Canadian who grew up in my home town in New York. He was a little older than my dad but I'm sure he would have known him in school. Dad often talked about what a good player Danny Fortmann was, who is also mentioned in the article. I'll have to check the local WWII memorial next time I visit up there. https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2018/230/109980950_040c11db-e842-4c03-8c93-ac0af39364f0.jpeg
Pilot Officer (Pilot) HOBEN, GORDON FRANCIS JOSEPH Service Number J/15077 Died 11/07/1942 403 Sqdn. Royal Canadian Air Force Son of Elmo and Lucie Hoben, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada; husband of Hilda Hoben, of Toronto. INSCRIPTION BELOVED HUSBAND OF HILDA DUFFY, ONLY SON OF E. AND L. HOBEN. HE LIVES IN THE HEARTS OF THOSE HE LOVED Casualty PO Gordon Francis Joseph Hoben (1913-1942) - Find... Spitfire AR345 near Thirsk. The pilot of this aircraft was part of the "B" Flight of 403 Squadron and around the 11th July 1942 "B" Flight were stationed at the forward operating airfield of West Hartlepool (Greatham), this gave the aircraft a head start in intercepting incoming Luftwaffe aircraft over the North Sea with the squadron technically based inland at Catterick; further from the North East coast. Little in the way of airfield infrastructure was present at West Hartlepool and units based there often made short flights back to their parent airfield (usually Catterick). Around lunch time on 11th July 1942 the pilot of this Spitfire took off from West Hartlepool to fly back to Catterick to obtain some new recoil springs for the aircraft's machine guns. The landing was made succesfully at Catterick and the new springs obtained. Later in the day the pilot then received authority to return to West Hartlepool and took off. The aircraft was later seen flying at very high speed and at a low height towards Topcliffe airfield, over the airfield it then climbed to around 1000 feet, turned on its back and dived into the ground at high speed near Milburn Farm, between the airfield and Thirsk at 15.43hrs. Sadly the pilot was killed in the accident and the aircraft was destroyed. One of the witnesses to the crash interviewed stated that he had heard a loud crack in the aircraft before it had entered the dive. Although no-one else heard this crack from their positions on the airfield others saw what they believed the pilot begin to make an aerobatic manoeuvre called a roll but believed that he only managed a half-roll before the aircraft went into the steep dive and crashed. The investigation could not rule out that a technical failure had occurred causing the aircraft to roll over just before the crash or whether it was simply that the pilot's flying ability was not good enough to carry out a full aerobatic roll and he lost control. Pilot - P/O Gordon Francis Joseph Hoben RCAF (J/15077), aged 29, of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Buried Catterick Cemetery, North Yorkshire. Aircraft accidents in Yorkshire.
