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F/O Rooney Alexander Hodgins

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F/O Rooney Alexander Hodgins

Birth
Death
11 Jun 1948 (aged 25–26)
Burial
Ottawa, Ottawa Municipality, Ontario, Canada
Plot
19-19
Memorial ID
131076902 View Source

Hodgins - As the result of an accident on Friday, June 11, 1948, Flying Officer Rooney Alexander Hodgins, DFC and Bar, beloved son of Mrs. Moletta Hodgins, of 123 Albert street and of the late Alexander E. Hodgins, in his 26th year. Resting at Hulse and Playfair Ltd., 315 McLeod street, where service will be held in the chapel on Monday, June 14, at 3 p.m. Interment at Beechwood cemetery. Full Air Force honors.

Commemorated on Page 4 of the In the Service of Canada (1947 - 2014) Book of Remembrance.

From FAG Contributor # 47170130
12 Jun 1948, The Ottawa Journal
Jet Plane Crashes at Rockcliffe Ottawa Pilot Instantly Killed
FO Hodgins, DFC, Hurtles Into Ground At 400 Miles an Hour (excerpts)
A wildly spinning Vampire jet fighter hurtled into the ground at Rockcliffe RCAF station Friday afternoon, carrying Flying-Officer Rooney Alexander Hodgins, 25, of 123 Albert street and Campbell's Bay, to instant death.
The plane was rocketing low across the airport at an estimated 400 miles per hour, practising aerobatics for today's air show, when the pilot put it into a high-speed roll. The craft whirled into a tight spin and corkscrewed into the bushes on the eastern boundary of the field at 4.45 p.m.
F/O Hodgins was rated as one of Canada's best jet pilots. He had a distinguished record during World War II and won the DFC and Bar while serving with No. 443 RCAF Spitfire Squadron.
FO. R. A. Hodgins
Flying Officer Hodgins was born at Campbell's Bay, a son of Mrs. Moletta Hodgins and the late Alexander E. Hodgins. He received his education at Lisgar Collegiate and Ottawa Technical High School. For a time before the war he was employed as a sheet metal worker at the Ottawa Car and Aircraft Company.
FO Hodgins enlisted in the RCAF on July 17, 1941, and won his pilot's wings in January, 1943. He served overseas with No. 443 (Hornet) Squadron and was credited with three enemy aircraft shot down.
In one aerial battle over France, in September, 1944, he shot down a pair of Messerschmidt 109's. His specialty, however, was low-altitude strafing and he destroyed a total of 50 enemy mechanical vehicles.
FO Hodgins was a member of Dalhousie Lodge, AF and AM.
Surviving besides his mother, are three brothers, William W., Bertal J., and Douglas O. Hodgins, all of Hodgins Bros., heating contractors, Ottawa; and six sisters, Mrs. Lawrence Routh, Mrs. Angus MacDonald, Mrs. James Downie, and Misses Dorothy, Babs and Asalyn, all of Ottawa.
The funeral will be held on Monday afternoon at 3 o'clock with full Air Force honors. Interment will be made in Beechwood cemetery.

2 Feb 1945, The Ottawa Journal
Flt. Lt. R. Hodgins Downs Three Jerries Is Awarded D.F.C.
Flt. Lt. R. Hodgins, son of Mr. and Mrs. Alex E. Hodgins, 123 Albert street, has been awarded the D.F.C., Air Force Headquarters announced in a release Thursday. Two other awards to Canadian airmen were also included in the release.
The citation which accompanied Flt. Lt. Hodgins' award reads: "Flt. Lt. Hodgins has completed very many sorties over Northern France, Belgium and Holland. He has destroyed three enemy aircraft and has also been responsible for putting out of action more than 50 enemy mechanical vehicles. On one occasion in September 1944 in a fight against a superior force of enemy aircraft, Flt. Lt. Hodgins destroyed two Messerschmitt 109's. This officer has at all times displayed the greatest keenness to engage the enemy and has proved himself a skilful and intrepid pilot."
There are two other Hodgins sons in the services. They are, Douglas, with an R.C.A.F. ground crew in France and Bert Hodgins, in training with the Fleet Air Arm.

