Operation: Offensive Patrol

Date: 15th June 1944 (Thursday)

Unit: No. 421 (Red Indian) Squadron RCAF, 127 Wing, 2nd Tactical Air Force (motto: Bellicum Cecinere)

Type: Spitfire IX

Serial: MK941 (1)

Code: AU-?

Base: RAF Tangmere, West Sussex (operating by day from B.2 Bazenville, near Bayeux, Normandy)

Location: Near Billy, south-east of Caen, Normandy, France

Pilot: F/O. Lorne Franklin Curry, J/26130 (ex R/153825), RCAF, Age 27 - Killed

Reason for Loss

Lorne Franklin Curry was born near Woodrow, Saskatchewan, on 30th July 1916; his parents later made their home in Windsor, Ontario. He joined the RCAF in Toronto in February 1942 and, after training in Canada, was awarded his pilot's wings and commissioned in April 1943. He arrived in the United Kingdom in September 1943, completed his Spitfire training at No. 57 Operational Training Unit and joined No. 421 Squadron in January 1944.

In the days after the Normandy landings the British tried to prevent the Germans from reinforcing their front line by systematically bombing the towns and villages on and behind it, among them Évrecy and Noyers-Bocage. British armoured units had tried to break through towards Villers-Bocage, but were repulsed by German Tiger tanks.

On 14th June the squadron operated from the B.2 landing strip, which was to become the permanent base for 127 Airfield. The day's operations were uneventful, and a new pilot, F/O. James McVeigh Flood, reported in from 83 Group Support Unit (5).

On 15th June twelve of the squadron's aircraft took off in the early morning and operated throughout the day from B.2. It proved to be a long day, with each pilot flying more than six hours. Lorne Curry did not fly the morning patrol (08:45 to 11:00 hrs); the evening sortie was his only operational flight of the day.

At 18:00 hrs he took off with eleven other pilots to patrol the Eastern Assault Area, the British and Canadian beachhead sector. In the vicinity of Caen eight of the squadron's aircraft met and engaged a formation of more than 20 Fw 190s and Bf 109s. The following claims were submitted:

• F/O. Jack Clifford Bamford - 3 enemy aircraft destroyed (2)
• Fl/Lt. John Norman Paterson - 2 enemy aircraft destroyed
• F/O. William Warfield - 2 enemy aircraft destroyed
• Fl/Lt. William N. Stronach - 1 enemy aircraft destroyed
• F/O. William Francis Cook - 1 enemy aircraft destroyed
• Fl/Lt. John Frederick McElroy - 1 enemy aircraft damaged (6)

The squadron lost one aircraft, that of F/O. Curry, who was posted missing, and two further aircraft were written off in crash-landings. Fl/Lt. John Frederick McElroy, flying Spitfire IX MK472 (AU-A), crash-landed within Allied lines and was slightly injured. Fl/Lt. Benton Thomas Gilmour, believed to have been flying Spitfire IX MK687, landed at the 144 Airfield landing strip; although his aircraft struck an obstacle on landing, he was uninjured. Of the twelve Spitfires that took off, nine returned to base.

On the same day a new pilot, Fl/Lt. E.S. Smith, reported to the squadron from 83 Group Support Unit (4). The Operations Record Book noted that the squadron's score since D-Day now stood at five aircraft lost, against ten enemy aircraft destroyed and one damaged.

Lorne Curry's body was found after the war in a cemetery at Billy, about eight miles south-east of Caen, and was positively identified. The cross on his grave read "F/O L.F. Curry, 421 Sqdn R.C.A.F., K/A 15.6.44". He was later reinterred at Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery.

Service Career

26 Jan 1942	Selection board in Toronto. Recommended as pilot or observer and suitable for a commission. The interviewer described him as athletic, confident, keen and mature - a "desirable type air-crew".
3 Feb 1942	Enlisted at No. 11 Recruiting Centre, Toronto, then on leave without pay until 8 March.
9 Mar 1942	Signed his will, leaving his whole estate to his father.
Mar 1942	No. 1 Manning Depot, Toronto.
9 May 1942	No. 4 Bombing and Gunnery School, Fingal, Ontario (guard duty while awaiting training).
Jun - Aug 1942	No. 5 Initial Training School, Belleville, Course 56. Promoted LAC on 15 August 1942.
Sep - Nov 1942	No. 13 Elementary Flying Training School, St. Eugène, Ontario, Course 65, flying Fleet Finch II aircraft.
Dec 1942 - Apr 1943	No. 1 Service Flying Training School, Camp Borden, Course 70, flying Harvards.
30 Apr 1943	Awarded his pilot's wings and commissioned as a Pilot Officer.
May - Jul 1943	No. 1 Operational Training Unit, Bagotville, Quebec.
26 Aug 1943	Embarked at Halifax. Arrived in the UK on 1 September 1943 and went to No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre.
12 Oct 1943 - 4 Jan 1944	No. 57 Operational Training Unit (RAF), Course 55, flying Spitfires. On 22 October 1943 Spitfire R6752 suffered an engine failure; he was found not responsible.
30 Oct 1943	Promoted to Flying Officer.
10 Jan 1944	Joined No. 421 Squadron RCAF. Briefly attached to No. 16 Armament Practice Camp in March 1944.

