RCAF Aircrew who Returned from the Dams Raid
Back Row: Oancia, Sutherland, O'Brien, Brown, Weeks, Thrasher, Deering, Radcliffe, MacLean, McCarthy, MacDonald
Front Row: Pigeon, Taerum, Walker, Gowrie, Rodger
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Bomber Command Dams Raid |
As with all aspects of the history of Bomber Command, Canadians played a major role in the Dams Raid. Of the 133 airmen that set out on the raid, 30 were Canadian and six were from Alberta. Fourteen were killed during the raid and one became a Prisoner of War. Exactly 50% of the Canadians who took off did not return. Four of the Canadians who survived the Raid were killed in action later in the war. Note that F/L Joe McCarthy was an American who flew with the Royal Canadian Air Force.
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Sgt. James L. Arthur photo (Coldwater, Ontario) (P/O Burpee's bomb aimer) -Killed during the Raid Sgt. Charles Brennan (Calgary, Alberta) (F/L Hopgood's bomb aimer) -Killed during the Raid F/Sgt. Joseph G. Brady photo (Ponoka, Alberta) (P/O Burpee's rear gunner) -Killed during the Raid F/Sgt. Ken Brown chronicle (Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan) (pilot) -Survived the Raid and the war (awarded Conspicuous Gallantry Medal) P/O Lewis J. Burpee photo (Ottawa, Ontario) (pilot) -Killed during the Raid Sgt. Vernon W. Byers photo (Star City, Saskatchewan) (pilot) -Killed during the Raid Sgt. Allan Preston Cottam photo (Jasper, Alberta) (S/L Maudsley's wireless operator) -Killed during the Raid F/Sgt. George A. Deering (Toronto, Ontario) (W/C Gibson's front gunner) -Survived the Raid but killed in action Sept. 16, 1943 (awarded the DFC) F/O Kenneth Earnshaw chronicle photo (Bashaw, Alberta) (F/L Hopgood's navigator) -Killed during the Raid P/O John W. Fraser chronicle photo (Nanaimo, B.C.) (F/L Hopgood's bomb aimer) -Taken Prisoner of War following the Raid and survived the war Sgt. Francis A. Garbas chronicle photo (Hamilton, Ontario) (F/L Astell's front gunner) -Killed during the Raid Sgt. Abram Garshowitz photo (Hamilton, Ontario) (F/L Astell's wireless operator) -Killed during the Raid F/O Harvey S. Glinz photo (Winnipeg, Manitoba) (F/L Barlow's front gunner) -Killed during the Raid Sgt. Chester B. Gowrie (Tramping Lake, Saskatchewan) (P/O Rice's wireless operator) -Survived the Raid but killed in action Dec. 20, 1943 F/O Vincent S. MacCausland photo (Tyne Valley, P.E.I.) (S/L Young's bomb aimer) -Killed during the Raid F/Sgt. Grant S. MacDonald (F/Sgt. Ken Brown's rear gunner) -Survived the Raid and the war Sgt. James McDowell photo (Port Arthur, Ontario) (Sgt. Byer's rear gunner) -Killed during the Raid F/Sgt. Donald A. MacLean (Toronto, Ontario) (F/L McCarthy's navigator) -Survived the Raid and the war (awarded the DFM) Sgt. Stefan Oancia (Stonehenge, Saskatchewan) (F/Sgt. Brown's bomb aimer) -Survived the Raid and the war (awarded DFM) Sgt. Harry E. O'Brien (F/L Knight's rear gunner) -Survived the Raid and the war Sgt. Percy E. Pigeon (Williams Lake, BC) (F/L Munro's wireless operator) -Survived the Raid and the war Sgt. William Radcliffe photo (British Columbia) (F/L McCarthy's flight engineer) -Survived the Raid and the war F/L David Rodger DFC photo (Sault St. Marie, Ontario) (F/L McCarthy's rear gunner) -Survived the Raid and the war Sgt. Frederick E. Sutherland photo (F/L Knight's front gunner) -Survived the Raid and the war; Shot down Sept 16, 1943, evaded and returned to England P/O Harlo "Terry" Taerum DFC chronicle photo (Milo, Alberta) (W/C Gibson's navigator) -Survived the Raid but killed in action Sept. 16, 1943 (awarded the DFC) F/Sgt. John W. Thrasher (Amherstburg, Ontario) (P/O Rice's bomb aimer) -Survived the Raid but killed in action Dec. 20, 1943 F/O Robert A. Urquhart photo (Spanish, Ontario) (S/L Maudsley's navigator) -Killed during the Raid F/O D. Revie Walker (Blairmore, Alberta) (F/L Shannon's navigator) -Survived the Raid and the war (awarded Bar to his DFC) F/Sgt. Harvey Weeks (F/L Munro's rear gunner) -Survived the Raid and the war P/O Floyd A. Wile photo (Truro, Nova Scotia) (F/L Astell's navigator) -Killed during the Raid |