Corkhill, R J (Ronald John)

Corkhill, R J (Ronald John)
Sub-Lieutenant Ronald John Corkhill was the son of Ronald William and Marion Louisa Corkhill, of Formby, Lancashire; husband of Joan Melody Corkhill, of Peaslake, Surrey.
On the 31st of January, a Grumman F6F Hellcat[1], FN410, took off from RAF Aldergrove in Antrim, Northern Ireland. It was performing low flying training exercises over the north of island and while flying over Knocknolly, Ballymena, Co. Antrim, it hit high ground and burst into flames. The trainee pilot was Ronald Corkhill and he unfortunately died instantly.
A few days later he was laid to rest in Faughanvale (Saint Canice) Churchyard, Eglinton, with full military honours.
Ronald served at H.M.S. Gannet, which was a land base in and just outside the village of Eglinton. It was commissioned as part of the Fleet Air Arm on the 15th of May 1943. The base had been formerly run by the Royal Air Force since 1941 and would remain active until 1959. The airbase took a vital part in the defence of the northern approaches, in the Battle of the Atlantic throughout the war.
While at H.M.S. Gannet, Ronald was with 1839 Squadron, which had only formed in November 1943, a few months earlier. During December it became the 5th Naval Fighter Wing.
1939 Squadron was to go on and serve onboard the Illustrious-class Fleet Aircraft Carrier HMS Indomitable[2] in the far east. Prior to that training had begun in earnest, with pilots performing navigation exercises, low flying, formation flying and combat tactics. Unfortunately, Sub-Lieutenant Ronald John Corkhill would be the only fatality during that time.
Date of Death: 31/01/1944 (Aged 21)
Service: Sub-Lieutenant (A), H.M.S. Gannet, 1839 Squadron, 5th Naval Fighter Squadron, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.
Service Number: NA
Burial Location: Faughanvale (Saint Canice) Church of Ireland Churchyard, Grave 11.
[1] Grumman F6F Hellcat was primarily a Carrier fighter plane produced by the United States which first flew it on the 26th of June 1942, going into full service a year later.
[2] HMS Indomitable was a modified Illustrious-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy which launched during March 1940. It would survive the war and was sold for scrap during 1955.