185 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca launched by the Germans from near the coast of France, opposite the south coast of England and directed at London. V-2’s were a little more sophisticated. As an official recognition for having scored a direct hit on this V-1 site, each of their crew was given an 8 ½” by 11” mounted photo of the target containing the names of the crew and the signature of the Air Officer Commanding. Prior to D-Day, they did a lot of bombing in the Ruhr – oil plants, bridges, railways, and, after D-Day, troop concentrations. Frequently, on night trips, they’d see aircraft being blown up and parachutes floating to the ground. They were often told that these were “scare crows” sent up by the Germans to frighten them but they knew differently. While he was with #408 Squadron, he was promoted to Flying Officer. One night, they were “coned”. The enemy master search light, guided by radar, was blue and when it was right on them it was snapped on by the ground crew and everything inside took on a blue light. Then about four white searchlights would zero in on them and they were “coned”. If the aircraft could be kept in this cone, other searchlights were also zeroed in on them, when the fighters would come up after them. However, by diving to a much lower altitude, they would escape the searchlights. That was a very scary experience. They flew to Essen in the Ruhr Vallet on their final trip on October 23, 1944. They completed thirty trips in their tour. They were now “walking on air” instead of “flying in air”. Some of their targets included Aachen in the Ruhr Valley, Coutances, and Cambrai (France), and Sterkrade (German synthetic oil plant). They dropped eleven 1,000 lb bombs and four 500 pounders on Sterkrade. On D-day plus one, June 7, 1944, they bombed German troops at Caen, France, also at Falaise, the Wesseling Oil Plant in the Ruhr; Kiel and Duisburg, twice in 24 hours over Duisburg, at 6:00am and 10:00pm, their targets were factories in the city, night targets. The city of Duisburg was a sea of flames, burning fiercely at night from the morning raid. They dropped cluster bombs (firebombs). Their most notable ops were over the Ruhr Valley. This highly industrialized area of Germany was heavily defended. James got married on November 9, 1944, to Dorothy Bennett from Suffolk, England. She was a clerk in the Women’s Reserve Air Force stationed with 408 Squadron. She previously worked on balloons over London. After their marriage, James went on leave and stayed around the station. In March 1945, Dorothy and James left England together on the Transconia and arrived in Halifax on April 11. After a month leave, James was discharged in May 1945. He went back to school for a year in Minnedosa and took Grade XII. That was a difficult year. Their young son was sick. When he finished school, he went back into the RCAF for five years as an armourer and was stationed in Trenton, Ontario and Calgary, Alberta. He had been trained as an armourer. This was sort of a stop gap measure. In Calgary, he went to work for Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company (CMS) and they Hudson Bay Oil and Gas. They were in Calgary until 1962 when he returned to farm in Fairmount. When their son, Keith, was old enough to take over the farm, James went to work with the Rolling River School Division in Minnedosa until he retired in 1985 as Secretary-Treasurer. He was followed by Hap Congdon. They had moved to Minnedosa in 1968 and lived there ever since. Dorothy and James attended a 408 Squadron Reunion in Ottawa in 1987. Six of their seven crew members were there. The first reunion they attended was in Edmonton in 1984. After their retirements, Dorothy and James did a lot of travelling. They spent several winters in Victoria and Arizona. Dorothy passed away in the summer of 1994. James helped Keith with his farm work. In the winters, he curled in the farmer’s bonspiel. He did a lot of reading. They raised one son, Keith, and one daughter, Karen (Carr). James’ medals include the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp, Defence of Britain Medal, Air Crew Europe Star with France, and Germany Clasp, 1939-1945 Star, Operations Wing and War Medal 1939-1945. PROVEN, James Frederick (continued)
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