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No. 433 (Porcupine) Squadron was formed at Skipton-on-Swale on 25 September 1943, with a neucleus of 5 crews from 429 squadron. Their Motto was "Qui s'y frotte s'y pique" meaning "Who opposes gets hurt". Through out 1943 no 433 Squadron was continuously operational flying Halifaxes over the Continent by night. In January 1945 433 Squadron was re-equipped with Avro Lancaster Mk Is. At the end of hostilities No. 433 transferred to No. 1 Group, and brought home troops and POWs from Germany and Italy. No 433 Squadron was disbanded at Skipton-on-Swale on 15 October 1945.
433 Squadron flew 2316 sorties 2316, a total of 12,488 Operation flying hours with the loss of 38 aircraft, 56 aircrew lost their lives, with a further 33 listed as missing. Another 56 were captured and held as POW's having bailed out over enemy territory.
Airfields at which No. 433 Squadron were based:
Now Available
A 60 minute DVD of the Memorial Service for 420, 424, 432 and 433 Squadrons held at the former RAF Skipton on Swale in June 2009 is now available for purchase. The service features a flypast by a Spitfire of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, music from the Band of the Royal Air Force Regiment, readings and tributes set against views across the runways filmed from the usually inaccessible old control tower.
To obtain your copy please send a cheque for £11.00 to:
Middleton House, PO Box 325, Stockton on Tees, TS20 1SJ.
This includes UK postage, for shipping abroad please add an extra £1 to cover costs.
John Arthur Bourgeault and crew No. 433 R.C.A.F. Squadron
John Arthur Bourgeault was born on April 23rd, 1918, at Blaine Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada. He was a Pilot Officer during WW2 and was stationed with his crew at Skipton On Swale, Yorkshire, England.
On the night of April 22nd, 1944, the crew was on board and their target was Dusseldorf, in the Rhur or "Hell's Valley". They departed at 10:22 p.m. and were to return at 3:48 a.m. The trip was uneventful on the way out, over the Channel to the landfall near Ostend. From there on, the German night fighters were numerous. After they crossed the German border, they proceeded to the most heavily defended area of Germany; they could see the lights and searchlight activity over the Rhur. The enemy had perfected a new form of fighter offense. It involved mounting a gun to fire vertically from their machines. The sighting system was the prism type, set up so the pilot could take aim from the horizontal plane. Some fighters were ground-directed by radar, to the vicinity of a bomber, until the pilot could take over on his own visually; others followed the bomber stream, slightly lower, then increased altitude until coming in sight of the target machines. They approached from the rear and below in what was known as the blind zone. There was little defence against this type of action. The German code-named this procedure as "Slage Musik", "Stage Music".
The crew had no warning. The heavy ammunition ripped into the port wing and the left side of the fuselage. They lost the port inner engine and were on fire. Several crew members had been hit by flying particles; the heat and odors from the burning fuel became nauseating. They were losing control of the plane and the pilot gave the order to bail. All the crew left the aircraft except the pilot; the escape hatch jammed and he went down and crashed at a place called Rotterdell near the village of Walheim, six miles southeast of Aachen, Germany. John Arthur Bourgeault's remains are buried at the Rheinberg British Military Cemetery.
Flying Officer J. Guignion, Warrant Officer T.A. Miller and Sergeants J. Plante and J. Laframboise were POWs, while Warrant Officer W. Dennstedt evaded the enemy search, because his parachute suspended him in a tree; he later made his way to Belgium, received help from the Resistance and returned to England.
Much of this information was given to our family by T.A. Miller and W. Dennstedt .
Photographs
If you have any Photographs you would like to share please get in touch.
List of those who served with 433 Squadron during the Second World War.
- Sgt. John Bell. Flt Eng. RAF
- P/O John Arthur Bourgeault. RCAF Read his Story
- Sgt D E Carruthers, M-U Gunner RCAF Read his Story
- F/Sgt John Christie. Air Gnr. RCAF
- Flight Sergeant Glen Allen Dancey W/Op Air gnr. RCAF (d.24 Mar 1944)
- Flight Sergeant Leslie Gerald Davey W.Op./Air Gnr. RCAF (d.24 Mar 1944)
- Warrant Officer W. Dennstedt Read his Story
- B C Doyle. 433 Sqd
- Sgt G Dykes (A/G) RCAF Read his Story
- Flying Officer J. Guignion Read his Story
- F/S Jim B Gray. Pilot
- Sgt A R W Hardes, Nav RAF Read his Story
- Flying Officer James Robert Harrison. Pilot. RCAF (d. 5th Aug 1944)
- F/O P R Humphries pilot. Read his Story
- W/O2 Ivan Jarvis. W/Op Air Gnr. RCAF
- Sgt J. Laframboise. Read his Story
- F/O N W Langlands. Bomb aimer. RCAF
- L.J. "Ben" Leland RCAF
- Warrant Officer T.A. Miller Read his Story
- W/O Ernie Munro. Air Gnr. RCAF
- P/O Chris Nielsen. pilot. RCAF
- Sergeant Ernest Osborne. Air Gnr. (d.24 Mar 1944)
- P/O Christopher Panton. RAF. Flt Eng. Read his Story
- Sgt J E Peppercorn, FL Eng Read his Story
- Sgt J. Plan Read his Story
- P/O R C Reinelt, pilot RAF Read his Story
- Flying Officer Donald Alfred Robinson. Nav. RCAF (d.24 Mar 1944)
- Sgt “Curly” Shields Read his Story
- Sergeant Frank Edward Simmons. Air Gnr. (d.24 Mar 1944)
- W/C Clive Sinton DFC.
- Bill Smyth. RCAF.
- Bernard Cain Snowden.
- Sergeant Oscar William Sporne. Flt Eng.(d.24 Mar 1944)
- P/O George 'Geordie' Wade. Air Bomber. Read his Story
- Sergeant Dennis Whitbread. Flt Eng. RCAF (d. 5th Aug 1944)
- Sgt D H Williams, W/Op A/G RAF Read his Story
If you have any names to add to this list, or any recollections or photos of those listed, please get in touch.
If you have a story which you would like to share, or a website dedicated to a soldier or regiment please get in touch.
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