Training Assessments

Initial Training School: "fine keen forceful airman, willing and above average".

Elementary Flying Training School: a good student with initiative; keen and steady, with airspeed control noted as a weak point.

Service Flying Training School: an average pilot who was very keen, of very good appearance, well liked and well disciplined. Recommended for a commission.

No. 57 OTU: ground examinations 87%, flying tests 79%; "no particular faults, will improve with squadron experience".

Medals

Issued on 21st January 1947: the 1939-45 Star; the Aircrew Europe Star with "France and Germany" clasp (3); the War Medal 1939-45; and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Overseas clasp.

Burial Details

F/O. Lorne Franklin Curry. Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery, Grave XXIV. B. 5. Epitaph: "I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Joshua I.5". Born on 30th July 1916 near Woodrow, Saskatchewan (NE ¼ 26-9-6-W3); his birth was registered on 31st July 1916 (Saskatchewan record 7833/16). Son of Robert John Curry (died 1967, age 82) and Mary Ethel Curry (née Jones, died 1971, age 78), of Windsor, Ontario, Canada.( Right; his parents grave)

He was the brother of George Raymond Curry (age 25 in 1945, serving in the RCAF); Mrs. Ruth Vera May Rundle (age 31 in 1945), of 511 Oak Avenue, Windsor; and Mrs. Orea (?) Gertrude Dutcher (age 27 in 1945), of St. James, Manitoba. R.W. Rundle, of the same Oak Avenue address, was one of Lorne's character references and was probably his brother-in-law.

(1) Serial MK941 is the serial given for F/O. Curry's aircraft in several sources, including CASPIR. However, the Spitfire Production List marks this attribution as a wrong serial and records MK941 as surviving to serve with 441 and 411 Squadrons until it was lost on 7th August 1944. The serial of the aircraft in which F/O. Curry was lost therefore remains unconfirmed. See the Supplement.

(2) The ORB gives his initials as "J.N.", as does the Canadian Press report of the action. His DFC records identify him as F/O. Jack Clifford Bamford, C/22669, of Hamilton, Ontario. See the Supplement.

(3) The France and Germany Star is not awarded to holders of the Aircrew Europe Star; qualifying service is instead recognised by the "France and Germany" clasp to the Aircrew Europe Star.

(4) Not to be confused with Fl/Lt. Ernest Sutton Smith, J/18707, a bomber pilot of No. 419 Squadron who was killed on 17th June 1944. See the Supplement.

(5) Shown in the ORB as F/O. J.M. Flood. He was killed on 25th/26th August 1944. See the Supplement.

(6) The ORB originally recorded this claim as a probable. The word has been struck through and amended by hand to "damaged", and the squadron's running score was amended in the same way.

Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery (CWGC)

The Allied offensive in north-western Europe began with the Normandy landings of 6th June 1944. Most of those buried at Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery died during the later stages of the Battle of Normandy, the capture of Caen and the thrust southwards to close the Falaise Gap, led initially by the 4th Canadian and 1st Polish Armoured Divisions. Almost every unit of the Canadian 2nd Corps is represented in the cemetery.

The cemetery contains 2,958 Second World War burials, the majority of them Canadian; 87 of the burials are unidentified.

Sources and Acknowledgements

• National Archives, Kew - AIR 27/1828 (No. 421 Squadron Operations Record Book, June 1944)
• Library and Archives Canada - Service file of F/O. L.F. Curry, J/26130
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• Veterans Affairs Canada - Canadian Virtual War Memorial
• Paradie-Dutil RCAF Archive
• Flying For Your Life (Canadian Fighter Pilot and Air Gunner Museum)
• Canadian Aircraft Serials Personnel Information Resource (CASPIR)
• Spitfire Production List (airhistory.org.uk) and allspitfirepilots.org
• The London Gazette, Issue 36640, 4th August 1944
• Aircrew Remembered Archives
• Find A Grave

Supplement - Additional Research

1. The three-victory claim: F/O. Jack Clifford Bamford

The ORB records the three-victory claim against "F/O J.N. Bamford", and the Canadian Press report also uses the initials J.N. His DFC records identify him as F/O. Jack Clifford Bamford, C/22669, of Hamilton, Ontario. He was born on 12th February 1916, enlisted in Toronto in January 1941 and instructed in Canada before going overseas in February 1943. His Distinguished Flying Cross was gazetted on 4th August 1944, the citation recording that in June 1944 he shot down three of a large force of enemy fighters in a single engagement. Contemporary press reports credited him with three destroyed, although 2nd Tactical Air Force is recorded as crediting him with two destroyed and one probable. The "J.N." initials appear to be an error carried from the ORB into the press release.

