandpa's WWII plane

[Lillikitch]

Hello everyone
My grandpa flew bomber planes in WWII for the RCAF and we recently discovered an old bag of photos he had. One of the photos is the one below, presumably taken while he was in the air.

It's blurry but is anyone here able to suggest what kind of plane he might have been in from this engine picture?

Thank you!

 

[herman1rg]

I would say Handley Page Halifax, but I'm sure someone else with more expertise might happen along shortly

 

[herman1rg]

Do you know which unit he flew with?

 

[SaparotRob]

Hi Lillikitch and welcome. I'm sure the "Those Who Know" will solve this in about 3 more posts, not including when we go off on tangents.

 

[Lillikitch]

Do you know which unit he flew with?

I think he flew with the Snowy Owl squadron (420).

 

[fubar57]

If he did fly with 420, you might find his name in here. You have to register to download the orbs

Search results: Squadron Number: 420 RCAF operation record books | The National Archives

The official archive of the UK government. Our vision is to lead and transform information management, guarantee the survival of today's information for tomorrow and bring history to life for everyone.

discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk

 

[SaparotRob]

We have a Winner!

 

[fubar57]

L Lillikitch PM sent

 

[mjfur]

RCAF 420 Snowy Owl Squadron

RCAF 420 Snowy Owl

Paying homage to Marcel Baillargeon and RCAF 420 Snowy Owl

rcaf420snowyowl.wordpress.com

 

[JDCAVE]

You never did tell us his name. Perhaps you told people off-line. Depending on when he served with the Squadron, I might be of assistance, with additional documents beyond the ORB's.

Jim

 

[Lillikitch]

Sorry, his name was D. M. Lillicrap, although they misspelled his last name in his dog tags (Lilicrap).

I went through tons of the 420 ORBs today and I couldn't see his name anywhere. Maybe we got the squadron wrong...

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Looks like a Hercules engine to me.

 

[fubar57]

Do you have the photo of the aircraft he was standing by. That might help. The "PT" code is definitely 420 Squadron

 

[Wurger]

Perhaps it could be worth to have a look at the site ... RCAF 420 Snowy Owl Squadron

 

[JDCAVE]

Go and post on the RAF Commands forum, General Category. There are people on that forum who are experienced In determining this information.

Forums - RAFCommands Forums

vBulletin Forums

www.rafcommands.com

Jim

 

[finnster]

Hello everyone
My grandpa flew bomber planes in WWII for the RCAF and we recently discovered an old bag of photos he had. One of the photos is the one below, presumably taken while he was in the air.

It's blurry but is anyone here able to suggest what kind of plane he might have been in from this engine picture?

Thank you!

View attachment 697247

I think that's a Halifax. The air scoop on the top is similar to that of the Short Stirling too though. Here's a picture of a Halifax: https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.C5VAw9F_WasuV2Tj9FxfGwHaE8?pid=ImgDet&rs=1
Here's a link to an image of a Short Stirling:

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/df/fe/51/dffe5125376b527e59fdc293a56d98b4--ww-planes-stirling.jpg

 

[Wurger]

Since the Wellington was a four-engine bomber? Although the pic is blurry it can be seen that there are two radial engines attached to the starboard wing. Even the image would be reveresed there still would be two engines per a wing.

 

[Wurger]

I think that's a Halifax. The air scoop on the top is similar to that of the Short Stirling too though. Here's a picture of a Halifax: https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.C5VAw9F_WasuV2Tj9FxfGwHaE8?pid=ImgDet&rs=1
Here's a link to an image of a Short Stirling:

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/df/fe/51/dffe5125376b527e59fdc293a56d98b4--ww-planes-stirling.jpg

For sure it is the Halifax bomber what already has been stated by herman1rg in the post #2. It can be noticed that there is a small scoop at the back of the carburettor air intake of the inboard engine at the top of the cowling. The outer one doesn't have it. The kind of the small scoops and the same layout for the starboard wing of the bomber can be found in pics of the NA337 restored and displayed at the RCAF Memorial Museum. Also the same can be found in the B&W image below.

Neither the Stirling with the short air intakes nor with the long ( especially these long air intakes if compared to those of the Halifax ) had such small scoops there.

the pic source: the net.

 

[herman1rg]

Wurger, I give you Bacon Sir

 

[Wurger]

Thank you very much.