Early 1940 he was a
fighter pilot with 43 Squadronbased at
Acklington, Northumberland. 43 squadron was
equipped with the Hawker Hurricane. On 21
february 1940, then F/O Simpson was
scheduled for a night training mission in
Hurricane L1729.
F/O Simpson was making
a night take off from a very muddy airfield.
Because of the md, his take off run was too
long. When he finally became airborne, the
plane clipped a haystack, snapped a
telegraph pole and crashed into trees just
off the airfield at Acklington. F/O Joseph
Cunningham Simpson was injured in the crash.
He recovered and
returned back to flying.
In 1942 he held the rank of
Squadron Leader and was flying Mosquito's
with 105 Squadron out of Marham, Norfolk. On 23 October
1942, S/L Simpson and his navigator, Flight
Lieutenant Claud Walter, were part of a
mission to bomb the Stork Factories in
Hengelo. Four mosquito's of 105 squadron
were detailed to this mission.
S/L Simpson
took off in Mosquito B IV DZ343 at 12.53
from Marham. S/L Simpson was most probably
shot down on way to the target by Flak near
the town of Raard, 3 kilometers west of
Dokkum. The mosquito was hit, set on fire
and crashed near Raard. Both S/L Simpson and
F/L Walter died in the crash.
The three
other mosquito's bombed the Stork factory at
a height of only 30 meters, where hits were
observed on a motor assembly hall.
S/L Simpson is
buried in Raard Protestant Cemetery. He was
25.