On 27th June 1944, twelve days after this action, F/O. Bamford's Spitfire (MK969) was hit by flak while dive-bombing and he crash-landed near Varaville. He became a prisoner of war, returned safely to the UK on 12th May 1945 and was released from the RCAF in December 1945.

Pilots mentioned in this archive report

Above L-R: F/O. Bamford, W/Cdr. Chadburn, Fl/Lt. Clark, F/O. Cook and Fl/Lt. Grant

Above L-R: F/O. Flood, Fl/Lt. McElroy, Fl/Lt. Paterson, Fl/Lt. Stronach and F/O. Warfield

2. Aircraft serial numbers

MK941 (F/O. Curry): The Spitfire Production List records MK941 as delivered to 6 MU on 31st March 1944 and then to 421 Squadron, and explicitly marks the entry "FTR 15-6-44 F/O LF Curry" as a wrong serial. It shows MK941 as damaged (Cat. B) on 26th June 1944, then serving with 441 Squadron and 411 Squadron, before being hit by flak and abandoned east of Lisieux on 7th August 1944 (F/O. T.R. Wheeler RCAF, prisoner of war, injured, later escaped). Fl/Lt. Stronach is also recorded as flying MK941 on 23rd June 1944. The aircraft in which F/O. Curry was lost should therefore be treated as unconfirmed until the ORB's Form 541 for 15th June can be checked.

MK471 / MK472 (Fl/Lt. McElroy): The source notes gave Fl/Lt. McElroy's aircraft as MK471. The Spitfire Production List shows that MK471 was a 165 Squadron aircraft lost on 12th June 1944. Fl/Lt. McElroy's aircraft on 15th June was MK472, coded AU-A, which was damaged by fighters and crash-landed within Allied lines in Normandy; it was later recategorised as a write-off on 21st June 1944.

MK687 (Fl/Lt. Gilmour): Back to Normandy links Fl/Lt. Gilmour with MK687 on 15th June 1944. The Spitfire Production List shows MK687 passing from 421 Squadron to 410 Repair and Salvage Unit by 25th June 1944, which is consistent with damage on landing. It was then repaired, returned to service with 127 Wing and 411 Squadron, and was eventually lost with 72 Squadron in Italy on 13th April 1945. If MK687 was Fl/Lt. Gilmour's aircraft, the ORB's description of it as "written off" was premature. The attribution is therefore shown in the main report as "believed".

3. Contemporary accounts

A Canadian Press dispatch dated 15th June 1944 reported that the squadron, led by Fl/Lt. J.F. McElroy, had met a formation of about 20 Bf 109s at 15,000 feet over the Caen area and claimed nine destroyed. It named the same pilots as the ORB, credited Fl/Lt. McElroy with a probable (later amended in the ORB to damaged), and added that a Fl/Lt. Grant had damaged an enemy aircraft after chasing it some 20 miles with jammed cannon. It reported that Fl/Lt. McElroy and Fl/Lt. B.T. Gilmour, of St. Thomas, Ontario, had both crash-landed in France and were safe. The dispatch did not mention F/O. Curry.

The Fl/Lt. Grant of the dispatch is believed to be Fl/Lt. Charles Donald Grant, J/5807, RCAF. The dispatch gave his initials as "E.D." and his home as Coniston, Ontario, but the Canadian Virtual War Memorial gives his parents' home as Consecon, Ontario; the press version is probably a misreading. Fl/Lt. Grant was killed on 25th June 1944 when his Spitfire collided with a 412 Squadron Spitfire, PL275, during take-off at B.2 Bazenville. The pilot of PL275, F/O. R.C. Driver, was seriously injured. Fl/Lt. Grant is buried in Hottot-les-Bagues War Cemetery.

The Operations Record Book of No. 403 Squadron, a sister squadron in 127 Wing, notes that 403 Squadron flew the western patrol that evening while 421 Squadron, patrolling to the east, had a real fight. It adds that 403 Squadron's pilots joined 421 Squadron in the mess afterwards to celebrate the victory.

