David Ernest
Hornell VC
Hornell VC
"...Ignoring the enemy's fire, Flight-Lieutenant Hornell carefully manoeuvred for the attack..."
Name: David Ernest Hornell
Born: January 26, 1910, Mimico, Ontario
Died: June 24, 1944
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
Rank: Flight-Lieutenant
Served: 1941 – 1944
Service Number: J7594
Force: Air Force
Unit: Royal Canadian Air Force
Division: No. 162 (Bomber Reconnaissance) Squadron
Awards: Victoria Cross (posthumous)
Flight-Lieutenant David Hornell was the ideal team player as well as a brave leader, successfully completing 60 missions and 600 hours of flying time with No. 162 Squadron around Iceland, Scotland and North America’s east coast. Coastal Command’s only RCAF Victoria Cross winner, Hornell and his crew successfully destroyed a German U-boat off the coast of Scotland before crash-landing in the ocean and awaiting rescue for nearly a full day. Hornell succumbed to his injuries shortly after being rescued.