ABOUT
CASPIR Data Archive Mission & Data Sources Significant Canadian Historians Our Team RCAF Assistance CASPIR Volunteering
CASPIR contains documents, images and history of Canada's military aviation. The personnel and aircraft data has been compiled using data provided by trusted Canadian military aviation historians and original source documents. Where possible source documents are linked.
RESEARCH
CASPIR Resources
RCAF Accident Cards (1939-1945)JA Griffin Documents 1968 and 2005 Obtaining a World War II Service File
External Resources
RCAF.info: Research Resources RCAF.info: Finding Your Family Records
Griffin Library, 17 Wing Winnipeg
John Griffin was a significant historian, documenting Canada's Military aircraft
AIRCRAFT
Military Aircraft Associated with Canadians Choose a Specific Aircraft Serial
Lancaster FM213
CWHM flies one of the two airworthy Lancasters in the world. FM213 is usually marked as KB726 honouring Andrew Mynarski, VC.
PERSONNEL
Name or Home Town Search Unit (Squadron) Search Aircraft Type or Serial Search Browse by Letter This Day in History Choose a Day in History
Prisoner of War Evaded Capture Interned in a Neutral Country Catastrophic Losses (Ships Hotels Aircraft)Choose Specific Military Cemeteries (WW1 WW2 and Beyond)
Andrew Mynarski, VC
We Shall Remember Them.
HISTORY
✅ Start Here ✅ Glossary ✅ Canada and World War II ✅ Combatants & First Airmen Casualties ✅ Air Force Operations ✅ Battle of Britain ✅ Women in War ✅ War Artists
"A" Able flying through the Eiffel Tower? (although this event likely happened, this photograph is likely fake.) It is signed by the late Bill Bryant RAF who was the navigator of that aircraft piloted by Bob Boorman RCAF. The caption reads "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."
CONTACT
Click here for Information Requests & Data Submissions
NEW & INTERESTING
Exceptionally Interesting Stories and Aircraft What is new in CASPIR?

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.

Conroy, Robert Fitzgerald (Flying Officer)

Evader 1943-June-12

Birth Date: 1921-April-14 (age 22)

Born: Middle Stewiacke, Colchester County, Nova Scotia, Canada

William D Conroy & Bertha E Conroy

Home: Middle Stewiacke, Colchester County, NS (parents)

Service
RCAF

Unit
429 (B) Sqn- Squadron
Fortunae Nihil (Nothing to chance)

Base
RAF East Moor

Rank

Flight Sergeant

Marshal
Air Chief Marshal	A/C/M
Air Marshal	A/M
Air Vice Marshal	A/V/M
Air Commodore	A/C
Group Captain	G/C
Wing Commander	W/C
Squadron Leader	S/L
Flight Lieutenant	F/L
Flying Officer	F/O
Pilot Officer	P/O
Warrant Officer 1st Class	WO1
Warrant Officer 2nd Class	WO2
Flight Sergeant	FS
Sergeant	SGT
Corporal	CPL
Senior Aircraftman	SAC
Leading Aircraftman	LAC
Aircraftman 1st Class	AC1
Aircraftman 2nd Class	AC2

Position
Pilot

Service Numbers
J/17939

Wellington B. Mk. X HE593

Bombing Dusseldorf Germany 1943-June-11 to 1943-June-12

429 Bison Squadron (Fortunae Nihil) RAF East Moor. Wellington BX aircraft HE 593 AL-Z was shot down by night fighter pilot Oberfeldwebel Bruno Eikmeier of the 2/NJG 1, flying a Bf 110 G-4 from Gilze-Rijen airfield, Netherlands during an operation against targets in Dusseldorf, Germany. The Wellington crashed near Zijtaart, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands

WO1 GA Leitch (RCAF), P/O GR Densmore (RCAF), FS GA Nelson (RCAF), and Sgt JNG Burns (RCAF)(USA) were all killed in action

FS RF Conroy (RCAF) was lone survivor from his crew and became an Evader. FS Conroy was aided by various people in the Bourgogne Escape Line and eventually made it to Gibraltar from where he returned to the UK and his unit 1943-10-02

There were three 429 Squadron Wellington aircraft lost on this operation. Please see aircraft serials HF 542 AL-O and HZ 355 AL-G for additional information

General Crash Site Vickers Wellington B Mark X - Zijtaart - TracesOfWar.com

General Aviation Safety Network

General Results

General Aircraft accidents in Yorkshire

General Wellington X HE593, [Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database]...

F/O Conroy had previously survived in 429 Squadron Wellington BJ-755 AL-Z that crashed 1943-03-05 during take-off from RAF East Moor due to an engine failure

Sadly, F/O Conroy would be killed in action 1944-03-24 flying again with 429 squadron in Halifax aircraft LV 914 AL-V on an operation to Berlin, Germany. F/O Conroy stayed in control of his aircraft so that his crew could bail out and was lost with the aircraft

RAF Evaders, The Comprehensive Story of Escapers and Their Escape Lines, Western Europe, 1940-1945 by Oliver Clutton-Brock page 358

General Aircraft accidents in Yorkshire

Home

Middle Stewiacke, Colchester County, NS (parents)

Target
Google Map

Dusseldorf Germany

Crew on Wellington B. Mk. X HE593

Male Head

Warrant Officer Class II Burns, James Nicholas Gerard (RCAF)
Air Gunner (Rear)
Killed in Action
Age: 25
Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, Nijmegen, Netherlands - XVI F 11

Flying Officer Conroy, Robert Fitzgerald (RCAF)
Pilot
Evader
Age: 22

Pilot Officer Densmore, George Robert (RCAF)
Bomb Aimer
Killed in Action
Age: 23
Woensel Cemetery, Eindhoven, Netherlands - Plot JJB Grave 70

Warrant Officer Class I Leitch, Glenn Arthur (RCAF)
Navigator
Killed in Action
Age: 26
Woensel Cemetery, Eindhoven, Netherlands - Plot JJB Joint grave 71-72

Warrant Officer 2nd Class Nelson, Gordon Arthur (RCAF)
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner
Killed in Action
Age: 20
Woensel Cemetery, Eindhoven, Netherlands - Plot JJB Joint grave 71-72

Previous Events

1943-03-05 Flight Sergeant - Survived
Wellington B. Mk. III BJ755 ALZ	429 (B) Sqn (RCAF)
Take-off: 19:18:00	Target: Essen Germany

429 Bison Squadron (Fortunae Nihil) RAF East Moor. Wellington III BJ 755 AL-Z crashed while taking off for an operation to Essen, Germany due to an engine failure

FS RF Conroy (RCAF) survived, injured