ALG (Advanced Landing Ground) Wormhout
Encyclopedia
ALG Wormhout was the home base of 'B' Flight, 665 (AOP) Squadron RCAF, which operated from April to June, 1945 during Second World War
. The base was located twelve miles southeast of Dunkirk, France
.
For more than six weeks, the five Auster Mark V
aircraft of 'B' Flight operated from ALG Wormhout. Initially, the aircraft were tasked with directing Czech Army artillery gunfire onto targets in the Dunkirk area. After the surrender of Dunkirk on May 9, 1945, the Flight was tasked with communication and VIP flight duties in support of First Canadian Army
.
Royal Canadian Artillery Captain Horace Trites was the Flight Commander of 'B' Flight, 665 (AOP) Squadron, RCAF; the other four pilots in the Flight included Captain Jean-Louis Lamy, Captain Beverly Dane Baily, Captain Bill Milliken, and Captain F.R.'Ray' Irwin.
Captain Irwin and his observer, Gunner R.D. 'Ray' Knight, are credited with having been the last Canadians to fire a hostile shot in the European theatre of Second World War, on May 7, 1945.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The base was located twelve miles southeast of Dunkirk, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
For more than six weeks, the five Auster Mark V
Taylorcraft Auster
The Taylorcraft Auster was a British military liaison and observation aircraft produced by the Taylorcraft Aeroplanes Limited company during the Second World War.-Design and development:...
aircraft of 'B' Flight operated from ALG Wormhout. Initially, the aircraft were tasked with directing Czech Army artillery gunfire onto targets in the Dunkirk area. After the surrender of Dunkirk on May 9, 1945, the Flight was tasked with communication and VIP flight duties in support of First Canadian Army
First Canadian Army
The First Canadian Army was the senior Canadian operational formation in Europe during the Second World War.The Army was formed in early 1942, replacing the existing unnumbered Canadian Corps, as the growing number of Canadian forces in the United Kingdom necessitated an expansion to two corps...
.
Royal Canadian Artillery Captain Horace Trites was the Flight Commander of 'B' Flight, 665 (AOP) Squadron, RCAF; the other four pilots in the Flight included Captain Jean-Louis Lamy, Captain Beverly Dane Baily, Captain Bill Milliken, and Captain F.R.'Ray' Irwin.
Captain Irwin and his observer, Gunner R.D. 'Ray' Knight, are credited with having been the last Canadians to fire a hostile shot in the European theatre of Second World War, on May 7, 1945.