Operation: Camera Gun Exercise
Date: 07th May 1943 (Friday)
Unit: No. 197 Squadron (motto: Findimus caelum - 'We cleave the sky')
Type: Typhoon Ib
Serial: DN407
Code: OV-?
Base: RAF Tangmere, West Sussex
Location: Patcham, Brighton
Pilot: Fl/Sgt. John Richard Hill R/104983 RCAF Age 20. Killed
REASON FOR LOSS:
During a gun camera exercise with Fl/Lt. John Elkington (1) and during the exercise, Typhoon DN407 Typhoon spun and crashed at 16:00 hrs. The young Canadian pilot died of multiple injuries and burns.
No explanation as to the cause.
Burial details:
Fl/Sgt. John Richard Hill. Tangmere Churchyard (St.Andrew). Plot E. Row 3. Grave 52. Born on the 12th November 1923 in Montreal. Educated at Westmount High School. Worked as a laboratory assistant for the Canadian Tube and Steel Products Ltd. Enlisted on the 12th of June 1941. Awarded pilot wings on the 19th of June 1942 and promoted to sergeant.
Embarked for England on the 28th of October 1942. Joined 55 Operational Training Unit on the 24th November 1942. Joined 197 squadron on the 28th of December 1942. Son of William Richard and Mary Hill (née Johnson), of 125 Irvine Avenue, Westmount, Quebec, Canada. Epitaph: 'The Lord Gave And The Lord Hath Taken Away; Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord'.
(1) John Francis Durham Elkington later W/Cdr. Born on the 23rd December 1920 in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Battle of Britain pilot. Survived the war and retired on the 23rd of December 1975. Passed away in London on the 01st February 2019, age 98
Researched and dedicated to the relatives of this pilot with thanks to the National Archive Kew, Paradie RCAF Archive, The Typhoon project, Government of Canada.
Battle of Britain enhanced database.
List of pages relating to 1943
Other sources as quoted below:
KTY 25-06-2023
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning we will remember
them. - Laurence
Binyon
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Last Modified: 30 June 2023, 14:49