Flying
Officer Robert Arthur Hiltz
Royal
Canadian Air Force
Son
of Cecil B. and Gladys Gwendolyn Hiltz, of Kentville, Nova Scotia,
Canada, age 20, died on 21-Nov-1944 while based at Melsbroek, Holland,
on a bombing mission in Germany. F/O Hiltz had completed 27
operational sorties as of this date.
The
following entry is from 439's War Operations Record Book (Form 540): F/O
Bob Hiltz, the pilot who forced landed on the 19th of this month had a
tough break when his aircraft was hit by flak on the first operation
which necessitating his baling out, but unfortunately, his parachute
streamed. He has done 27 sorties making 29:00 operational hours making
a total of 427:40 flying hours.
The
following entry is from 439's War Operations Book (Form 541):
They broke cloud near Wessel, Germany, and swung north towards the
target going into bombing formation. The dive was from east to west
and commenced at 8,000 feet. It was a moderate dive, 60 degrees, all
aircraft following closely. No direct hits were seen, most bombs
falling slightly to the left of the target. One pair of bombs appeared
to fall in the embankment beside the rails and probably damaged the
line. Once the aircraft commenced their dive, the flak became quite
intense and consisted of accurate medium and light stuff. Blue One
(J/37855 F/O R.A. Hiltz) received a direct hit in his starboard wing
and it blew off. The plane spun to earth and he was seen to bail out.
However his parachute didn't appear to open fully and he hit the
ground south of the target at considerable speed.
Following
entry is from The
Canadian Virtual War Memorial website courtesy of
the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
J/37855
F/O R.A. Hiltz is buried at REICHSWALD FOREST WAR CEMETERY, Germany
Grave Reference: 21. D. 7.
Webmasters
note: This is the second son and brother that the Hiltz family had
lost in this war to end all wars. R/65468
JOHN CLIFTON HILTZ
was killed on Sept 30th, 1941 while on operations with 77 (RAF)
Squadron over Germany.
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