| Pictured
being serviced
possibly between August and November 1943.
LK640
was part of a batch of 96 aircraft numbered from LK626 to LK746
built by the Fairey Co. between August and December 1943, so
LK640 would have been quite a new aircraft when lost, going
straight to 431 squadron from the manufacturer. It was
assigned the squadron code SE-Q.
She
first flew with S/L Pleasance on a Mine laying Op to Sweetpea
II on October 2nd 1943, followed by an op to
Hanover on October 8th 1943.
The crew for the initial op consisted of:
|
Name |
Service |
Trade |
|
S/L W.
Pleasance |
RCAF |
Pilot |
|
Sgt W.
McGill |
RCAF |
Flight Engineer |
|
P/O L.
Rotstein |
RCAF |
Navigator |
|
P/O D.R.
Taylor |
RCAF |
Bomb Aimer |
|
Sgt R.W.
Emsley |
RAFVR |
W/Op/AG |
|
Sgt R.
Tagg |
RCAF |
Air Gunner |
|
F/Sgt E.A.
Ihde |
RCAF |
Air Gunner |
The
crew's names adorn their crew positions in the photograph. S/L
Pleasance and his crew were posted to 419 squadron on
19/10/1943.
LK640's
next op was piloted by F/O Carefoot RCAF on October 22nd
1943, then Dusseldorf on November 3rd 1943. On
November 18,1943 F/O Carefoot piloted LK640 on an op to
Mannheim, it was a diversionary attack on both Mannheim and
Ludwigshafen with aircraft from 3,4,6 & 8 Groups taking part.
The crew took off at 1722hrs from Tholthorpe and crashed into
the sea.
|
Name |
Service |
Trade |
Hometown |
Age |
|
F/O Garnett Carefoot |
RCAF |
Pilot |
Beverley, Saskatchewan |
27 |
|
Sgt James Shipp |
RAFVR |
Flight Engineer |
- |
- |
|
Sgt Robert Cowan |
RAFVR |
Navigator |
Rogerstone, Monmouthshire |
22 |
|
P/O Craig McGillivray |
RCAF |
Bomb Aimer |
Toronto, Ontario |
23 |
|
Sgt Peter Lowry |
RAFVR |
W/Op/AG |
Chiswick, Middlesex |
21 |
|
Sgt Emerson Case |
RCAF |
Air Gunner |
Woodstock, Ontario |
21 |
|
Sgt Albert Roden |
RCAF |
Air Gunner |
Hudson, Ontario |
31 |
Sgt
Roden is remembered on the Runnymede memorial. Sgt Cowan had
been awarded a Western Universities Teaching Certificate and
an Archbishop’s Certificate in 1941
|
