James Waclaw Hoba

Canadian airman James Waclaw Hoba was on a training flight with No. 5 Operational Training Unit when he died northwest of Moira, Co. Down on 17th July 1943.

Warrant Officer Class I

James Waclaw Hoba

R/103006

Canadian pilot James Waclaw Hoba served with the Royal Air Force and was with No. 5 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit when his plane came down over Co. Down.

Warrant Officer Class I James Waclaw Hoba (R/103006) served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. Born on 7th June 1918, he was the son of Joseph Hoba and Catherine "Hattie" Hoba (née Katherina Wrouska) of Thorold South, Ontario, Canada.

He died on 17th July 1943 aged 25 years old. He was the pilot. of Bristol Beaufort JM514 when it came down on a training exercise about 1.5 miles northwest of Moira, Co. Down. At around 1510hrs, the plane lost control, spun into the ground and burst into flames. Instructor Pilot Officer Edward George Titley of RAF No. 5 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit died in the same incident.

James Waclaw Hoba’s grave is in Section A, Row LG, Grave 43 of Milltown Cemetery, Belfast.

Grave of James Waclaw Hoba

WartimeNI Photo: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone of Warrant Officer Class I James Waclaw Hoba of the Royal Canadian Air Force in Milltown Cemetery, Belfast. Photo taken on 11th November 2017. Copyright Scott Edgar - WartimeNI.

References
  1. Aircrew Remembered
  2. Ancestry
  3. Candian Fallen
  4. Canadian Virtual War Memorial
  5. Commonwealth War Graves
  6. Find A Grave
  7. RAF Commands
  8. War Graves Ulster