MANTTAN, Reginald Keith
| Service Number: | 414416 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 14 September 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Pilot Officer |
| Last Unit: | Royal Canadian Air Force Training Units |
| Born: | Brisbane, Queensland, 16 August 1919 |
| Home Town: | Auchenflower, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Brisbane State High School |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Accidental (training air crash), Saanich Inlet, British Columbia, Canada, 14 March 1943, aged 23 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Ottawa Memorial, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Brisbane State High School WW2 Honour Board, Lost Airmen of the Empire, Patricia Bay, Canada, Ottawa Memorial, Ontario, Canada |
World War 2 Service
| 14 Sep 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Aircraftman 2 (WW2), 414416, Brisbane, Queensland | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Sep 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Pilot Officer, 414416 | |
| 14 Mar 1943: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Pilot Officer, 414416, Royal Canadian Air Force Training Units, Empire Air Training Scheme, 32 Operational Training Unit (RCAF Patricia Bay) |
Details of R.Keith Manttan's Death
Pilot Officer Reginald Keith Manttan (414416)
Navigator, Handley Page Hampden P5433
Age 23
Crashed in Saanich Inlet adjacent to RCAF Training Base Patricia Bay, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, 14 March, 1943, while on a night torpedo training mission. The plane was observed to crash vertically and exploded on impact. The pilot of the aircraft was fellow RAAF Pilot Officer Allan William Hunt (420343)
P/O Manttan's body was never recovered and he was listed as missing presumed killed until October 1943 when his parents finally received a death certificate.
A total of 176 servicemen and 3 women lost their lives in 76 separate crashes while in training at the Patricia Bay Base between 1939 and 1945, including 15 Australian and 3 New Zealanders.
In the spring of 2017, a new monument on a hill overlooking the training base (now the Victoria International Airport) will be dedicated to the 179 people who died while undergoing training at the base.
Submitted 27 February 2017 by Peter Brand
Biography contributed by John Edwards
Hampden P5433 crashed in Saanich Inlet while low level night flying - (Information sourced by Doug Rollins)
"...the Hampden Bomber had a known design flaw - the twin rudders were too small and if the pilot tried to bank at slow speed it would “yaw”, slide sideways and often not recover. P/O Manttan’s fatal flight had completed its torpedo training run and was lining up for its approach to land at the base when the same situation occurred. The plane was seen to yaw, spiral down out of control and crash vertically, exploding on contact with the water." - Peter Brand
Other Crew members who perished in that accident;
420343 P/O Allan William John HUNT (/explore/people/633202) - RAAF of Chatswood, New South Wales
J/22085 P/O Grant Leroy HALL - RCAF of Waterford, Ontario
R/129632 Sgt. Howard Shurvin PIERCY - RCAF of London, Ontario
Click images to start slideshow.