Jim Hartley Crew - Squadrons 433 and 405 - Page 2 continued

Squadrons 433 and 405

We do not have all of the details of which men were in each squadron.  From picture identifications and letters written by Carlyle, we have put together the following lists:
433 squadron:
Plane: Halifax Bomber                                     
Base: Skipton on Swale, North Yorkshire, England
Pilot: Jim Hartley, San Franscisco, USA, buried in St Catharine’s
Navigator: John (Jack) Edward Dennis, Holdfast, Saskatchewan
Mid Upper Gunner: P/O John (Jack) Y. T. Ogle, Toronto, Ontario
Rear Gunner: Don Snell, London, Ontario
Bomb Aimer (Set operator): Ted Knox-Leet, London, Ontario                                    
Wireless operator:  Carlyle Chevalier, Chatham, Toronto, Goderich, Ontario                
Engineer - Bill (Taffy) Williams, Aberdare, South Wales

405 (P.F.F) squadron
Plane: Lancaster Bomber
Base: Gransden Lodge, Bedfordshire, England
Due to injuries on the first PFF flight, Don Snell never flew again.  From letters from Carlyle we think he was replaced by F/Sgt Alvin Williams.  After that first flight, ES Connolly was replaced by P/O Bleuthner for at least one flight.
Pilot: Jim Hartley
Navigator: John (Jack) Edward Dennis
Rear Gunner: Don Snell, Ontario, Sgt Alvin Williams, Penetanguishene, Ontario
Spare Mid Upper: ES Connolly, P/O Paul Bluethner, Toronto & later Winnipeg
Bomb Aimer (Set operator): Ted Knox-Leet
Engineer - Bill (Taffy) Williams
Wireless Operator: Carlyle Chevalier
Carlyle also mentioned that the following men were on crews:
A McKenzie, Sudbury, Ontario
Paddy Igoe(?), Dublin, Ireland

Jack Dennis Bill Taffy Williams Ted Knox-Leet(?) Carlyle Chevalier

Bill (Taffy) WilliamsThis image of Engineer Bill (Taffy) Williams was supplied by his grandson, Johnathan Williams, who wrote that the crew remained in contact over the years, and that Bill and his wife Doreen had been in contact with Don Snell when he came over from Canada and had visited Carlyle Chevalier in Toronto the year before Bill died. Johnathan also provided a recent picture of Bill and Doreen together in Niagara Falls with Carlyle Chevalier. For some reason there is a convenient arrow on the photo pointing to Chev.

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Gorenflos, France


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101 Halifaxes from 424, 427, 429, 431, 433, and 434 squadrons were ordered on an attack of a V-1 launching site at Gorenflos. The crews were over the target at between 12,000 and 13,000 feet, releasing 776,000 lbs of high explosives. According to reports, the weather was clear and the target, accurately bombed.

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F/Sgt J. Kicak from 427 squadron returned early as the stbd outer was u/s. They landed safely at base on 3 engines.
F/Lt C. Higgins was hit by flak, the crew dove down to deck height. The flak followed the Halifax down where they were fired upon by rifles and machine guns. The crew fired back and landed safely at base.

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F/O D. McNaughton from 429 squadron was hit by flak, not serious.

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F/O T. Prescott from 433 Squadron returned early after they were hit by flak, the bomb aimer, F/O E. Harris RCAF, was seriously injured. They landed at Chailey to attend to the injured bomb aimer.

Rail Yard at Metz


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100 Halifaxes from 424, 426, 427, 429, 432, and 433 squadrons were ordered on an attack of the rail yards at Metz. The crews were over the target at between 12,000 and 15,000 feet, releasing 686,000 lbs of high explosives. According to reports, the rail yard was accurately bombed with much damage caused.

F/O E. Eyjolfson from 433 squadron returned early as the port inner was u/s. They landed safely at base on 3 engines.
F/Lt D. Brown was hit by flak, the fuselage, tail, and stbd inner were damaged.  They landed safely at Tangmere due to a fuel shortage.
P/O G. Wolstencroft landed at Waddington on return.
W/O2 H. McVeigh was attacked 3 times by enemy aircraft. The stbd fin and rudder were shot off, stbd elevator and aileron severely damaged, and stbd wing and flaps damaged. Due to this damage, the Halifax went into a spin at 13,000 feet. The crew was told to bail out. At 6000 feet, W/O2 McVeigh was able to get control, but not before the bomb aimer and mid upper gunner jumped. On return the port outer was also u/s. They landed safely without further incident on 3 engines at Woodbridge. 

Wizernes, June 27, 1944


View Larger Map		 41 Lancasters from 408, 419, and 428 squadrons were joined by 169 Halifaxes from 420, 424, 425, 426, 427, 429, 431, 432, 433, and 434 squadrons on attack of 2 V-1 sites at Wizernes and Foret D’Eawy in the Pas de Calais area. The crews were over the targets at between 12,000 and 14,000 feet, releasing 1,513,000 lbs of high explosives. According to reports, all attacks were successful. 

Bonnetot, France


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June 24, 1944

99 Halifaxes from 424, 427, 429, 431, 433, and 434 squadrons were ordered to attack a V-1 launching site at Bonnetot. The sky was clear and the crews bombed  from between 12,000 and 14,500 feet, releasing 753,000 lbs of high explosives accurately on target.

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F/O G. Barton from 424 squadron was hit by flak, not serious.

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W/O2 A. King from 427 squadron returned early as the hydraulics were u/s.

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F/Sgt. H. McVicar from 431 squadron returned early as they were unable to raise the under carriage.

Source: Richard Koval site:

Jim Hartley Crew - Squadrons 433 and 405 - Page 2 continued