While the subject of Canadian aircrew casualties is a bit off topic for canadiansoldiers.com, which focuses on the Canadian Army of the 20th Century, I felt compelled to add this information as an addendum to the listing of fatal casualties suffered by Crescent Heights High School graduates in World War Two.  Firstly, CHHS (in Calgary, Alberta) was the high school from which I graduated.  Secondly, the school still maintains a listing of men who served in the Second World War, and a complete list of fatalities.  Mainly, the information - provided by Matt Poole - was so complete and compelling, I felt it would be a waste not to include the material.  So thanks to Matt Poole for the following information and images.

Matt emailed the webmaster from out of the blue on 23 December 2002 - not long after the CHHS fatalities list was added to the www.canadiansoldiers.com site.

Greetings....

By chance, I came upon your website of Crescent Heights High School casualties of World War Two.   One of those who died, Paul Belkin, is known to me.  Back in 1993 I found myself standing at his grave in Rangoon War Cemetery during my visit to pay respects to others buried there.  My mother's first husband was among RAF 159 Squadron airmen killed on the night of 29 February 1944.

During my investigations into those deaths I learned about 159 Squadron, and then, by pure chance, while looking at "my" graves, I saw another couple of names I recognized, in a nearby row:  Paul Belkin's skipper -- S/Ldr. Louis P. Massey DFC -- and the co-pilot -- W. G. "Ben" Blue.   Ben, a pre-war clarinetist in a well-known London swing band fronted by Teddy Joyce, was the best mate of another ex-159 Squadron airman who had helped me with my research in the early 1990s. 

When I saw these graves, I looked more closely.  The date of death was 9 October 1943, and there was an entire B-24 Liberator crew buried in a row.  Among them was Paul Belkin, whose grave I photographed.  Nine years later, I offer this photo to you..

Cheers,

Matt Poole

Matt later passed on the following information as well:  (Click the thumbnails to enlarge)

And finally, Matt was generous enough to provide this detailed description of Paul Belkin's crew and final flight:

I am glad to provide more details on Paul Belkin, whose RAF 159 Squadron B-24 bomber (American built, four engines) was shot down by a Japanese night fighter near Rangoon, Burma on the night of 9/10 October 1943.

I believe Paul joined 159 Squadron at Salbani, India in the summer monsoon season in 1943. The 159 Squadron records are thin during this period, but as best I can tell Paul began Liberator training flights with the squadron on the 1st of June.  However, due to the terrible weather and the lack of airplanes but too many aircrew, Paul apparently did not fly an actual combat "op", or operation, against the Japanese in Burma until the night he was shot down.  That's what the squadron records reveal.

There is a chance that he had flown combat prior to his posting to 159 Squadron.  A copy of his RCAF personnel file purchased from the National Archives of Canada would provide his postings and movements before he ended up in India, and a possible link to another squadron.  I don't have this information, however.

His pilot, age 25, was Squadron Leader Louis P. Massey, DFC & Bar (Distinguished Flying Cross, then a second DFC).  He had already made a name for himself in the earlier stages of the war.  In fact, here is the wording of his two medal citations:
=======================
MASSEY, Louis Patrick, P/O (84686, RAFVR) - No.61 Squadron - Distinguished Flying Cross - awarded as per London Gazette dated 12 November 1940.

Late in October 1940, this officer was captain of a bomber aircraft engaged in a search for an aircraft believed to be down in the North Sea, when a Heinkel 115 was attacked and shot down. It was due to his initiative and skill in handling his aircraft that Pilot Officer Massey was able to press home his attack. In all his 33 operational flights he has shown an admirable combination of courage and determination.
=======================
MASSEY, Louis Patrick, A/F/L, DFC (84686, RAFVR) - No.49 Squadron - Bar to Distinguished Flying Cross - awarded as per London Gazette dated 26 May 1942.

This officer, who is a deputy flight commander, has completed many operational flights, including a number of mine-laying operations. One night in October 1941, Flight Lieutenant Massey was captain of an aircraft detailed to attack a target at Mannheim. Despite most severe weather the aircraft returned safely to base. On another occasion later he completed a mining operation despite adverse weather. On the return journey he landed successfully, although visibility was only about 500 yards. In March 1942, Flight Lieutenant Massey pressed home an attack on an objective at Essen from a very low altitude. His aircraft was damaged by anti-aircraft fire, but he volunteered to attack the same target the following evening.
=======================

The co-pilot on the 9/10 October 1943 flight was W.G. "Ben" Blue, a Londoner who was a pre-war clarinetist with the well-known Teddy Joyce Band in England.

Paul Belkin flew that night as a beam gunner - standing at one of the two open windows on the side of the Liberator, manning a Browning .50 caliber machine gun.

I have a photo of S/Ldr Massey, Ben Blue, and others posing in front of their Liberator in 1943, but there is no way of knowing for certain if Paul is in the photo.   Nevertheless, I will send the photo to you as an e-mail attachment after first sending some other things. 

Flying in Liberator BZ841 "Q" (a Mark III, or B-24D model), the crew of eight were airborne at 1800 hours from Salbani, roughly 60 miles west northwest of Calcutta.   The target was Mingaladon Airfield on the north side of Rangoon.  This was the main Japanese aerodrome for this part of Burma, and it was well defended.  Two other Liberators from 159 Squadron were also airborne on the raid, but on night operations each aircraft flew independently to and from the target.

