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Archive Report: Allied Forces

Compiled from official National Archive and Service sources, contemporary press reports, personal logbooks, diaries and correspondence, reference books, other sources, and interviews.
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197
197 Squadron Typhoon Ib DN407 Fl/Sgt. John Richard Hill

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

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Acknowledgements
Sources used by us in compiling Archive Reports include: Bill Chorley - 'Bomber Command Losses Vols. 1-9, plus ongoing revisions', Dr. Theo E.W. Boiten and Mr. Roderick J. Mackenzie - 'Nightfighter War Diaries Vols. 1 and 2', Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt - 'Bomber Command War Diaries', Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Tom Kracker - Kracker Luftwaffe Archives, Michel Beckers, Major Fred Paradie (RCAF) and Captain François Dutil (RCAF) - Paradie Archive (on this site), Jean Schadskaje, Major Jack O'Connor USAF (Retd.), Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak, Waldemar Wójcik and Józef Zieliński - 'Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945', Andrew Mielnik: Archiwum - Polish Air Force Archive (on this site), Anna Krzystek, Tadeusz Krzystek - 'Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii', Franek Grabowski, Polish graves: https://niebieskaeskadra.pl/, PoW Museum Żagań, Norman L.R. Franks 'Fighter Command Losses', Stan D. Bishop, John A. Hey MBE, Gerrie Franken and Maco Cillessen - Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces, Vols 1-6, Dr. Theo E.W. Boiton - Nachtjagd Combat Archives, Vols 1-13. Aircrew Remembered Databases and our own archives. We are grateful for the support and encouragement of CWGC, UK Imperial War Museum, Australian War Memorial, Australian National Archives, New Zealand National Archives, UK National Archives and Fold3 and countless dedicated friends and researchers across the world.
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