Sgt William Benjamin Fry

[Temujin]

F/O Harry Clem Hain 06/02/42 Hurricane 4 (SAAF) I.D. 100518 Aircraft shot down patrolling over Libya

Here’s the war diary page from 4 (SAAF) Squadron. He was NOT shot down. They believe he crashed of some type of “mechanical problem”. Also the date he died was the 16 July 1942.......not the date you have above

FB177248-CADE-4217-8AE8-B04007C77650.jpeg (254.85 KiB) Viewed 8850 times

[georgetanksherman]

Thank You for squaring me up on those mistakes that I had Temujin, appreciate all the help and assistance with finding the missing details ! May the ALL be Remembered !

[Temujin]

Your welcome George. Let me know if I can assist on any others you may have.

Cheers

[Temujin]

Temujin, Question ???

So now with the newspaper clipping on Sgt. Fry there are now 3 stories about what happened to him,

One story said that aileron locks where left in and crashed on take-off.

Second story was that he was taking part in a joint exercise and flew into a hill during a mock attack.

Third story, Newspaper clipping above said he was Killed in Action, "BUT", if either of the two above happened would it not be considered Killed in Flying Accident (KIFA)

And as always "Thank You" for all your help that you have provided me with. These were the last 3 that I had missing info on Americans in the R.C.A.F., I still have 6 Americans that were in the R.A.F. that I am missing aircraft info on, and 24 Americans that joined the R.C.A.F., and then when America joined the war transferred over to the U.S.A.A.F. but stayed in the Commonwealth Forces for Aircrew Integrity. The USAAF only kept what state they were from, so I am having a bit of trouble locating the cities / town that they came from, Find a Grave helped a bit, but these are unknown.

Again, Cheers

George

George, found the Operational Record Book. Unfortunately it doesn’t list his aircraft, but it does say he was killed during a “ground attack on a target” on “Exercise Punch or Torch”. (Sorry, typing is faded, hard to read) So it was an “non-operational crash. It says he was with “A” Flight at that time. They were Flying Spitfire Vb’s

Update on Fry. I was able to “almost” confirm all the aircraft the squadron was flying that time period (but Bad typing and faded). So aircraft on strenght were Spitfire’s BL 993, BL 762, BL 489, BL 319, BL 377, BL 385, BL 414, AB 193, AA 917, AD 579 and BL 615

I’ve looked all these numbers up and I can’t confirm ANY were lost that day?? Sorry, still can’t finalize this one

George, still no luck. I looked up the aircraft that the squadron was flying the month before (Aug) to see if those may be one he was flying......but still no luck. The additional aircraft they were flying in Aug were BL762, AD266, AD579, BL592,W3624......

I’m just not having any luck on this.

[georgetanksherman]

Temujin,

These are the numbers that I have so far, Fallen Americans in the Commonwealth Forces, working on breaking them down to which Commonwealth Forces country exactly. Thank You for your help, seems like every time I turn around I find another. I know the exact number may never be known, as American's were threatened of losing there American Citizenship in the beginning if caught. After things were worked out, however, that changed !

Bombers: 769 Fighters: 294 Cargo: 24 Trainers: 145 Airmen Torpedoed: 14 Died other than flying: 28

British Army Units: 58 Canadian Army: 147 Merchant Navy: 47 Commonwealth Navies: 53

[Temujin]

Temujin,

These are the numbers that I have so far, Fallen Americans in the Commonwealth Forces, working on breaking them down to which Commonwealth Forces country exactly. Thank You for your help, seems like every time I turn around I find another. I know the exact number may never be known, as American's were threatened of losing there American Citizenship in the beginning if caught. After things were worked out, however, that changed !

Bombers: 769 Fighters: 294 Cargo: 24 Trainers: 145 Airmen Torpedoed: 14 Died other than flying: 28

British Army Units: 58 Canadian Army: 147 Merchant Navy: 47 Commonwealth Navies: 53

Thanks George. I know this is not easy to solve. If you notice, that the Canadian Government sent a notice to the US Consulate each time an American was killed or died BUT many times they gave a “false” address in order to join (and not run foul of US laws at the time) so if Canada wasn’t sure if they were American.....they may have NOT been reported to the US......

Their is a GREAT war time film, of Air Marshall Billy Bishop, VC (one of our WW1 Air Aces) talking to “Americans”.

The scene in the movie Captains of the Clouds when Billy Bishop is presenting pilot’s wings to a 1941 RCAF graduating class. One of the men is identified as Groves. As Bishop pins on the wings a short conversation ensues:

Bishop: “And where are you from, son?”

Groves: “Texas, sir.”

Bishop: “One of our most loyal provinces.”

Groves: “We think so, sir.”

Bishop: “Well, I think so, too. And we thank you for coming up here and helping us.”

Anyway, it you have any more names you like me to research, just let me know and I’ll see what I can find (and the other members on this site, like BFBSM or Ludford etc