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F/O. Samuel William Pechet
Royal Canadian Air Force No. 428 Squadron
from:Fort Frances, Ontario
(d.5th Dec 1944)
Canadian Flying Officer Samuel W. Pechet was born in Cupar, Saskatchewan on 15 Sep 1914 to William and Sophia Pechet. He enlisted in the RCAF in October 1942 and after graduating at Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, he went overseas in October 1943. He was a bomb aimer, and completed 27 operational flights.
On the night of 5th of December 1944, the mission of RAF Bomber Command No. 6 Group (RCAF) was to bomb a rail yard in Soest, Germany, an operation involving over 450 aircraft. Sam died that night in particularly tragic circumstances for the 428 Squadron at RAF Middleton, St. George when Sam’s Avro Lancaster Mark X, KB768 collided in mid-air over Yelvertoft with a Handley Page Halifax Mark VII, LW200, 426 (Canadian) Squadron, from RAF Linton on Ouse, Yorkshire. All 14 crew members were killed in the resulting massive explosions created by the two aircraft which, outbound, were both fully loaded with aviation fuel, tons of bombs, and multiple rounds of ammunition.
No traces of Sam and five other crewmen were ever found. He has no known grave, so his name is inscribed on the Runnymede Memorial in Surrey, England.
