PL - William Bradley Collins KIFA

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"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."
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Collins, William Bradley (Civilian Radio Officer)

Killed in Flying Accident 1943-March-13

Newfoundland

Birth Date: 1918 (age 25)

Home: St Johns, Newfoundland

Service
RAF

Unit
45 Group (RAF)

Base
Dorval, Quebec

Rank

Civilian Radio Officer

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
Wireless Operator

Service Numbers

Canso Catalina Mk. IB FP116

Ferry Flight 1943-March-13 to 1943-March-13

45 Group RAF Transport Command. Catalina aircraft FP 116 crashed into the sea near Bermuda after an engine failure

Canadian civilian Pilot CA "Duke" Schiller, Navigator Sgt D Wilkie (RAFVR), Newfoundland civilian Radio Officer WB Collins and USAAF Radio Officer JC Ford were all killed in this flying accident

General [Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database]...

Span class="citation">Ocean Bridge, The History of RAF Ferry Command by Carl A Christie, page 318

Took off from Dorval on the first leg of a trans-Atlantic flight to Bermuda.

Aircraft crashed 3 hours flying time from Bermuda.

Killed includes Collins: William Bradley Collins (civ.) RAF KIFA Bermuda Royal Naval Cemetery Grave 188. Captain Clarence Alvin Schiller (civ.) RAF KIFA Bermuda Royal Naval Cemetery Grave 186. Sgt David Wilkie RAF KIFA Bermuda Royal Naval Cemetery Grave 412.

One other fatality, a U.S. citizen named Ford, no initials given is included in notes on RAFCommands.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Find-A-Grave.com

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

Home

Google Map

St Johns, Newfoundland

Burial

Grave 188

Crew on Canso Catalina Mk. IB FP116

Newfoundland

Civilian Radio Officer Collins, William Bradley (RAF)
Wireless Operator
Killed in Flying Accident
Age: 25
- Grave 188

USA

Civilian Ford, Jack Cecil (RAF)
Wireless Operator
Killed in Flying Accident
Age: 29

Canada

Civilian Pilot (Captain) Schiller, Clarence Alvin "Duke" (RAF)
Pilot (Captain)
Killed in Flying Accident
Age: 42
- Grave 186

Canada

Sergeant Wilkie, David (RAFVR)
Navigator/Bomb Aimer
Killed in Flying Accident
Age: 28
Royal Naval Cemetery, Bermuda - Grave 412

Consolidated Canso Catalina PBY PB2B A-10 OA-10 Black Cat

RCAF Canso A (Serial No. 9754), No. 162 Squadron, F/L David Ernest Hornell aircraft.

The Consolidated Catalina and Canso were close cousins. The Canso was the true amphibious version of the design and therefore included a conventional undercarriage to allow for either water or land use. The Canso provided more than two decades of valuable service to the RCAF. The Catalina variant came first and was produced beginning in 1935 for the United States Navy. The amphibious version, designated PBY-5A, came in service early in 1941 and the RCAF began using the aircraft on anti-submarine patrols that same year. After the Second World War, the RCAF used Cansos for search and rescue, Arctic survey missions and various transport operations. RCAF

YouTube Canso PBY

Wkikpedia Wikipedia Canso PBY

General Harold A Skaarup Web Page

CASPIR Aircraft Groups:

RCAF On Strength (274), RCAF 400 Squadron (13), Canadian Aircraft Losses (82)

last update: 2022-03-15 19:52:22

Canso Catalina Mk. IB FP116

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