William James "Bill" Myers

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PL-26650 (above) - "Pilot Officer William James (Bill) Myers of (3236 Linwood Place) Windsor, Ont, is shown smiling as he sits on the wing of his Spitfire near the crest of the Wolf Squadron of which he is a member and whose motto is "stalk and strike". Early in February P/O Myers stalked a German FW 190 over France, crept up to within 250 yards of the German's tail, but when he pressed the gun button his cannon guns jammed, Myers gained on the German, swung out and flew wingtip to wingtip with him and made a derogatory motion of the fingers which the startled German recognized as demand to "wake up and stop stoogeing around," Myers then turned back into formation with the rest of the Wolf squadron. "I was so mad I could have cried," the young pilot reported afterwards. Last December Myers and F/L John Hodgson of Calgary, Alta. destroyed a JU87 in France, saw it disintegrate before their joint attack and burst into flames. Myers enlisted six weeks before his 18th birthday, and was commissioned in Oct. 1943, when he joined the Wolf squadron after service with another Canadian fighter squadron in England."

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ONTARIO FLIERS COMMISSIONED

17 November 1943 - Thirty-nine aircrew members of the R.C.A.F. overseas and in Canada, whose homes are in Ontario, have been commissioned, it was announced yesterday by No. 1 Training Command here. Names and home towns of the new pilot officers follow:

AIRCREW OVERSEAS
Air Gunners — H. R. Welch, D.F.M., Belleville; J. A. Cochrane, Douglas; J. W. Kerr, Windsor.
Flight Engineer — P. E. Gravel, Casselman.
Navigators — E. W. Bell (now prisoner of war), Hanover; E. J. Lowans, D.F.M., Gananoque; H. F. R. Pender, Toronto; J. D. Barker, Toronto; C. C. V. D. Spencer, Picton; A. W. J. Larden, C.G.M., North Bay, A. G. Kerr, Toronto.
Pilots — D. G. Turner, Minaki; W. J. Wark, Renfrew; K. W. Bird, Madoc; F. J. Bryan, Toronto; C. M. Steele, Port Colborne; W. J. Myers, Windsor; H. E. Hare. St. Catharines.
Wireless Air Gunners — W. J. Tilbury, Hamilton; J. A. Riddell, Orillia; J. R. Ross, Hamilton; D. R. Hindmarsh, Alisa Craig.

AIRCREW IN CANADA
Pilots — Kenneth Emond, Toronto; R. J. C. Gardner, Hamilton; Michael Humphries, Toronto; G. M. Macdonald, Toronto; A. W. Campbell, Sarnia; W. A. Elliott, Windsor; R. L. Black, Brussels; J. V. Burke, Tottenham.
Air Gunner — R. G. Yeoman, Gravenhurst.
Navigator — Albert Darbyshire, Toronto.
Wireless Air Gunners — K. W. Wildgust, Stratford: G. N. LaJambe, Timmins; H. R. Wright, Kenilworth; H. R. Hamer, Hamilton; William Scott, Hamilton; K. G. Swinson, Midland; W. R. Drake. Dublin.

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Use Wolf Squadron Spitfires As Dive Bombers in France

London, Monday, April 9, 1944 - (CP) - Canada's Wolf Squadron used its Spitfires in a new role — as fighter-bombers — Saturday, when bombs were dropped on a military target in Northern France. Airmen said the only opposition was negligible flak, and all but one bomb landed in the target area.
"It was all over in three minutes," said F/O James Preston, St. Catharines. "Then we circled a couple of times and came home in formations, leaving a column of black smoke rising 1,000 feet.
We peeled down one after the other in a 5,000-foot dive, and each let his bombs go as he reached the bottom. I could see mine land one after the other as they exploded right in the target area."
Other Wolf Squadron members participating included F/Ls J. D. Lindsay, Arnprior; J. P. Lecoq, Montreal; John Hodgson, Calgary; F/O J. D. Orr, Vancouver; P/O W. J. Myers, Windsor.
Other Spitfires flew offensive patrols over France.

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Three Spitfire pilots from Windsor, Ontario, discuss the night before when they destroyed six Focke Wolfe 190's between them. Myers was the big gun with three, Brannagan who led the squadron, bagged two, and Plummer got one. From the left : Plummer, Brannagan & Myers Windsor Flyers Have Great Day With the RCAF in Normandy, July 14, 1944 - (CP Cable) - A Canadian Spitfire squadron led by S/L Tommy Brannagan, of Windsor, Ont., shot down ten FW190's at dusk yesterday over Laigle, France. It was the greatest single squadron mark yet achieved in the fighter group commanded by Air Vice-Marshal Harry Broadhurst. Brannagan and his mates allowed only two of the group of Nazi fighters they met to escape. F/O William Myers, of Windsor, Ont., bagged three of the enemy craft in what was largely a Border City triumph. Brannagan - who first spotted the Huns - destroyed two and another fell to F/O Lloyd Plummer, also of Windsor.

