Gazette Information: VICTORIA CROSS,: http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/36630/supplements/3523. Flight Lieutenant David Ernest Hornell, 162 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force. On 24th June 1944 on sea patrol in the North Atlantic, Flight Lieutenant Hornell's twin-engined amphibian aircraft was attacked and badly damaged by an enemy submarine; nevertheless he succeeded in sinking it and then with superhuman effort managed to bring his aircraft down on the heavy swell, blazing furiously. There was only one serviceable dinghy which could not hold all the crew so they took it in turns in the water. By the time the survivors were rescued after 21 hours, Flight Lieutenant Hornell was blinded and weak from exposure and cold. He died shortly after being picked up.
Fold3_Team · 31 Oct 2023
Gazette Information: VICTORIA CROSS,: http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/36630/supplements/3523. Flight Lieutenant David Ernest Hornell, 162 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force. On 24th June 1944 on sea patrol in the North Atlantic, Flight Lieutenant Hornell's twin-engined amphibian aircraft was attacked and badly damaged by an enemy submarine; nevertheless he succeeded in sinking it and then with superhuman effort managed to bring his aircraft down on the heavy swell, blazing furiously. There was only one serviceable dinghy which could not hold all the crew so they took it in turns in the water. By the time the survivors were rescued after 21 hours, Flight Lieutenant Hornell was blinded and weak from exposure and cold. He died shortly after being picked up.