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  Liberator B.VI Serial Number KH108 Code AT
RCAF
5 OTU

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Ron Mills 2005
Pilot  P/O Frederick Edward Brown, 165812 RAFVR (KIA) Lincolnshire, UK
Co-Pilot  P/O James Frederick Cooke, 165715 RAFVR (KIA)
Crew  Sgt Frederick Douglas Hafford, 1614739 RAFVR (KIA) Essex, UK
Crew  Sgt Sidney Helper, 1320190 RAFVR (KIA)
Crew  Sgt Glyn Ivor Jones, 1837039 RAFVR (KIA) Glamorgan, Wales
Crew  F/O John Victor Kingdon, 147999 RAFVR (KIA)
Crew  Sgt Thomas MacDonald, 1369701 RAFVR (KIA)
Crew  Sgt Ronald May, 1596791 RAFVR (KIA)
Crew  F/O Morris Morganstein, 163835 RAFVR (KIA) London, UK
Crew  Sgt David Peggie Westwater, 1826189 RAFVR (KIA) Fife, Scotland
Crashed  November 10, 1944 at 3:30am

Aircraft History
Built by Consolidated at Fort Worth, Texas. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as B-24J-75-CF Liberator serial number 44-10673. On August 9, 1944 assigned to the Royal Air Force (RAF) as Liberator B.VI serial number KH108.

Wartime History
Assigned to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as Liberator B.VI serial number KH108. Assigned to No. 5 Operational Training Unit (5 OTU) to the Abbotsford Detachment based at Abbotsford Airfield. Squadron code "AT". No known nickname or nose art.

Mission History
On November 9, 1944 took off 9th from Abbotsford Airfield piloted by P/O Frederick E. Brown on a night navigation mission. The entire crew were members of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR). On November 10, 1944 at approximately 3:30am this aircraft crashed near Nitinat Lake (Flora Lake) on Vancouver Island. The entire crew was killed in the crash.

Wreckage
The crash site was not found until almost a year after the mission. During 2005, the wreckage included an engines, propeller, main landing gear, tail fin and fuel tank plus other scattered wreckage.

Ron Mills visited the crash site in 2005:
"I am logging near KH-108, and found out about it through my work mates. It took a lot of investigating to get any info on it. A very moving experience to visit, and soon the grave marker will be replaced."

Memorials
The entire crew was declared dead on November 10, 1944. All are memorialized on the Ottawa Memorial. Brown, Cooke, Morganstein and Kingdon on panel 3, column 2. Hafford, MacDonald, May, Westwater and Helper on panel 3 column 3. At the crash site, a memorial plaque and grave marker were erected at the crash site.

References
USAF Serial Number Search Results - B-24J-75-CF Liberator 44-10673
CWGC - Frederick Edward Brown
CWGC - James Frederick Cooke
CWGC - Frederick Douglas Hafford
CWGC - Sidney Helper
CWGC - Glyn Ivor Jones
CWGC - John Victor Kingdon
CWGC - Thomas MacDonald
CWGC - Ronald May
CWGC - Morris Morganstein
CWGC - David Peggie Westwater
AviationSafety.net - accident 11-Nov 1944 B-24 Liberator
SEAC Liberator Bombers pages 8, 30

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Last Updated
March 3, 2021

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Liberator

MIA
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