Lorne Maxwell "Cam" Cameron

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Canadians Down 7 Nazi Craft, Score Probable, Smash 4 More

With the R.C.A.F. Somewhere in England, Dec. 20, 1943 - (CP) - Canadian fighters, supporting widespread Allied bomber activity over France and Belgium, today destroyed seven German planes, probably got another and damaged four more for their biggest victory since Nov. 3, when R.C.A.F. fighters shot down 11 Germans.
FO. Andy MacKenzie, a 32-year-old former flying instructor from Montreal, was the leading scorer with a pair of enemy planes to his credit and another probably destroyed.
The Canadians' bag included five fighters, destroyed by the Red Indian squadron flying under the new commander, Sqdn. Ldr. Jimmie Lambert of Winnipeg, in support of medium bombers attacking military objectives in Northern France. Lambert himself was one of the successful Red Indian pilots along with Mackenzie, Flt. Lt. Ed Gimbel of Chicago and FO. Tommy De Courcey of Windsor, Ont.
Two German bombers, a Junkers 88 and a Dornier 217, were destroyed earlier in the day over Brussels in sweeps supporting the United States heavy bomber raid on Bremen. An R.C.A.F. communiqué gave no indication what the German bombers were doing in the air at the time.
Four Canadian fighters were lost during the day.
Flt. Lt. 'Cam' Cameron destroyed the Junkers while FO. D. Givens of Montreal and FO. L.A. Dunn of Toronto shared in the destruction of the Dornier.
MacKenzie, who was engaging the enemy for the second time in 35 sweeps, shot down a Focke-Wulf 190, scored a "probable" against a Messerschmitt 109 and then got another Focke-Wulf. He shot down the second Focke-Wulf after shaking a couple of Nazis off his tail and coming out of a turn to find himself on the tail of two German planes chasing Gimbel.

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CAMERON, S/L Lorne Maxwell (J15378) - Distinguished Flying Cross - No.401 Sq.
Award effective 22 March 1944 as per London Gazette dated 4 April 1944 and
AFRO 921/44 dated 28 April 1944.

This officer led a large formation of fighters detailed to escort a vary large force of bombers on an operational mission in March 1944. Throughout the sortie, during which several enemy aircraft were shot down, Squadron Leader Cameron displayed great skill and determination and played a good part in the success achieved. He has invariably displayed high courage, setting an example which has been reflected in the fine fighting qualities of the squadron he commands.

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D.F.C. Awarded Prairie Airmen

Ottawa, April 5, 1944. An R.C.A.F. intruder squadron pilot who has shot down four enemy planes and is credited with destroying two others on the ground, has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Air force headquarters said last night he is Flight-Lieut. J. T. Caine, of Edmonton. Caine scored two of his victories at night and two in the daytime, while flying with the famed Mosquito Squadron commanded by Wing-Cmdr. D. C. MacDonald, of Vancouver. (W/C Donald Charles Stirling MacDonald (C1634) was actually living in Washington State – ed)
Squadron-Ldr. L. M. Cameron of Roland, Man. fighter pilot, who has been engaged in escorting bomber forces on long-range missions, also has been awarded the D.F.C. Last month, during an escort job, his formation of fighters shot down “several” enemy aircraft.

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DOUBLE BLOWS FROM AIR FALL ACROSS EUROPE

