Ray Chown finished his career as a Captain with BWIA. A quiet unassuming man, he never spoke much about his wartime experiences other than being shot down in the far East during a low level attack over the sea flying a Blenheim I believe. Aircraft went into the drink very hard but he survived. Spent the rest of the war a prisoner of the Japanese. Anyone know more about this incident?
Duncan, some of the guys and girls on here have good access to POW lists so they might be able to shed some light on Ray for you especially with regard to dates etc. Unless anyone has any direct knowledge, this might be the best place to start to narrow down when the op might have occurred - work backwards as it were. Unfortunately, I can't add anything despite a fascination with Far East Blenheim ops.
Hi Duncan ! What else do you know about your Ray ? maybe a few details may help us think a little "outside the box "!! In the meantime ... I found this maybe it will give you some hints or clues of where to look ! Blenheim Squadrons of World War 2 - Google Book Search
He isn't listed the Stubbs' RAF Far East POW list. Nor does he appear in any of the crews of Blenheims lost in the Far East. I've also checked a number of other books, but most tend to give only a pilot's name. He doesn't appear in the lists for 45 Squadron either. I thought he may have been a Beaufighter crew - have checked the lists for 177 and 27 Squadrons without luck. I'll keep looking later but any extra information, however small, would be great.
He was a good friend of my father and I met him often in the 70's but like so many, he seemed reluctant to talk about the war and that was respected. I'm sure he said he had flown Blenheims but it could have been Beaufighters and it was in the far East. I do remember him saying it was a low level attack, the elevator control was damaged by enemy fire and the aircraft nosed over into the sea. The impact was very violent and he had pain caused by his restraint harness for months after. I will speak someone who knew him well and see if I can dig up further info. Thanks for all the advice
Also he was English. For a short while after the war he owned a small flying business using a Percival Proctor around Southern England and possibly the Channel Islands.
From someone who flew the right seat with him. Again very little known other than confirming he was a pow of the Japanese. Ray Chown I'm sure that is the correct spelling. I had a lot of respect for Ray. As you say I do believe that he was a Japanese POW - The details of his capture I'm not sure about. He never spoke about his experiences, and I for one never pressed him. I may be very wrong but he could have done his inital flying traing in Florida or Texas as some of the wartime aircrew were trained there....
It looks as though I may have been completely wrong about the aircraft he flew and area of operation. On a Google search I found an extract from a book about a POW's experiences in Germany. He mentions a fellow prisoner Ray Chown. In a book I recently got "Lost in Training" by Harry Green there is mention of a Flt/Sgt Chown of 515 Sqdrn flying Beaufighter 3368 on 20/10/43 out of Hunsdon doing AI Homings. It could be the same pilot. Sorry for misleading but this may help to find more on him. We hear stories of peoples lives but over the years the facts get changed. Cheers
No worries, DR, but it perhaps means there's someone out there who survived a Blenheim etc ditching before becoming a guest of the Emperor! Equally fascinating story. Interesting thing about 515 is that they had Defiants upon formation in late 1942 apparently for radar jamming purposes (I think Kyt will be best placed to take this further - Operation Moonshine). Five months before the F/S Chown mentioned above was "lost", 515 had begun conversion to Beaus so it's possible he also flew Defiants. The start of 1944 saw 515 join 100 Group and then convert to Mossies to continue their counter measures role in support of the bombing force. The Royal Air Force - History Section
We have two different Chowns here Can you tell us the name of the book? The only Chown listed in the POW list is Sgt C M Chown* of 107 Squadron lost in Blenheim V6139 on 30th June 1941. * I haven't found his first name yet This is Clinton Warren Chown DFC of the RCAF, who ended the war with 4 victories**, abd as far as I can see, was never a POW His DFC citation from 31st Oct 1944 Flying Officer Clinton Warren CHOWN (Can./J. 19991) R.C.A.F., 515 Sqn. Flying Officer Chown has successfully completed numerous sorties over Germany and German-occupied territory. He has destroyed 4 hostile aircraft, one of which he shot down during a daylight mission far into Reich territory despite the accurate anti-aircraft fire that was directed at his aircraft from the ground. He has consistently displayed the greatest skill, resource and tenacity. ** One of his victories is well documented in Confounding the Reich: The RAF's Secret War of Electronic Countermeasures in World War II but unfortunately there is no picture of him
Thank you Andy & Kyt The book is called "The lonely flight to Freedom" by Derek Thrower P83 "I teamed up with Ray Chown and together we walked about the heath until the call came to collect our hot soup" I get the impression they were in a Stalagluft but will confirm when the book arrives. As I recounted before Harry Green's book refers to a Chown (no initial) flying Beaufighters. Regards
