Nelson (with shades) in front of Spitfire BR390 ZX-N
Nelson (with shades) in front of Spitfire BR390 ZX-N
_________________________________________________ "Here is some preliminary info. He was an American that volunteered for the RCAF in August of 1940. He received his wings and arrived in England in September, 1941. He was first assigned to night fighters in Scotland (squadron number unknown). He then flew with the 600 "City of London" Squadron. He was qualified and had significant hours in both Hurricanes and Spitfires. He was transferred to North Africa in 1942, where he first flew Bristol Beaufighters, then "tank buster" Hurricanes against Rommel's forces. After being wounded, he served as a test pilot for the high altitude version of the Spitfire in Egypt.
He was returned to Canada, where he was chief of the photographic experimental project for the Spitfire. After substantial pressure by the American Army Air Corps, he transferred back to his own country's uniform and flew P-47s and then P-51s in England on bomber escort missions. He was KIA in January 1945, and buried initially at Cambridge cemetery. His Canadian wing commander told our family that he remembers "about a dozen" kills, but the squadron's records were destroyed in a Luftwaffe bombing raid. I have looked through various public records, and he is not listed with any kills. However, I originally had two of his log books, which were lost in one of my many moves, that listed two JU-86 shot down in Egypt." _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________ Victories Include :
_________________________________________________ --- American Aces --- --- Canadian Aces --- _______________________________________________ |
Thanks go out to son Richard Nelson for the info and photo
On
these pages I use info from the Air force Association of Canada's web site
in Hugh Halliday's excellent Honors & Awards section,
Newspaper articles via the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (CMCC)
as well as other sources both published and private
