Halifax III LW391 KW-J 425 Sqn. Operation: Duisburg. Take off 23.00 Tholthorpe. It is believed this Halifax came down behind the Allied lines and that the 6 survivors were unhurt. Flight Sergeant Fred Paul Cartan was not awarded a medal, but his actions on the evening of Oct. 14, 1944, were noteworthy all the same. A member of the RCAF's 425 "Alouette"Squadron, Cartan was the navigator in a Halifax sent to attack the city of Duisburg. After bombing the target, the aircraft was hit by flak setting one engine on fire and forcing Cartan and Flying Officer Charles Pidcock, the pilot, to look for a place to make an emergency landing, When the two men determined the aircraft was no longer over enemy-occupied territory, they ordered six members of the crew to bail out. Cartan and Pidcock had waited for the others before jumping themselves, but it was too late and both men were killed. F/O Pidcock RCAF is buried in Heverlee War Cemetery, while at Leopoldsburg War Cemetery is the grave of F/S Cartan RCAF. Crew members: • F/O T.L. Pidcock RCAF + • Sgt. P.A. McCarthy • F/S F.P. Cartan RCAF + • F/O R.W. England RCAF • F/S N.S. Croucher RCAF • F/S G. Servis RCAF • Sgt. T.R. Munro RCAF • Sgt. H.B. McClure RCAF
