Retour dans le passé – 1 juillet 1942

1 juillet 1942

Mont-Joli

PMR75-632 – Escadron 130, Mont-Joli, Québec, 1 juillet 1942

Les gens se souviennent encore…

Notes

Le commandant Jacques Chevrier pose pour la postérité le 1er juillet 1942. Il est le cinquième en partant de la gauche. Il trouve la mort le 6 juillet 1942.

Soixante-dix-neuf ans plus tard, moins cinq jours, la façon dont le commandant d’escadron Chevrier est mort reste un mystère…

Liens

https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2622524

https://sadp.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/jmsl-17-09-09-6-des-aviateurs.pdf

http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Chevrier.htm

Joseph Armand Jacques Chevrier naît à Saint-Lambert au Québec, le 7 octobre 1917. Il se joint à l’ARC le 4 juillet 1938, se rend en Angleterre en 1940 et est affecté au 1er Escadron à Wittering le 3 octobre, puis au 1er escadron (ARC) à Prestwick le 21. Chevrier est rapatrié au Canada le 9 janvier 1941.

Il est nommé ADC (aide de camp) de Son Excellence le Gouverneur général, le Comte d’Athlone, le 8 août et occupe cette fonction jusqu’au 31 mars 1942.

Chevrier est alors affecté au poste de premier commandant du 130e Escadron, dont il prend le commandement à Mont-Joli, au Québec, le 1er mai 1942.

Le 6 juillet 1942, l’escadron est envoyé à la recherche de U-boats après qu’un cargo ait été torpillé à 10 milles au large de Sainte-Anne-des-Monts.

Quatre Kittyhawk sont dépêchés. Plusieurs survivants du navire coulé sont localisés, mais aucun signe d’un U-boat.

L’avion de Chevrier tombe en panne de carburant lors du retour à Mont-Joli et Chevrier meurt lorsque son Kittyhawk AK915 amerrit dans le Saint-Laurent, juste à côté de Sainte-Anne-des-Monts.

Son corps n’a pas été retrouvé et il est commémoré sur le Mémorial d’Ottawa.

---

En 1952, son père se posait encore des questions sur la façon dont son fils était mort…

J’ai trouvé plus de renseignements sur Internet…

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/205495

Plus de renseignements sur la bataille du Saint-Laurent ici…

https://www.veterans.gc.ca/pdf/publications/canada-remembers/RS_Battle_Gulf_e.pdf

La version officielle semble être la suivante…

L’avion de Chevrier tombe en panne de carburant lors du retour à Mont-Joli et Chevrier meurt lorsque son Kittyhawk AK915 amerrit dans le Saint-Laurent, juste à côté de Sainte-Anne-des-Monts.

Il est à espérer que nous saurons un jour comment Jacques Chevrier est mort lorsque des pièces du Kittyhawk qu’il pilotait le 6 juillet 1942 seront retrouvées.

En attendant, des gens à Mont-Joli se souviennent encore du commandant d’escadron Jacques Chevrier …

Going Back in Time – 1 July 1942

1 July 1942 

Mont-Joli

PMR75-632 – 130 Squadron, Mont-Joli, Quebec, 1 July 1942

People are still remembering…

Notes

Commanding Officer Jacques Chevrier is posing for posterity on July 1st, 1942. He is fifth from the left. He died five days later on July 6, 1942. Seventy-nine years later, minus five days, how Wing Commander Chevrier died is still a mystery…

Links

https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2622524

https://sadp.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/jmsl-17-09-09-6-des-aviateurs.pdf 

(in French)

http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Chevrier.htm

Joseph Armand Jacques Chevrier was born in St. Lambert, Quebec, Canada on 7th October 1917. He joined the RCAF on 4th July 1938, travelled to England in 1940 and was posted to No. 1 Squadron at Wittering on 3rd October, moving to No. 1 (RCAF) Squadron at Prestwick on the 21st. Chevrier was repatriated to Canada on 9th January 1941.

He was appointed ADC to His Excellency the Governor-General, the Earl of Athlone on 8th August and served in that capacity until 31st March 1942. Chevrier was then posted to be the first CO of 130 Squadron, taking command at Mont-Joli, Quebec on 1st May 1942. 

On 6th July 1942 the squadron was scrambled to search for U-boats after a freighter was torpedoed 10 miles off Ste. Anne-des-Monts. Four Kittyhawks were launched. Several survivors of the sunk ship were located, but no U-boat. Chevrier ran out of fuel on the return to Mont-Joli, and died when his Kittyhawk AK915 ditched in the St. Lawrence just off Ste. Anne-des-Monts. 

His body was not recovered and he is commemorated on the Ottawa Memorial.

In 1952, his father was still asking questions about how his son had died…

I found more information on the Internet…

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/205495

More on the Battle of the St. Lawrence here…

https://www.veterans.gc.ca/pdf/publications/canada-remembers/RS_Battle_Gulf_e.pdf

The official story seems to be this…

Chevrier ran out of fuel on the return to Mont-Joli, and died when his Kittyhawk AK915 ditched in the St. Lawrence just off Ste. Anne-des-Monts. 

Hopefully, how he died will one day be known when parts of the Kittyhawk he flew on July 6, 1942, will be found.

Until then, people are still remembering Wing Commander Jacques Chevrier in Mont-Joli…

Shared on Facebook – Redux

There is another footnote to this story…

R54605, Payer, Philippe Cpl. enlisted: October 10,1939.

With information on the back.

Corporal Payer is the man on the right. According to the caption we are in 1941.

