 Patrick Wilson Langford
This page is dedicated to the memory of Flight Lieutenant Patrick Wilson Langford, a casualty of the Second World War. Contribute?
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| Service # |
C/1631 |
| Rank |
Flight Lieutenant |
| Force |
Air Force |
| Regiment |
 Royal Canadian Air Force |
| Death Date |
 March 31, 1944 |
| Engagement |
Luft Stalag III Escape |
| Cemetary |
Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery |
| Hometown |
Edmonton, Alberta |
| Age |
24 |
| Birthdate |
November 4, 1919 |
| Peacetime Work |
Chauffeur |
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Son of Captain Richard Wilson Langford, an English-born forest ranger in Jasper National Park, and Olive Mary (nee Stevens) Langford, of Victoria, British Columbia. Brother of Richard Dennis and Diana Mary. He was one of six Canadian airmen shot after being recaptured during an escape from Stalag Luft 3.
On the night of the bombing of Hamburg on July 28/29, 1942 the weather was very bad and most of the bomber fleet was recalled to base. Langford's Wellington was one of the few that didn't get the message and carried on through bad weather to the target. Most of the bombers couldn't see the target and ended up jettisoning their bombs. Langford's plane is hit by flak fire over Lubeck and went down. Langford managed to bail out, but he suffered serious burns to his upper body. Spent two months in a German military hospital before being transferred to Stalag Luft III.
In Luft Stalag III, Langford was apart of the camouflage team. In one close shave Pat Langford replaced and fully camouflaged Harry's trapdoor in twenty seconds, leaving no sign of a tunnel entrance.
Read more about the Canadians of the "Great Escape" here.
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Members of the Royal Canadian Air Force that fell on the same day as Patrick Wilson: |
Harris, Allen, Anderson, Atkins, Awrey, Baker, Beach, Belyea, Berry, Birkland, Bissett, Bradshaw, Brockway, Burke, Carey, Carleton, Clark, Clarkson, Coffey, Corbally, Cracknell, Craig, Crosland, Cruse, Cullen, De Witt, Death, Devoy, Digney, Dixon, Doig, Ducharme, Edmondson, Ferguson, Ferrier, Gourdeau, Hall, Hammond, Harnish, Hawkes, Haycock, Hergott, Hudson, Jarvis, Johnston, Kruger, Laberge, Labow, Laidlaw, Laird, Latham, Lavery, Leatherdale, Leclaire, Litchfield, Macaulay, Macrovic, Maw, Mccreary, Mcgill, Mcinnes, Mcintyre, Mcnay, Mcphee, Merritt, Metzler, Milward, Mitchell, Mogalki, Mouchet, Munnery, Munro, Narum, O'brien, Orr, Osborn, Paquin, Pattison, Patton, Peppiatt, Preece, Rathwell, Reid, Rice, Robinson, Rost, Rush, Saprunoff, Sargent, Sehlin, Shannon, Sheahan, Shoener, Smith, Soeder, Stainton, Taylor, Thibedeau, Thomson, Thornton, Thorpe, Topping, Toppings, Torbet, Uyen, Van Fleet, Vaughan, White, Wiley, Wilson, Wilson, Zulauf |
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