As Remembrance Day, November 11th, approaches, we honour those who served—
and continue to serve—in the Royal Canadian Air Force
Along a gently sloping hillside in Norway, some 300 people came together in early October 2019 to honour the courage and determination of six Royal Canadian Air Force aircrew, and of the members of Milorg, the Second World War-era Norwegian resistance movement, and local residents.
The story of the aircrew and their crash has the makings of a Hollywood movie.
The six-man crew of the Vickers Armstrong Wellington GR Mk XIV bomber from 407 Squadron, which was part of Coastal Command, were flying an anti-submarine patrol over Norwegian waters on September 26, 1944, when one of the plane's two engines caught fire.
The crew were forced to abort the mission and conduct an immediate landing. To do this, they had to dump fuel, as the jettison of fuel is an emergency safety procedure that allows an aircraft to get down to its appropriate and safe landing weight. Unfortunately, unknown to the crew, the engine fire had also affected the fuel gauge, so the crew inadvertently released most of their fuel.
Rather than risk ditching in the cold North Atlantic, the crew—Flying Officers Gordon Biddle (pilot) and Flying Officer George Deeth (second pilot), Pilot Officer Kenneth Graham (wireless operator and air gunner); Flight Lieutenant Marion Neil (navigator); Warrant Officer 1st Class George Grandy (wireless operator and air gunner); and Flight Sergeant…
Continue Reading This Article At The Canadian Armed Forces Website