St-Hubert P. Que

Été 1941

Moi et mes hommes ce que l’on appelle un Crew

L’avion est un Tiger Shark

spit Fire

I am sure we are at the St-Hubert airbase in 1941, but this is not a Spitfire on this photo. It’s an American P-40 Kittyhawk bearing the code VW.

There were few P-40 Kittyhawk in Canada.

Very rare photos on the Internet. These are from the personal collection of Leonard Weston who would have served in Alaska!

His son had shared them so everyone could see them on the Internet.

What golden opportunity then to share this incredible photo taken in June 1941 at St-Hubert.

R54605, Payer, Philippe Cpl. enlisted: October 10,1939

No. 13 SFTS St. Hubert

Footnote

Comment left by a knowledgeable reader

Hi Pierre

They are indeed Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks. The VW indicates 118 Squadron.  The photo with the Kitty in the glassed hanger was probably taken in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia where 118 was stationed before it went to Western Air Command in June, 1942.  (Although it could be Rockcliffe where they formed).  It is unusual to see the shark teeth nose on a 118 aircraft, a design they discontinued out west (14 Squadron was also using that design out west when they got there in March, 1942.

The other photos, also Kittyhawks (all Mark 1s), were taken, most likely on Annette Island, Alaska where 118 was stationed until they went overseas to become 438 Squadron flying Typhoons. The photographs were all taken before October 31, 1942 when the order went out to remove the squadron identification letters on all RCAF aircraft.

There must be hundreds of shots like these slumbering in shoeboxes in attics all over Canada. I wish there was a way to get them out.

Best regards

Bill Eull

www.RCAF111fSquadron.com

 

Now this is the other footnote…

Hi

Yeah… what about those teeth?

Maybe one of your readers will come up with an interesting theory or fact.

An interesting sidebar: the USAAF Flying Tigers unit in Burma was run by Gen Clare Lee Chennault. It was his son, Maj. Jack Chennault that commanded USAAF 11th Squadron in the Aleutians and incorporated the Canadian units into the effort. In Burma they used the shark teeth design but in the Aleutians, 11 Squadron used a Tiger mouth (it wasn’t nearly as dramatic) But it was the RCAF 14 Squadron that used the sharks teeth in Alaska and the Aleutians.

They were all P-40 Es (Mk1) although in 111 Squadron ’s diary they were frequently, in 1941, called P40 Ds. I don’t know why.

AL 785 flown into St. Hubert and I think across the country. (Quite a thing, that!) by F/O Grant

AK 857 P/O Johnstone

AK 803 P/O Handley

AL 226 Sgt O’Brien

AL 220 W/O2 Dickson Dickson en route crash-landed near Sudbury

AK 779 P/O Banting I think Banting crash-landed near Sudbury at the same time. These seem to have been the only accidents. Neither pilot was hurt; both were flying in their regular shifts at Annette in the coming days. But I don’t see either a/c on strength again.

AK 845 P/O Studholme

AL 152 Sgt Manzer

AK 797 P/O Baxter

AL 210 P/O Wilson

AK 815 P/O Ivans

AL 224 Sgt Brooker

The others went on to Montreal.

Here is the cross country route flown by these tight little one-man a/c:

Dartmouth to Penfield Ridge (June 6)

Penfield Ridge to Montreal “

Also Penfield Ridge to St. Hubert June 6

St. Hubert to North Bay June 7

North Bay to Purquois June 8

Purquois to Armstrong “

Armstrong to Winnipeg “

Winnipeg to Regina June 8 or 9

Regina to Lethbridge June 9

Lethbridge to Edmonton June 10 They hung out in Edmonton A&E tests etc. They did no flying in Edmonton from June 13 -20

Edmonton to Prince George June 21

Prince George  to Annette Island “

Very impressive achievement!

Bill

www.RCAF111fSquadron.com

 

Shared on Facebook

R54605, Payer, Philippe Cpl. enlisted: October 10,1939.

With information on the back.

Corporal Payer is the man on the right. According to the caption we are in 1941.

St-Hubert P. Que

Été 1941

Moi et mes hommes ce que l’on appelle un Crew

L’avion est un Tiger Shark

spit Fire

I am sure we are at the St-Hubert airbase in 1941, but this is not a Spitfire on this photo. It’s an American P-40 Kittyhawk bearing the code VW.

There were few P-40 Kittyhawk in Canada.

Very rares photos on the Internet. These are from the personal collection of Leonard  Weston who would have served in Alaska!

His son had shared them so everyone could see them on the Internet.

What golden opportunity then to share this incredible photo taken in June 1941 at St-Hubert.

R54605, Payer, Philippe Cpl. enlisted: October 10,1939

No. 13 SFTS St. Hubert

Footnote

Comment left by a knowledgeable reader

Hi Pierre

They are indeed Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks. The VW indicates 118 Squadron.  The photo with the Kitty in the glassed hanger was probably taken in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia where 118 was stationed before it went to Western Air Command in June, 1942.  (Although it could be Rockcliffe where they formed).  It is unusual to see the shark teeth nose on a 118 aircraft, a design they discontinued out west (14 Squadron was also using that design out west when they got there in March, 1942.

The other photos, also Kittyhawks (all Mark 1s), were taken, most likely on Annette Island, Alaska where 118 was stationed until they went overseas to become 438 Squadron flying Typhoons. The photographs were all taken before October 31, 1942 when the order went out to remove the squadron identification letters on all RCAF aircraft.

There must be hundreds of shots like these slumbering in shoeboxes in attics all over Canada. I wish there was a way to get them out.

Best regards

Bill Eull

www.RCAF111fSquadron.com