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Vincent Kenneth "Junior" Moody

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Shewell, Moody & Screwball
"Scarlet" Shewell, "Junior" Moody & "Screwball" Beurling - Malta

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Excerpt from Canadian Wing Commanders by Brown & Lavigne :

"October 15th (1942) was a tough day for No. 249 Squadron, scrambling four times after the enemy aircraft. They scored in these sorties, but sustained losses themselves. P/O Giddings and P/O Moody and F/L McElroy all crash-landed after combats. F/Sgt. Bryden baled out and sustained a broken leg and F/Sgt. Hiskins, an Australian, failed to return. The Canadian members of the squadron once more carried off the honours of the day, getting three of the four "destroyed"; one by Woods and one by P/O "Junior" Moody, and the other by F/O "Mac" McElroy. Woods made two scrambles during the day; the first at 1345 hours when he unsuccessfully fired long-range bursts at bomb-carrying Me 109's, and the second at 1610 hours when he destroyed a Me 109 and damaged a Ju 88."

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Born in Taunton, Massachusettes
Son of Fred and Louise Moody
He became a Canadian citizen
Home in Shelburne, Nova Scotia
Enlisted in Halifax, 23 October 1940
Trained at
No.2 ITS (graduated 24 January 1941)
No.16 EFTS (graduated 29 March 1941) &
No.11 SFTS (graduated 25 June 1941)
Commissioned in 1942
Flew with 249 Squadron at Malta
Killed in action, 12 June 1944 over France
(Spitfire MD123, No.131 Squadron)  **

Screwball Beurling counted Junior as a friend
in his book "Malta Spitfire"

Medal presented to next-of-kin, 11 June 1945

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Honours Awarded Canadian Airmen

Ottawa, Jan. 26, 1944 — R.C.A.F. headquarters last night announced award of the Distinguished Flying Cross to F/O A. R. Mackenzie, of Montreal, who flies with an R.C.A.F. Spitfire squadron in Britain and has destroyed four enemy aircraft, three of which he shot down during a sweep over northern France.
Headquarters also announced award of DFCs to F/O V. K. Moody of West Middle Sable, NS., and F/O T. H. Cameron of Sylvan Lake, Alta.
Moody is credited with destroying two enemy aircraft and damaging "many others," and Cameron with shooting down three.

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MOODY, F/O Vincent Kenneth (J15362) - Distinguished Flying Cross - No.610 Sq.
Award effective 20 January 1944 as per London Gazette dated 25 January 1944 and
AFRO 644/44 dated 24 March 1944.

This officer has taken part in a large number of escort sorties and reconnaissance missions over enemy territory. He participated in operations from Malta during a period of intense activity and later engaged in sweeps over Sicily. On one occasion, in October 1943, Flying Officer Moody's section was attacked by eight Messerschmitt 110s. Under his successful leadership two of the enemy aircraft were destroyed. He has, himself, destroyed two enemy aircraft and damaged many others.

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Air Force Casualties

Ottawa, July 17, 1944 — The Department of National Defense for Air today issued Casualty List No. 937 of the Royal Canadian Air Force, showing nest of kin of those named from Ontario include:

OVERSEAS
Missing After Air Operations

MOODY, Vincent Kenneth, D.F.C., F/L West Middle Sable, N.S.

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Air Force Casualties

Ottawa, Jan. 29, 1945 — The Department of National Defense for Air today issued Casualty List No. 1103 of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Showing next of kin of those from Ontario the list includes:

OVERSEAS
Previously Missing Now Officially Presumed Dead :

MOODY, Vincent Kenneth, D.F.C., Flt Lieut. West Middle Sable, N.S.

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Witnesses to the crash stated he managed to jump from his Spit but died shortly after he landed. Moody is buried at the YVRE L'EVEQUE COMMUNAL CEMETERY, Sarthe, France - The cemetery is on the south western side of the village on the road leading to Yvre-L'Eveque from the N.23 road. There is 1 Commonwealth burial of the 1939-1945 war here, in the north-western corner. It is Moody's grave.

Junior Moody
Moody after recieving his wings

Moody's grave in France

Moody's grave

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Victories Include :

12 Mar 1942
23 Mar 1942
15 Oct 1942
17 Oct 1942
27 Oct 1943
8 Oct 1943
1/2 Ju88
one Ju88
one Ju88
one Me109
one Me109
one Me110
one Me110
probable
damaged
destroyed
damaged
damaged
destroyed
damaged
118 Sq. (AD581)
118 Sq. (AD581)
249 Sq. Malta (EP135, T-Z) *
249 Sq. Malta (xx290, T-1)
249 Sq. Malta (AR466, T-R)
&
610 Sq. (AD577)

2 / 0.5 / 4

* After this claim he was shot down, probably by Friedrich "Fritz" Geisshardt of 3./JG77

** MD 123 was last seen belching black smoke after pulling out from an attack on Lemans Airfield, France. It was assumed to have been hit by flack. Vincent reported by radio transmission that he was going to bail out.
It's also possible that he was shot down by an Me109G-4 piloted by Lieutenant Gustav Sturm of 2./JG27 who reported shooting down a Spitfire from 131 Squadron at 14:30 on 12 June 1944 south of Laval, which is 60km west of Le Mans.

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Thanks to Jacky Emery (with the Maple Leaf Legacy project) for the color photo of Junior
& Jane Full for the photo of his grave !

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