BCATP Pennfield NB Canada

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Peter Fox
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BCATP Pennfield NB Canada

Post by Peter Fox »

On the Trans-Canada highway approx. 30 miles SW of my hometown ,Saint John NB lies an old WW2 airbase that was used to train navigators for the BCATP. 69 recuits lost their lives at Pennfield, 4 Canadian boys perished at the railway junction of McAdam NB. The lost included,37 RCAF,12 RNZAF,11 RAF,8 RAAF and 1RN. I've attached a photo of the memorial erected by the village of McAdam. Bomber Command was a dangerous place no matter where it was operating.
penn8b1RollOfHonour_McAdamMemorial1.jpg
penn8b1RollOfHonour_McAdamMemorial1.jpg (152.81 KiB) Viewed 3507 times
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K4KittyCrew
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Re: BCATP Pennfield NB Canada

Post by K4KittyCrew »

Yes Peter, it certainly was.
I have hundreds of pages from Chorleys RAF Heavy Conversion Unit volumes, detailing loss of crews well before they completed their training to an active squadron.
The same applies to Operational Training Units.
Cheers,
John
K for Kitty Crew - Winthorpe, 1661 HCU's - stirlingaircraftsoc.raf38group.org/
630 Squadron - East Kirkby
" There is nothing glorious about war with the exception of those who served us so valiantly"
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ME453
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Re: BCATP Pennfield NB Canada

Post by ME453 »

Thank you for posting that Peter, those 8000+ trainees killed across the globe before they even had the chance to face the enemy are often forgotten, so it's heart warming to see this lovely memorial. I'm re-reading Richard Austen's excellent book about his time in Bomber Command as a navigator. He was trained at Rivers - the day that he arrived there two Ansons collided in mid-air killing 9 trainees and their instructors. It makes the bravery of the airmen even greater knowing the risks they took even from day one.
Max
www.ordinarycrew.co.uk
Dedicated to the crew of Lancaster ME453 467 squadron
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Peter Fox
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Re: BCATP Pennfield NB Canada

Post by Peter Fox »

Thank you for your replies gents. Here is another question. From the information I have gleaned online,55,573 aircrew died in combat, but approx 8,336 were lost when their aircraft crashed while trying to land back in England and 5,327 died in training. Is it true that the second 2 lots were not considered to have died on duty, or are they just not combat deaths. Also, what about POW's, like my cousin Vince, that died in captivity? Cheers, Pete
pennfieldparish
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Re: BCATP Pennfield NB Canada

Post by pennfieldparish »

The crash actual occurred 19 December 1943, not 18 December 1943. Also, Anderson was a resident of Vancouver, BC and Christensen was a resident of Strathmore, AB. Christensen's sister & brother-in-law visited here in 2009.

Also, there were actual 70 causalities (38 RCAF, 1 RAF & 10 RAFVR, 8 RAAF, 12 RNZAF, 1 RN (passenger aboard a/c that crashed)) along with 6 civilians.

G Christian Larsen
President Pennfield Parish Military Historical Society
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