Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum logo

Click on CASPIR logo to go to the entire CASPIR system.

Use the panel to:

  • select Optional Sections
  • Remove Page Breaks, that is, return to the non-print formatted document.
  • Click on the ⇩ to go directly to that section.

Chapman, William Merton (Flying Officer)

Killed in Action 1945-January-16

Birth Date: 1923-January-17 (age 23)

James L. Chapman & Bessie Aleda Chapman

Home: Meaford,Ontario (patents)

Service
RCAF
Unit
100 (B) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Sarang Tebuan Jangan Dijolok (Malay)
Rank
Flying 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
J/38421

Took off from Grimsby at 17::31 in Lancaster Mk I to bomb the Braunkohle-Benzin synthetic-oil complex at Karlsruhe Germany.

Shot down (means not found) and crashed at Questenberg, 4km NE of Rossla on the Nordhausen to Sangeerhausen road.

Killed: F/O William Merton Chapman RCAF J/38421 KIA Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery grave 14. Z. 1. P/O James David Gibbons RCAF J/95299 KIA Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery Coll. grave 14. Z. 2-7. P/O Malcolm Stalker McMaster RCAF J/95358 KIA Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery Coll. grave 14. Z. 2-7. F/Lt Frederick Thomas Quigley RCAF J/25448 pilot KIA Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery Coll. grave 14. Z. 2-7. F/Sgt Ray Calvin Roller RCAF R/210007 KIA Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery Coll. grave 14. Z. 2-7. F/O Herbert Otto Berger RAF KIA Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery Coll. grave 14. Z. 2-7. Sgt John Humphries Guy RAF KIA Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery Coll. grave 14. Z. 2-7.

addendum2: F/0 K L Chapman and F/0 W M Chapman were brothers. Detail provided by Mr. & Mrs. W. Chapman, Meaford, On.

Cenotaph at Lakeview Cemetery, Meaford, Grey County, Ontario, Canada

Canada Source Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Find-A-Grave.com Find-A-Grave.com

Canada Primary Source Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)

Flying Officer William Merton Chapman was exhumed and reburied.

Crew on Lancaster Mk.I PA189

Avro Lancaster

Avro Lancaster Mk. X RCAF Serial FM 213
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same wartime era.

The Lancaster has its origins in the twin-engine Avro Manchester which had been developed during the late 1930s in response to the Air Ministry Specification P.13/36 for a capable medium bomber for "world-wide use". Originally developed as an evolution of the Manchester (which had proved troublesome in service and was retired in 1942), the Lancaster was designed by Roy Chadwick and powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlins and in one version, Bristol Hercules engines. It first saw service with RAF Bomber Command in 1942 and as the strategic bombing offensive over Europe gathered momentum, it was the main aircraft for the night-time bombing campaigns that followed. As increasing numbers of the type were produced, it became the principal heavy bomber used by the RAF, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European countries serving within the RAF, overshadowing the Halifax and Stirling. Wikipedia

YouTube Lancaster Bomber

Wkikpedia Wikipedia

General Harold A Skaarup Web Page

CASPIR Aircraft Groups:
RCAF On Strength (234), RCAF 6 Group (5), RCAF 400 Squadron (7), Canadian Aircraft Losses (1732)
last update: 2021-09-18 14:32:33

Lancaster Mk.I PA189

Delivered to No. 100 Sqn Dec 1944. Missing on operation to Zeitz, Germany 16/17 Jan 1945.


100 (B) Sqn- Squadron (RAF) Sarang Tebuan Jangan Dijolok

© Canadian Warplane Heritage 2024

To search on any page:
PC — Ctrl-F
Mac — ⌘-F
Mobile — or …