Hodgins - As the result of an accident on Friday, June 11, 1948, Flying Officer Rooney Alexander Hodgins, DFC and Bar, beloved son of Mrs. Moletta Hodgins, of 123 Albert street and of the late Alexander E. Hodgins, in his 26th year. Resting at Hulse and Playfair Ltd., 315 McLeod street, where service will be held in the chapel on Monday, June 14, at 3 p.m. Interment at Beechwood cemetery. Full Air Force honors.

Commemorated on Page 4 of the In the Service of Canada (1947 - 2014) Book of Remembrance.

From FAG Contributor # 47170130
12 Jun 1948, The Ottawa Journal
Jet Plane Crashes at Rockcliffe Ottawa Pilot Instantly Killed
FO Hodgins, DFC, Hurtles Into Ground At 400 Miles an Hour (excerpts)
A wildly spinning Vampire jet fighter hurtled into the ground at Rockcliffe RCAF station Friday afternoon, carrying Flying-Officer Rooney Alexander Hodgins, 25, of 123 Albert street and Campbell's Bay, to instant death.
The plane was rocketing low across the airport at an estimated 400 miles per hour, practising aerobatics for today's air show, when the pilot put it into a high-speed roll. The craft whirled into a tight spin and corkscrewed into the bushes on the eastern boundary of the field at 4.45 p.m.
F/O Hodgins was rated as one of Canada's best jet pilots. He had a distinguished record during World War II and won the DFC and Bar while serving with No. 443 RCAF Spitfire Squadron.
FO. R. A. Hodgins
Flying Officer Hodgins was born at Campbell's Bay, a son of Mrs. Moletta Hodgins and the late Alexander E. Hodgins. He received his education at Lisgar Collegiate and Ottawa Technical High School. For a time before the war he was employed as a sheet metal worker at the Ottawa Car and Aircraft Company.
FO Hodgins enlisted in the RCAF on July 17, 1941, and won his pilot's wings in January, 1943. He served overseas with No. 443 (Hornet) Squadron and was credited with three enemy aircraft shot down.
In one aerial battle over France, in September, 1944, he shot down a pair of Messerschmidt 109's. His specialty, however, was low-altitude strafing and he destroyed a total of 50 enemy mechanical vehicles.
FO Hodgins was a member of Dalhousie Lodge, AF and AM.
Surviving besides his mother, are three brothers, William W., Bertal J., and Douglas O. Hodgins, all of Hodgins Bros., heating contractors, Ottawa; and six sisters, Mrs. Lawrence Routh, Mrs. Angus MacDonald, Mrs. James Downie, and Misses Dorothy, Babs and Asalyn, all of Ottawa.
The funeral will be held on Monday afternoon at 3 o'clock with full Air Force honors. Interment will be made in Beechwood cemetery.

2 Feb 1945, The Ottawa Journal
Flt. Lt. R. Hodgins Downs Three Jerries Is Awarded D.F.C.
Flt. Lt. R. Hodgins, son of Mr. and Mrs. Alex E. Hodgins, 123 Albert street, has been awarded the D.F.C., Air Force Headquarters announced in a release Thursday. Two other awards to Canadian airmen were also included in the release.
The citation which accompanied Flt. Lt. Hodgins' award reads: "Flt. Lt. Hodgins has completed very many sorties over Northern France, Belgium and Holland. He has destroyed three enemy aircraft and has also been responsible for putting out of action more than 50 enemy mechanical vehicles. On one occasion in September 1944 in a fight against a superior force of enemy aircraft, Flt. Lt. Hodgins destroyed two Messerschmitt 109's. This officer has at all times displayed the greatest keenness to engage the enemy and has proved himself a skilful and intrepid pilot."
There are two other Hodgins sons in the services. They are, Douglas, with an R.C.A.F. ground crew in France and Bert Hodgins, in training with the Fleet Air Arm.


Inscription

Two headstones, one military and one civilian:

20069 F/O
R.A. Hodgins DFC
R.C.A.F.
Died 11 June 1948
//
HODGINS
In Loving Memory of
Alex E. Hodgins
1892 - 1945
His Wife
Moletta Rooney
1895 - 1980
F/O Rooney A. Hodgins D.F.C. & Bar
1923 - 1948


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