HAWKINS, John David
NAME HAWKINS John David J / 16775
RANK Flying Officer / Navigator Group 8 - RAF Pathfinder Group - RAF Bomber Command SQUADRON No. 405 “Eagle” "City of Vancouver" Squadron “we lead”
RAF Gransden Lodge Airfield in Bedfordshire
Squadron Markings HR V Born June 24, 1921 in Clinton - Township of Goderich - County of Huron - Ontario Died August 17, 1943 22 years 2 months Memorial Runnymede Memorial - Englefield Green – Egham - Surrey - England
Panel 173
Parent Mrs. Mary Hawkins - Clinton - Ontario Brother Hugh Hawkins - Clinton - Ontario Sisters: Madeline Hawkins - Clinton - Ontario Mrs. Harriet Smith - Cochrane - Ontario
John was born in Clinton on June 24, 1921 and he grew up attending Clinton Public School 1927-1935 and Clinton Collegiate Institute 1935-1940. He enjoyed mathematics while in school. He very much enjoyed track but also played baseball, hockey, basketball, table tennis, soccer, tennis and lacrosse. His hobbies were plumbing and tin smithing. He and his family attended St. Paul's Anglican Church. He had been working for his father as a clerk and a plumber prior to his enlistment 1940-1941. He had served with the Huron Middlesex Regiment from June 12, 1937 to June 26, 1940.
Canada
On April 22nd of 1941 John went to London and enlisted into the Royal Canadian Air Force. At that time he was 5' 11" tall and had a weight of152 pounds with a medium complexion, hazel eyes and dark hair. He then had two weeks before he reported to the Manning Depot located at St Hubert, Quebec on May 6, 1941. While here the decision was made that John would be trained for air crew and he was then posted to No. 1 Air Navigation School based at Trenton, Ontario. Four weeks later after studying astronavigation he was on July 16th posted to No. 1 Initial Training School in Toronto where he would learn navigation, meteorology, algebra and trigonometry. Five weeks later on August 21st he is posted to No. 10 Elementary Flying Training School based at Hamilton (Mount Hope). He was originally to be here for a period of 8 weeks and receive basic flying instruction. However, after five weeks he was posted to Trenton to the KTS (No.1 Composite Training School) for five weeks. His next posting took place on October 27th to No. 4 Air Observer School in London, Ontario. He would spend a month at Bombing and Gunnery School and a month at Navigation School where his tools were the aeronautical charts, magnetic compass, watch, trip log, pencil, Douglas protractor and the Dalton Navigation Computer. At the beginning of February 1942 he was posted to No. 4 Bombing and Gunnery School in Fingal and here he learned the techniques of bomb aiming and aerial gunnery. While here he received his Air Observer (Navigation) Badge. In the middle of March his next posting took him to Pennfield Ridge in New Brunswick to No. 3 Air Navigation School where he stayed for a month prior to being posted to Halifax, Nova Scotia. While in Halifax he transferred to the RAF Training Pool.
Overseas
On May 3, 1942 he left Canada for England and arrived in the United Kingdom on May 12th. The next day he arrived at No.3 RAF Progress Review Committee. On June 24th he was posted to No. 2 Advanced Flying Unit based at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire. His next posting was to No 7 Group RAF Bomber Command - No. 29 Operational Training Unit based at RAF North Luffenham in Rutland and would train on the Vickers Wellington. A week later on August 11,1942 he was posted to No. 23 Operational Training Unit of No. 6 Group RAF Bomber Command based at RAF Pershore - Worcestershire and here to they trained on the Vickers Wellington. In the Field Then, on November 10, 1942 he was posted to RCAF No. 428 Squadron of Group 4 RAF Bomber Command based at RAF Dalton in Yorkshire where they flew the Vickers Wellington. He received his commission here on December 25, 1942. The first mission for the squadron was the night of January 26-27, 1943 and two nights later on January 29, 1943 he left on his first mission over enemy territory. In March of 1943 while he was with 428 Squadron and upon returning from a mission they landed and taxied to their dispersal pad. They found the bomb bay doors had buckled from a previous very heavy landing. It was found that P/O Hawkins was not responsible for the heavy landing and buckling. In May of 1943, he volunteered for and was accepted for a Pathfinder Squadron and was then posted to No. 5 RCAF Squadron of RAF No. 8 Pathfinder Group based at RAF Gransden Lodge in Cambridgeshire. On day prior to his final mission he was awarded his Pathfinder Force Badge.
On the night of August 16/17th the mission was to the Italian city of Turin, which housed the Fiat works
along with other industry. This was the last area bombing mission by Bomber Command on Italian cities. Fifteen aircraft were detailed for Turin from 405 Squadron with fourteen reaching and bombing the target in bright moonlight from 17,000 feet. Flying Officer Hawkins who was the Navigator for this mission and he and his crew in Halifax HR 856 LQ W lifted off the runway at 20:09 hours. It was approximately a 1,000 air nautical mile round trip and they would have had enough furl to return to their base. The Halifax could carry 13,000 pounds of bombs. This aircraft was reported as missing and no trace of the Halifax has ever been located. On the evening of August 16th the sun would set about 7 pm and the moon would begin to rise about 8:20 pm and on this night it was a full moon. One member of the crew recovered was Sergeant W. B. Beavo and his body was recovered 16 miles west of Boulogne in the Strait of Dover 17 days after the mission. From this information we have determined the surface drift in the Channel is about 3 miles a day and the drift is from west to east. Our research tells us that this aircraft was shot down by Leutnant Detlef Grossfuss of the Gruupe 2./ JG 2 based at Poix in France who was flying a Fw 190 A6 and the Halifax crashed 15 miles north of the mouth of the river Orne in the English Channel at 4:20 am on the morning of August 17, 1943. Halifax HR 856 was flying at 11,100 feet. This was about 5 miles east of Sword Beach in Normandy. The returning bombers were flying in an area to the west of Evreux and near Caen.
Flying Officer Hawkins had completed 32 missions and one more mission would have completed his tour.
Flying Officer went missing on the morning of August 17, 1943 and on that same day in Canada his father William died in Clinton, Ontario. On August 23rd a letter was wired to the Hawkins family in Clinton stating that Pilot Officer Hawkins was reported missing following a mission over Turin in Italy. The Royal Family sent the family a letter dated December 6, 1944. Mrs. Hawkins and her family received the Operational Wings of their family member Pilot Officer John Hawkins during the month of October 1946. Mrs. Hawkins received the Memorial Bar on March 24, 1950. For 6 + years the family did not know where Pilot Officer Hawkins was buried and in May of 1952 the family was informed there was no known grave. In the month of May 1945, John's mother Mary received the Memorial Cross. Then, in August of 1945 the family received the medals of Flying Officer Hawkins which included the 1939-45 Star, the Aircrew Europe Medal, the Defence Medal, the General Service Medal plus the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with clasp. John is honoured and remembered on the RCAF 405 Squadron Honour Roll, on the 405 Squadron Memorial at Pocklington Airfield in North Yorkshire and on the RAF Gransden Lodge Airfield Memorial Plaque. He is honoured and remembered on the Clinton Cenotaph and on the Memorial Plaque at the Clinton Royal Canadian Legion. He is honoured and remembered on the Memorial Plaque of Clinton Collegiate. He is honoured and remembered on the Memorial Plaque of RCAF Group 6 - Bomber Command Memorial. He is honoured and remembered on the Virtual Canadian War Memorial.
