ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 165911
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| Date: | Tuesday 17 October 1944 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito FB Mk VI |
| Owner/operator: | 418 (City of Edmonton) Sqn RCAF |
| Registration: | PZ220 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | on the left bank of the Váh River near the village of Brunovce. -
 Slovakia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | A.64 St.Dizier (F) |
| Ancona airfield (I) |
Mosquito PZ220: Missing on day ranger to Vienne 17/10/1944
F/Lt May took off for his combat flight in 1944 as the pilot of a Mosquito plane together with navigator Jack D Ritch in a two-plane formation of the 418 Sqdn of the RCAF. The second fighter carried F/Lt Cotteril and navigator F/O Finnlayson. On the afternoon of 16/10/1944 they t/o from RAF Hudson. After a brief stop in St Dizier, France, the Mosquitoes continued on in the early morning of 17/10/1944 to meet the tasks of operation Day Rangers. At about 7:50hrs the planes approached the Pieštany airport from the south. They planned to attack and destroy Nazi planes stationed there. However, the planned surprise did not work out for the Canadians who were welcomed by thick German shooting. One of the shells hit the left motor of May's plane, which caught fire. In his effort to escape, he landed on the left bank of the Váh River near the village of Brunovce. Neither he nor his navigator suffered any injuries.
Young shepherds found the Canadian pilots and took them to the local village. The Germans launched an intense search for the Canadians, but Podhradie locals hid and fed them, despite the threat of severe punishment. After five days, partisans from the group of Captain Kijevsky took charge of the pilots, who faced a demanding stay in the Slovak mountains. After six months, the Canadians finally crossed the front and fought their way to the Hungarian town of Szolnok on the side of the partisans.
May arrived with pneumonia and a high fever. The locals transported him to the Russian hospital in Budapest from which the allies took him to Italy and then to England where he recovered. In May 1945, he finally crossed the Atlantic to return to Canada.
Crew:
F/Lt (J/11969) Stuart Newton MAY (pilot) RCAF - Ok /Evade
F/O (J/19285) Jack D. RITCH (nav.) RCAF - Ok /Evade
Sources:
1.http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH98%20prodn%20list.txtt
2.Kronika-airwarsk.blogspot.cz/2012/10/raf-16101944.html
3.flyingforyourlife.com/pilots/ww2/ma/may/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 01-May-2014 17:11 | Nepa | Added |
| 26-Jul-2014 14:03 | Komes123 | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 29-Aug-2015 19:16 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 29-Jan-2019 16:53 | Nepa | Updated [Other fatalities, Location, Destination airport, Narrative, Operator] |
| 02-Jul-2022 17:45 | Nepa | Updated [Source, Narrative, Operator] |
| 03-Jul-2022 22:14 | Nepa | Updated [Narrative, Operator] |
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