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R.C.A.F. Spitfire Fliers Catch 12 FW's, Down 10

With the R.C.A.F. in France, July 14, 1944 - (CP) - In their second spectacular victory in little more than a week, an R.C.A.F. Spitfire squadron commanded by S/L Tommy Brannagan, Windsor, Ont., Thursday night shot down in flames with out loss to themselves 10 of a formation of 12 Focke-Wulf 190's spotted flying at tree-top level near Argentan, about 10 miles south of Caen.
Recently when the squadron ran into some Germans it destroyed five and its score stands now at 15 confirmed victories in two sorties, a record unequalled by any other fighter squadron in Normandy.
The squadron is part of the celebrated Canadian wing led by W/C J.E. (Johnny) Johnson, much-decorated English airman from Nottingham, who, with 35 planes downed in air combat, is the leading Allied ace in this theatre.
Three of the German aircraft destroyed late Thursday fell before the guns of F/O Bill Myers of Windsor, Ont., a veteran of between 80 and 90 operational flights, whose only previous score was a half-share in the destruction of an enemy dive-bomber.
Brannagan himself got two. F/Ls G. E. Mott of Sarnia, Ont., and J. C. Copeland of Toronto, F/Os Lloyd (Lou) Plummer of Toronto, B. M. Mackenzie of Stettler, Alta., and D. H. Kimball of Onatucket, N.B., each got one.
Three of Thursday evening's victors also shared in the previous five plane triumph when Brannagan shot down two and Kimball and Mott each got one.
Brannagan has been in command of the squadron for only a fort-night. The youthful airman, who started his second tour without any rest period, said the Germans "didn't have a chance because apparently they didn't see us until we were right down on them." He said the FW's were carrying bombs.
Typhoon fighter-bombers destroyed a bridge and smashed a section of rail track near Fleury-sur-Orne last night, in a dive-bombing assault against enemy lines of communication behind the battlefront.
The City of Ottawa squadron took off from this advanced base in two flights. One, led by F/L Harold Gooding of Ottawa, smashed the bridge, and another flight led by the squadron commanding officer, S/L Bill Pentland of Calgary, struck the rail tracks approaching a second bridge near Etavaux, further north.
W/O Pat McConvey, 116 Barton Avenue, Toronto, said two planes ahead of him bombed the bridge with one direct hit right in the center. "The bridge was sagging in the center like a V when I last saw it," he added.
F/O John Dewar of London, Ont. reported, “I think the bridge had a little bent in it before we got there — anyway it's sure got one now.”

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Six RCAF Men Are Decorated

Ottawa, Oct. 16, 1944 (CP) The RCAF tonight announced the award of one bar to the Distinguished Flying Cross and of five DFC's to RCAF personnel serving overseas. S/L J. R. Dow of Winnipeg, Man., was awarded a bar to his DFC for directing a bomber, on which he was serving as navigator, over its target and back to base despite the damage it suffered from anti-aircraft while on the way to attack. F/O W. J. Myers of Windsor, Ont., was awarded the DFC for destroying three enemy planes on one occasion when his squadron was attacked by 12 enemy aircraft. Other recipients of the DFC were: S/L W. R. Christison, Lennoxville, Que. F/O C. W. Kipfer, Hamilton. F/O H. E. Sayeau, Cardinal, Ont. P/O M. MacNail, Glace Bay, N.S.

F/O Myers

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MYERS, F/O William James (J18688) - Distinguished Flying Cross - No.441 Squadron
Award effective 17 October 1944 as per London Gazette of that date and
AFRO 2534/44 dated 24 November 1944.

This officer has displayed a high standard of skill and efficiency. he has completed very many sorties and has at all times pressed home his attacks with great determination inflicting much damage on the enemy. On one occasion his squadron encountered twelve enemy aircraft. Flying Officer Myers destroyed two before his aircraft sustained damage. Nevertheless, he continued the combat and destroyed a further enemy aircraft, bringing his total to 3.5 destroyed. This officer has set a worthy example.

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Victories Include :

3.5 / 0 / 0

* Shared with John Hodgson

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