Mingaladon airfield, photographed in December 1944 - the target of the two 159 Squadron Liberators on 9/10 Oct 1943

Somewhere in the British records the cause of the Massey crew's disappearance was given as "anti-aircraft fire" over the target, but now I know they were the victims of a night fighter attack made by Sgt Major Nishizawa of the 64th Sentai - the most famous of all the Japanese Army Air Force fighter units in World War II.  Sgt. Nishizawa piloted a single engine Ki-43 Hayabusa (which means Falcon in Japanese), code named the "Oscar" by the Allies. 

Only this past summer I discovered the story of the Massey crew's destruction in "Greater Asia", a wartime propaganda newspaper printed by the Japanese in Rangoon at the time.  Because so many of the educated among the local population were trained in English (as Burma was part of the English Empire before the war), this newspaper was printed in English.  In August found a copy of "Greater Asia" on microfilm at the US Library of Congress in Washington DC.  In the 12 October 1943 edition, Sgt. Nishizawa's exploits were presented in a story on page one, as was a photo of wreckage.

Here is the wording of the 12 October 1943 "Greater Asia" story:

=======================
ENEMY NIGHT RAID ON RANGOON FRUSTRATED
----------
ONE BOMBER SHOT DOWN BY OUR FIGHTER
----------
E. Suzuki, our special correspondent, writes from an undisclosed base in Burma on October 10:

The Hayabusa (Falcon) piloted by Sergeant-Major Daisuke Nishizawa distinguished itself in shooting down one of the two enemy planes, Consolidated B-24s, which came over Rangoon at about 1 a.m. (Nippon Time) on October 10.  Sergeant-Major Nishizawa intercepting them immediately shot down one of them 12 kilometers north of Rangoon by machine-gunning thrice at it in a fierce dog-fight lasting only 30 seconds.

Surprised with this defeat, the remaining one dumped all its bombs on a nearby paddy-field and flew away.  Thus the much boasted enemy bombers, claimed to be invulnerable with heavy arms, perished in only 30 seconds dropping over Rangoon in the form of a fireball.
=======================

The title to the accompanying photo reads, "FATAL SHOT AT ENEMY RAIDER".   Under the photo, the caption reads, "The wreck of the Consolidated B-24 type enemy plane, shot down by our Hayabusa fighter at about 1 a.m. (Nippon Time) on October 10 in Rangoon".

I can clearly see that the photo shows the tail and rear turret of a B-24.  No doubt about it.  Unfortunately, the photo is from a copy made from microfilm and is not clear enough to tell if the rear turret has four guns -- which would prove that it is the wreck of an RAF Liberator.  The RAF in India, including 159 Squadron, flew with the Boulton-Paul .303 inch caliber rear gun turret, while the American Liberators flew with twin .50 caliber guns in the rear turret.

The photo shows that the tail unit broke away from the forward fuselage, in the vicinity of where Paul was stationed.

Something else I wanted to send you: details on the loss of S/Ldr L. P. Massey & crew on the night of 9/10 October 1943. 

After I found this "Greater Asia" story, I sent it to an expert on the 64th Sentai in Japan.  He sent me back the following details, based on surviving Japanese records:
=======================
"Three B-24s have passed over Akyab, flying east!" The second and third air raid reports indicated the bombers were going to Rangoon.  Then Sgt. Major Daisuke Nishizawa was awakened by a sentinel of the 64th Sentai.  An experienced pilot, Nishizawa  came to Rangoon on that day from Palembang, Sumatra, which he had defended along with other pilots of the 2nd Company of the 64th Sentai.  He was then reassigned as a reinforcement for the air defense of Rangoon. 

Capt. Hideo Miyabe, the leader of the 64th Sentai's  2nd Company, led three other Ki-43 Oscars into the air to intercept the three incoming B-24s.  Nishizawa spotted one of the  B-24s as it was caught by searchlights at a height of 2000 meters.   He tried a head-on attack against the B-24.  When it rose to avoid crashing with his Ki-43, he sent a burst into the belly of the bomber.  The B-24 was on fire.

Nishizawa zoomed upward after the attack and next made a head-on attack.  The B-24 exploded in the air at 300 meters.  Many Burmese and Japanese soldiers visited the crash site in the next day.  Lt. Kiyoshi, the mechanic officer of 50th Sentai (also stationed in Rangoon) witnessed a dead RAF crewman's body in the paddy field. 

Sgt. Major Nishizawa was shot down and killed by an RAF B-24 on the night of the 27/28th of November 1943 at the Rangoon east racecource.
=======================

It turns out that Sgt Maj Nishizawa, the Massey crew's hunter, died as a result of accurate defensive fire during another 159 Squadron raid to Rangoon on 27/28 November.   The 159 airmen would not have known at the time that they had killed the fighter pilot who had killed their squadron mates only a few weeks earlier.

During my visit to Rangoon War Cemetery in November 1993, it was pure chance which led me to the Massey crew's graves in Collective Grave 4. J. 1-8.  At the time I immediately recognized the names of Ben Blue, who was the best mate of a 159 Squadron veteran I had befriended.  Fortunately I photographed Paul's grave, even though it is not the greatest of shots.

So that's the story of Paul Belkin's fatal flight on the night of 9/10 October 1943.  

I hope this helps to keep the memory of Paul Belkin alive.

The Crew - 159 Squadron, Royal Air Force, buried in Rangoon War Cemetery, Myanmar
Killed in Action Saturday 9 October 1943
Information from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission via Matt Poole

Matt makes a final note that not not all of these men may have known of their promotion to the rank held at time of death.  Given what details are given of the parents of these men, this must have been a truly cosmopolitan crew.