Fl/Lt. Paterson later described the action to an Ottawa reporter (reprinted in The Paterson News, November 1944). He recalled that the squadron had been flying in two groups, with McElroy and seven others above and four pilots, including himself, working lower down; he estimated the enemy at about 35 aircraft. He believed that the one pilot lost had baled out and become a prisoner of war. This was not correct: F/O. Curry was killed.

4. Other participants

Fl/Lt. John Frederick McElroy, DFC: A Malta veteran, he was awarded a Bar to his DFC, gazetted on 4th August 1944 (London Gazette 36640); the citation refers to his leading the squadron in June 1944 and making a safe landing in a damaged aircraft. His claim on 15th June was originally typed in the ORB as a probable but was amended by hand to damaged, which agrees with secondary sources such as allspitfirepilots.org.

Fl/Lt. William N. Stronach: According to allspitfirepilots.org, his victim on 15th June was a Bf 109G of 1./JG 27, 15 miles south of Caen, and he was flying Spitfire NH344. This has not been independently verified against German loss records.

F/O. William Warfield: He was killed on 3rd December 1944 when his 421 Squadron Spitfire IX, MK232, crashed near Nivelles, Belgium, during an escort sortie. He is buried in Brussels Town Cemetery.

F/O. James McVeigh Flood: J/35208, RCAF, of Hearst, Ontario, who joined the squadron on 14th June. He was killed flying Spitfire IX ML308 on an armed reconnaissance in the Dieppe area, reportedly shot down by a Fw 190; he crashed about five miles south-east of Dieppe. The ORB places his loss on the morning of 25th August 1944, but his grave gives 26th August.

5. The new pilot: Fl/Lt. E.S. Smith

The ORB records that "F/L E.S. Smith" reported in from 83 Group Support Unit on 15th June. The original source notes expanded this to Fl/Lt. Ernest Sutton Smith, but that cannot be correct. Fl/Lt. Ernest Sutton Smith, J/18707, of Brantford, Ontario, served with No. 419 Squadron, a Bomber Command unit, and was killed on 17th June 1944. He is buried in Amersfoort (Oud Leusden) General Cemetery, Netherlands. The two men only share the same initials.

The 421 Squadron pilot's full name has not yet been identified. IWM camera-gun film records show a Flight Lieutenant Smith of 421 Squadron in action in July 1944, who is probably the same officer. CASPIR or the Paradie-Dutil archive may identify him.

6. Squadron context

Two days before F/O. Curry's loss, on 13th June 1944, Fl/Lt. Frank Joel Clark of 421 Squadron was killed when his Spitfire, NH415, collided with that of the 127 Wing Leader, W/Cdr. Lloyd Vernon Chadburn DSO, DFC, over the beachhead; Chadburn was also killed. These losses form part of the five aircraft lost by the squadron since D-Day that the ORB recorded on 15th June.

421 Squadron was based at RAF Tangmere from 18th April 1944 and moved permanently to B.2 Bazenville on 16th June 1944, together with the other squadrons of 127 Wing. Until then the wing's squadrons operated from B.2 by day and returned to England, which is why the Canadian Press dispatch of 15th June was filed from an RCAF base in England. Over the whole war, 421 Squadron flew some 10,900 sorties and claimed 79 enemy aircraft destroyed, for the loss of 34 aircraft and 33 pilots.

Supplement Sources

• National Archives, Kew - AIR 27/1828, No. 421 Squadron ORB, 14th and 15th June 1944 (including handwritten amendments)
• No. 403 Squadron Operations Record Book, June 1944 (RCAF Association transcription)
• Spitfire Production List, via allspitfirepilots.org (entries for MK941, MK471, MK472, MK687, ML308 and PL275)
• Flying For Your Life - pages for F/O. J.C. Bamford and Fl/Lt. J.N. Paterson, reproducing the Canadian Press dispatch of 15th June 1944 and The Paterson News, November 1944
• The London Gazette, Issue 36640, 4th August 1944
• Back to Normandy (backtonormandy.org) - flight records for MK472, MK687 and MK232
• Aviation Safety Network - entries for MJ824 and NH415, 13th June 1944
• Imperial War Museum - RAF camera gun film records, 2nd Tactical Air Force, July 1944
• CASPIR - 421 Squadron unit history and casualty list
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission - casualty records for F/O. L.F. Curry and Fl/Lt. E.S. Smith (419 Sqn)
• Veterans Affairs Canada - Canadian Virtual War Memorial entries for Fl/Lt. C.D. Grant, F/O. J.McV. Flood and Fl/Lt. E.S. Smith (419 Sqn)
• Aircrew Remembered - archive report for F/O. James McVeigh Flood
• History of War (historyofwar.org) - No. 421 Squadron bases, 1944