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Dambusters Raid
Bomber Command

Dams Raid Story    Previous | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |






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

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.


Name Details

Sgt. James L. Arthur
photo


(Coldwater, Ontario) (P/O Burpee'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


Sgt. Charles Brennan


(Calgary, Alberta) (F/L Hopgood's flight engineer)
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


(Ohaton, 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


(Grand Forks, B.C.) (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


(Regina, Saskatchewan) (F/L Knight's rear gunner)
Survived the Raid and the war


Sgt. Percy E. Pigeon


(Williams Lake, B.C.) (F/L Munro's wireless operator)
Survived the Raid and the war


Sgt. William Radcliffe
photo


(New Westminster, B.C.) (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


(Peace River, Alberta) (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


(Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan) (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


(Chilliwack, B.C.) (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





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