- Died
- 17 May 1943, aged 25
- Fate
- Killed in action
Biography
Pilot Officer Lewis Johnstone Burpee DFM was born in Ottawa on 5 March 1918 and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940. He flew a full operational tour with No. 106 Squadron under Guy Gibson, earning the Distinguished Flying Medal, before following Gibson to the new No. 617 Squadron. On the Dams Raid of 16/17 May 1943 he captained Lancaster ED865 ‘S for Sugar’ as part of the mobile reserve; over the Netherlands, near the night-fighter airfield at Gilze-Rijen, his aircraft was caught by searchlights and anti-aircraft fire and shot down with the loss of all on board. He is buried in the Bergen op Zoom War Cemetery, and left a widow in Ottawa.
Burial / commemoration
- Cemetery
- Bergen-op-zoom War Cemetery, Netherlands
Operations on this date. 2 raids in this archive were flown on the night of 17 May 1943: Operation Chastise · Operation Chastise - The 'dambusters' Raid. (Cross-reference by date — not in itself confirmation this airman flew it.)
Timeline
-
16 May 1943
Flew Operation Chastise
Pilot, ED865 AJ-S — Crashed outbound -
17 May 1943
Died
aged 25
Crew & operations
Flew as Pilot with No. 617 Squadron (Dambusters).
- Operation Chastise (16 May 1943) — aircraft ED865 AJ-S (Avro Lancaster) — Crashed outbound
Crew: James Lamb Arthur (Bomb aimer) · Guy Pegler (Flight engineer) · William Charles Arthur Long (Front gunner) · Thomas Jaye (Navigator) · Joseph Gordon Brady (Rear gunner) · Leonard George Weller (Wireless operator)