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Operation: Armed recce
Date: 14th July 1944 (Friday)
Unit: No. 403 Squadron (RCAF)
Type: Spitfire IX
Serial: MJ570
Base: RAF Bazenville, Normandy
Location: St. Lambert, Calvados, France.
Pilot: F/O. Donald John Shapter J/35505 RCAF Age 24. Killed (1)
REASON FOR LOSS:
Taking part in an armed recce patrol when they attacked a column of 30 armoured vehicles and flag units moving through the village of Saint Lambert. They attacked and destroyed some of the unit. They turned round to commence the second attack when a half-track flak gun that was hidden beside a house fired at point blank range at the low flying Spitfire. F/O. Shapter then tried to climb and look for a place to crash land but he hit the top of a nearby hill and was killed.
Later in the early evening another 403 Squadron (3) Spitfire was shot down. W/O. William Powers (2) was also killed.
(1) F/O. Shapter lost his older brother earlier on 5/6th August 1942. W/O William J.A. Shapter R/78148 RCAF was flying as an observer with 207 Squadron in a Lancaster I R5761 EM-T on a bombing operation to Essen. The aircraft was shot down by a night-fighter ace from 1./NJG1 flown by Oblt. Kurt Loos over Appeltern at 02:26 hrs. The pilot of the Lancaster Fl/Lt. Gerald Ings and all the crew of 7 were killed.
(2) W/O. William Powers R/71499 Age 28 RCAF flying Spitfire MK881 now buried at St. Charles De Percy War Cemetery.
(3) 403 Squadron had a superb record of combat during WW2. By May 1945, the squadron had a record of 123 enemy aircraft destroyed, with a share in seven more, 10 probably destroyed and 72 damaged with a share in one more. An equally impressive number of ground targets had been destroyed or damaged including 30 tanks, 50 locomotives and nearly 100 other vehicles.
Burial Details:
F/O. Donald John Shapter. St. Lambert Churchyard, France. Son of the Revd. Charles P. Shapter and Margaret M. Shapter, husband of Elizabeth Jean Shapter, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Shapter Lake in Muskoka, Ontario is named after F/O Donald Shapter
Researched by Jacques Grasset for Aircrew Remembered. Other sources as quoted below.
KTY 04.08.2015 Page updated
CHB 02.08.2020 Commemorative feature link added.
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Last Modified: 28 March 2021, 15:10