RCAF 405 Squadron ???? LQ-L ???

[georgetanksherman]

Currently working on RCAF 405 Squadron, need some help Identifying the aircraft, if possible. the problem that I am having is that I can not pinpoint to which "LQ-L" they are talking about, as RCAF 405 Squadron had 3 "LQ-L' aircraft, Wellingtons, Z8527, Z8329 and W5530

Z8527 was lost on April 1/2, 1942 … Z9329 was lost on April 17,1942 … have no info on W5530

On 24th/25th July 1941 Scott, Lockyer, Perkin and Courtnall and Dearney were flying Wellington "LQ-L" on Ops to Brest to attack the Gneisenua. The Wellington was attacked by an Me109 and its cannon and machine gun fire damaged the fuselage and seriously injured their then rear gunner Sgt Hubert Dearnley, on crossing the English coast the pilot, Sgt Scott force landed the Wellington at Roborough in Devon probably so the rear gunner could get medical attention, Sgt Dearnley was trapped inside the aircraft, so the fuselage was further damaged to extract him. Sadly, their efforts were in vein as Sgt Dearnley died later in hospital from his injuries.

Pilot: Sgt W.L. Scott, R/61631, RCAF, Survived (K.I.A. June 28, 1942)
Gnr: Sgt H. Dearnley, 1020220, RAFVR, South Shore, Blackpool, England

Any help would greatly be appreciated, Cheers !

[Ludford 101]

How about Wellington L5530?

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.u ... /C16757122

[Temujin]

405 Squadron records for that day. Aircraft “L” was W5530 on the 24th July 1941

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[Temujin]

On 24th/25th July 1941 Scott, Lockyer, Perkin and Courtnall and Dearney were flying Wellington "LQ-L" on Ops to Brest to attack the Gneisenua.

Please note in records:

Crew of “L” W5530 was:

Sgt Scott
Sgt McNutt
P/O Lockyer
Sgt Perkin
Sgt Courtnall
Sgt Dearnley

[Temujin]

On 24th/25th July 1941 Scott, Lockyer, Perkin and Courtnall and Dearney were flying Wellington "LQ-L" on Ops to Brest to attack the Gneisenua. The Wellington was attacked by an Me109 and its cannon and machine gun fire damaged the fuselage and seriously injured their then rear gunner Sgt Hubert Dearnley, on crossing the English coast the pilot, Sgt Scott force landed the Wellington at Roborough in Devon probably so the rear gunner could get medical attention, Sgt Dearnley was trapped inside the aircraft, so the fuselage was further damaged to extract him. Sadly, their efforts were in vein as Sgt Dearnley died later in hospital from his injuries.

Also note in the records, Their aircraft was FIRST attacked by a He113, BEFORE then being attacked by a Me109

BUT, if you google He113, this was a “ficticious aircraft” made up by the Germans, most of the “claimed” He113’s that were shot down were discovered to be Me109’s.......so I suspect the aircraft may have been attacked by TWO Me 109’s or the SAME Me109 TWICE

[Phil]

BUT, if you google He113, this was a “ficticious aircraft” made up by the Germans

Now that's an interesting fact.

[georgetanksherman]

Thank You for clearing that one up let's see what else I can find that needs to be untangled Really appreciate the help !

Cheers

George

[mpdear]

Apropos of nothing I thought it might be interesting to put a face to one of the names. This is my Great Uncle Hubert Dearnley, died aged 27. Still unsure why he was flying with the RCAF, but I guess things were a little more fluid in those days.

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[Temujin]

Still unsure why he was flying with the RCAF

Thank you for the photo. To answer your question on “why he was flying with the RCAF”

British Commonwealth and Imperial personnel were mixed together throughout the Second World War. Canadians have been informed repeatedly that upwards of 60 percent of RCAF personnel served in British rather than Canadian squadrons. At the same time, however, many members of the Royal Air Force served in RCAF overseas units, as did smaller numbers of men and women wearing American, Australian and New Zealand uniforms.

This arrangement was agreed to by all the various Commonwealth Governments. As aircrew became available from training, they were then assigned to whichever Commonwealth squadron required replacements/reinforcements at that time. So almost ALL Commonwealth squadrons were a “mix” of various Commonwealth nationalities.

Under Article XV of the 1939 Air Training Agreement, squadrons belonging officially to the RCAF, RAAF, and RNZAF were formed, equipped and financed by the RAF, for service in Europe. While it was intended that RCAF, RAAF, and RNZAF personnel would serve only with their respective "Article XV squadrons", in practice many were posted to units of the RAF or other air forces. Likewise many RAF personnel served in Article XV squadrons.

A total of 126 squadrons served with Bomber Command. Of these, 32 were officially non-British units: 15 RCAF squadrons, eight RAAF squadrons, four Polish squadrons, two French squadrons, two RNZAF/"New Zealand" squadrons, and one Czechoslovakian squadron.

More information below:

THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AIR TRAINING PLAN

The Agreement

The final agreement – signed by Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand on December 17, 1939 – listed the percentage of trainees each country would send, the percentage of costs each would take on, the training schedule, and the aerodrome opening schedule. To accommodate its shortage of foreign currency, the United Kingdom paid its portion by supplying and transporting necessary materials that Canada could not provide, such as aircraft, spare parts, airframes, and engines.

When the BCATP came to a close on March 31, 1945, the four participating governments had spent $2.2 billion on the training plan, $1.6 billion of which was Canada's share. After the war, the Canadian government calculated that the United Kingdom owed Canada over $425 million for running British schools transferred to Canada and for purchasing aircraft and other equipment when Britain could not provide the necessary numbers. In March 1946, the Canadian government canceled Britain's debt, absorbing the cost itself.

Under Article XV of the agreement, graduates from Dominion air forces were to be assigned to squadrons either formed by their own air forces, or with a specific national designation, under the operational control of the Royal Air Force (RAF). If it was intended that they would be under RAF control, Dominion air force squadrons were usually given numbers in the 400–490 range: 400–449 was allotted to the Royal Canadian Air Force, 450–467 to the Royal Australian Air Force and 485–490 to the Royal New Zealand Air Force. These were known as "Article XV” squadrons.

Participants

The Commonwealth countries that signed the agreement for the provision of training were Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Southern Rhodesia.

Source: https://www.friends-amis.org/index.php/ ... -plan/file