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Operation: Anti-submarine Patrol
Date: 18th/19th April 1943 (Sunday/Monday)
Unit No: 31 Operational Training Unit (OTU)
Type: Hudson V
Serial: AM773
Code: Not known
Base: Debert, Canada
Location: Exact location not known
Pilot: Fg Off. Jeffrey Howard-Bangs 49980 RAF Age 20. MiA
Obs: Sgt. Philip Maxwell Burns 421242 RAAF Age 19. KiA
WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. Arnold Longstaff 645930 RAF Age 23. KiA
WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. John Archibald Gillis R104470 RCAF Age 31 MiA
REASON FOR LOSS:
Hudson AM773 took off on an anti-submarine patrol. Nothing was heard from the aircraft and it failed to return to base.
Due to the very rocky terrain in the area many pilots decided to try and ditch in the sea, but the treacherous tides (listed as the highest in the world) and low water temperatures made this an extremely hazardous course of action. Very few successful ditching are recorded in the area.
After a period spanning several weeks, the bodies of Sgt. Burns and Sgt. Longstaff were washed up. Fg Off. Howard-Bangs and Sgt. Gillis remain Missing in Action (MiA).
Burial details:
Fg Off. Jeffrey Howard-Bangs. Ottawa Memorial Panel 2. Column 2. Son of Horace and Yolande Howard-Bangs, of Guildford, Surrey, England.
Sgt. Philip Maxwell Burns. Truro Cemetery (Terrace Hill), Nova Scotia. Plot 381. Grave 1. Born on the 20th November 1923 at Mosman, New South Wales, the son of Arthur Mostyn Burns and Rita Winifred Burns, of Kogarah, New South Wales, Australia.
Above Sgt. Longstaff Courtesy of John Longstaff
Sgt. Arnold Longstaff. Middleton Old Holy Trinity Cemetery, Nova Scotia. Sec.1. Grave 8. Born on the 13th October 1919 the son of John William and Edith (née Lowes) Longstaff, of Fenham, Newcastle-on-Tyne, England.
Above: Sgt. Gillis from his Service Record
Sgt. John Archibald Gillis. Ottawa Memorial Panel 2. Column 5. Born on the 7th March 1912 in Beverly, Massachusetts, USA. Son of Simon and Catherine (née MacDonald) Gillis (His mother predeceased him) of Sydney, Nova Scotia. His brother Angus L. Gillis was listed as his Next of Kin.
Researched for Aircrew Remembered by Linda Ibrom (May 2017). With thanks to John Longstaff, brother of Arnold for photographs and information. Next of Kin details for Sgt Gillis updated by Aircrew Remembered (Nov 2022)
Other sources listed below:
RS 02.11.2022 - Update to NoK details for Sgt. Gillis
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