Flight Sergeant Roderick Forbes Sim RAFVR 748347 of 1 Addison Crescent, Crieff was killed in action on 6 November 1941 and is buried in Crieff Cemetery. He was the elder son of Mrs Isabella Sim and the late Mr William Sim. Before joining the RAFVR Roderick was employed by S. Graham Mickel & Co, Solicitors, Crieff. Roderick was well known in Crieff and Comrie, where he was a member of the cricket club.
Roderick Sim was piloting a Douglas A-20 Havoc I DG555 of RAF 37 Maintenance Unit RAF Burtonwood Repair Depot, 15 miles east of Liverpool, north of Warrington. All it is known is that the aircraft crashed and both occupants were killed. Also on board was a civilian, Mr. T. Butts. In one intimation it was suggested his first name was Percival, and from London. The Commonwealth Graves Commission only shows the death of T Butts, buried at Warrington Rural District Cemetery. Mr Butts was possibly testing equipment on the aircraft.
Notes:
In the RAF, the Havoc bomber variants were known as Boston, while the night fighter and intruder variants were named Havoc. The exception was the Royal Australian Air Force, which used the name Boston for all variants. The USAAF used the P-70 designation to refer to the night fighter variants. In Interdiction raids, Havoc intruders caused considerable damage to German targets.
At RAF Burtonwood the RAF 37 MU was the RAF’s centre for repair of aircraft built in the United States. The United States Army Air Force took over RAF Burtonwood in June 1942. Burtonwood was the largest airfield in Europe during WW2 with the most USAAF personnel and aircraft maintenance facilities.