London, May 10, 1944 - (AP) - Some 3,500 Allied planes from both Britain and Italy dropped more than, 4,500 tons of explosives on Hitler’s Europe today, with British-based R.A.F. and R.C.A.F. bombers along raining down 2,500 tons in night time attacks on 10 high-priority targets.
American heavyweight bombers from Italy marked the 26th straight day of aerial battering with attacks on Wiener Neustadt in Austria and Knin in Yugoslavia.
Allied medium, light and fighter bombers from Britain spent the day in methodical blows at rail centers and airfields in France and Belgium.
After darkness fell radio stations in Germany and occupied territory warned of approaching planes, and several stations went off the air.
The latest phase of the onslaught started with overnight and predawn attacks by 750 R.A.F. and Canadian heavies and Mosquito bombers on targets including French Channel coast defenses and the Paris and Berlin areas. Seven R.A.F. planes were lost.
Canadians Over Channel
Canadian planes hammered unspecified French coastal objectives without loss.
American British-based heavy bombers remained on the ground during daylight for the first time in 17 days.
The Italy-based American four-engined craft hit the Messerschmitt factory and nearby airfield at Wiener Neustadt, 27 miles south of Vienna for the sixth time. Antiaircraft fire was heavy, and enemy fighters intercepted the raiders. Several Nazi planes were shot down but no figures were available for losses of either side.
Another Italy-based formation dealt a new blow to Knin, Yugoslav rail junction 40 miles north of Split and 30 miles northeast of Sibenik in an apparent "assist" to hard-fighting Yugoslav Partisans.
Lose .5 Per Cent of Armada
The Air Ministry broke a precedent by announcing officially that 4,000 British and American bombers and fighters of all types made Tuesday's attacks. This was the first time that the total number of planes engaged in a single day's operations ever has been stated officially. From that huge force losses were six heavy bombers, two light bombers, three fighter-bombers and 10 fighters — a total of 21 planes out of 4,000, or one-half of 1 per cent.
The Tuesday night attack by R.A.F. and Canadian planes on German installations directly across the Channel in France caused explosions both before and after midnight so heavy that they broke windows in Britain.
Seven separate aerial task forces hit the French coast, apparently concentrating on the six-inch-to 15-inch guns the Germans have set up there. Others raided the aircraft foundry and stamping plant at Genevilliers, a Paris suburb; and the ballbearing factory at Annecy, in the French Alps, while Mosquitos attacked Berlin with 4,000-pound blockbusters.
One Target Disappeared
The Snowy Owl, Bluenose, Moose and Bison Squadrons of the Canadian bomber group took part in the smash at Nazi defenses in Northern France. One unidentified target was blasted "out of existence," returning airmen said. F/O John Collyer of Winnipeg, a Canadian in the R.A.F., said he and his crew saw an explosion which lit up the countryside "for at least 30 miles" after hitting one objective.
Sqdn. Ldr. Dell Kenney, D.F.C., A.F.C., of Fredericton, Bison Squadron flight commander, flew his Squadron's l,000th sortie during the night. Wing Cmdr. Bill Pleasance, D.F.C., Calgary, led Canadian-built Lancasters of the Moose Squadron to one of the unnamed targets. Others on the attack included Ross Thompson, Montreal, and PO. Jimmy James, 67 Cameron Cres., Toronto.
As dawn broke across the Channel R.A.F., American and Allied medium and light bombers, fighter-bombers, and fighters flew in formation to drop more than 450 tons of bombs on the railway yards at Criel, 25 miles northeast of Paris; the Tournai yards in Belgium, 15 miles east of Lille, the Mons yards 130 miles southwest of Brussels, the Poix airfield near Amiens, France, a railway bridge at Mantes-Gassicourt and a railway yard, and power plant at Valenciennes.
Rouen Bridge Bombed
Later in the day mediums bombed a railbridge near Rouen, railway yards at Douai and Tourcoing and unidentified objectives in the Pas de-Calais region, while fighter bombers attacked another bridge and yards in Northern France and other airfields and rail facilities in France and Belgium.
Fighter and dive bombers of the R.A.F. 2nd Tactical Air Force flew many sorties against invasion-coast batteries, railways, bridges and ammunition dumps. Two bombers failed to return from all these operations.
R.C.A.F. Spitfires shot down two FW190s during offensive patrol between Reims and Paris and damaged an ME109 as it was taxiing along a runway. They also escorted American light bombers in raids on French and Belgian railway yards.
Three Canadian Planes Lost
Sqdn. Ldr. J. Sheppard, Dollarton, B.C., shot down one Nazi and another was credited to the squadron as a whole. Fliers under command of Sqdn. Ldr. L.M. Cameron, Roland, Man., damaged the Messerschmitt.
Three Canadian fighters were reported missing from the daylight operations.
For the second straight day the 9th United States Air Force sent a fleet of 800 fighters and fighter-bombers against the Continent. They crossed the Channel in 18 separate waves, and dive-bombed railyards and airfields in Northern France and Belgium. Two of the planes did not return.
Approximately 14,500 individual sorties have been flown from all Allied bases since Sunday and more than 23,500 tons of bombs have been dropped. Communiqués show that this period of operations cost 146 planes, most of them heavy bombers, while the Germans lost at least 158 aircraft.
Sir Archibald Sinclair, Secretary of State for Air, announced in the House of Commons that 1,041 British and 1,117 United States bombers operating from Britain were lost over Germany and Northern Europe in the first four months of this year.

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