Livingstone "Cap" Foster

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Two District Men Help Down Enemy
Flying Officers Preston and Foster Share in Getting German Fighter

18 August 1943 - Yesterday, as the R.A.F. and R.C.A.F. used Spitfires and American Thunderbolts to continue their record-breaking attacks on Nazi targets in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany, two district flyers earned shares in the downing of a German fighter plane. The successful airmen are Flying Officers J. Preston, St. Catharines, and L. Foster of Grimsby.
The battles took place over northern Belgium when the two flyers combined with Wing-Commander J.E. Johnson, British leader of the Canadian wing, and Flight-Lieutenant Dean H. Dover, of Toronto, to blast an ME110.
In all 33 enemy fighters were downed by the British and Canadians.

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28 HUN PLANES DOWNED FRIDAY BY CANADIANS

London, Sept. 29, 1944 - (CP) - Spitfire pilots of three Canadian fighter wings destroyed at least 28 German aircraft today, raising their score for the week to more than 80. The RCAF reported from Belgium that pilots of a Belgian-based wing under the command of W/C W.R. MacBrien of Ottawa, shot down nine German planes and damaged two others. A Reuter News agency correspondent in a field dispatch credited wings commanded by W/C Dal Russel, D.F.C., of Westmount, Que., and W/C J.E. (Johnny) Johnson English-born leader of a Canadian wing, with 10 and nine, respectfully. F/L Gordon Ockenden of Edmonton, F/L Gordon Smith of Nelson, B.C., and F/O R.A. Hodgins of Ottawa each scored double victories as MacBrien's wing smashed up German formations of fighters over Nijmegen, Holland, near the northern tip of the British 2nd Army's corridor through Holland. Single kills were credited to F/O A.J. Horrell of Windsor, Ont., F/O K.M. Langmuir of Toronto, and F/L Cap Foster of Grimsby, Ont. F/L B.T. Gilmour of St. Thomas, Ont., and F/O F.R. Kearns of Quyon, Ont., each claimed to have damaged an enemy plane. Foster's victory was a "revenge" kill. The Grimsby pilot was forced to bail out behind the Allied lines Sunday when an ME-109 blew up the engine of his Spitfire, but today he got another ME-109 in his sights and brought it down with a four-second burst. "I was pretty mad and thinking of what happened to me the other day," Foster said. "He blew up, and I had to dodge the debris. I guess things are evened up now."
Names of the scorers in the wings commanded by Russel and Johnson were not immediately available.

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CANADIAN SPITFIRES POUND BATTERED ENEMY TRANSPORT
Grimsby Flyer Says River Elbe Choked With Fleeing Ships

(By John Dauphinee, Canadian Press Staff Writer) London, 20 April 1945 - (CP Cable) - Canadian Spitfires took off soon after dawn today in an all-out assault on the transport lines of Germans withdrawing in northern Germany and within a few hours nine locomotives, 25 railway cars, 105 motor and horse-drawn vehicles were written off in the areas around Luneburg and Cuxhaven.

All Heading Fast
R.C.A.F. headquarters said City of Oshawa Squadron pilots got the biggest bag of locomotives in one show when one each was destroyed by sections led by F/O Steve Straub, of San Jose, Cal., and P/O Larry Spurr, of Middleton, N.S., and two were damaged by a section led by F/L Webb Harten, of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
The same squadron damaged five railway cars, destroyed five vehicles and damaged nine.
"There were all sorts of trains around Luneburg," said F/O Gordon Hill, of Regina. "They've all got steam up and are heading east."

Hamburg Burning
The Wolf Squadron, which damaged three locomotives and 12 rail cars, led in the transport attacks this morning, with 14 vehicles destroyed and 26 damaged.
The Red Indian Spitfire Squadron added another 12 vehicles destroyed and 19 damaged, as well as destroying one locomotive, damaging one and damaging eight rail cars.
"The River Elbe from Hamburg down is full of shipping," reported F/L L. Foster, of Grimsby, Ont., after leading a Wolf Squadron reconnaissance flight. "We saw warships, a convoy and a submarine.
There are a lot of fires burning in Hamburg."

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FOSTER, F/L Livingstone (J10957) - Distinguished Flying Cross - No.403 Squadron
Award effective 10 July 1945 as per London Gazette dated 24 July 1945 and
AFRO 1619/45 dated 19 October 1945.

This officer has completed numerous sorties against many heavily defended targets in Germany and enemy occupied territory. Flight Lieutenant Foster has proved himself to be an outstanding fighter pilot, showing keenness, courage and devotion to duty which, coupled with his ability and fine leadership, have made him an outstanding example to the wing. He has destroyed three enemy aircraft and has damaged or destroyed many transport vehicles.

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2 SFTS, Uplands, 5 Sept. 1940 - "Cap" Foster, B.W. Power (Vancouver, BC) & W.H. Prest (Fergus, ON)

Victories Include :

3.25 / 0 / 1

[1] Shared with Johnny Johnson, Dean Dover & Jim Preston