May 12, 1922 - January 1, 1945
Samuel 'Sam' Angelini was born on May 12, 1922 in Hamilton, Ontario to Italian immigrants, Alexander and Carmela (nee Seno) Angelini. He had four brothers and three sisters. The family was Roman Catholic. They lived at 195 Park Street North in Hamilton.
Sam stood 5'5" tall and had brown eyes and black hair. He was an assistant theatre manager in Hamilton when he enlisted with the RCAF August 15, 1942.
He trained at No. 5 ITS, Belleville, Ontario. From there he went to #10 EFTS in Pendleton, Ontario. He received his Wings at #8 SFTS Moncton, NB. He was sent to #1 OTU in Bagotville, Quebec.
He was awarded his Pilot's Flying Badge and his commission on October 15, 1943. He was appointed Flying Officer on April 15, 1944 and embarked overseas on May 25, 1944. In November 1944, he was taken on strength with 439 Squadron.
He had experience flying the Harvard, Battle, Hurricane and Typhoon.
Based in Holland, Sam Angelini (Yellow 4) was killed on January 1, 1945 when upon returning from an armed recce, his flight encountered between fifteen and twenty German aircraft, engaging in a dogfight. The dog-fight lasted four or five minutes, resulting in F/O Laurence and F/O Fraser each destroying two aircraft. When the action broke off, the aircraft returned to base to find it unserviceable due to enemy action and had to go to Vokel where they landed and were refueled. However, F/O Angelini in Typhoon MN589, was missing and was last heard of in the circuit telling 'Pitchdark' he had 10 gallons of fuel left. It was assumed that he was attacked by unknown enemy aircraft and was not able to outrun or outmaneuver them. He was subsequently found still in his burned out bullet ridden cockpit near Rips, Holland. He had had 14 sorties under his belt. He had not flown since December 5th as he had been in England waiting for the weather to improve so he could fly his Typhoon back to the squadron.
Sam was married to Gertrude and together, they had a daughter, Mary Elizabeth who was born on February 10, 1945, six weeks after Sam was killed. Gertrude wrote a letter to the RCAF and requested that Sam's clothing to be donated to the squadron or to the poor people in Holland.
Sam's funeral was held in Eindhoven, Holland.
More information about Sam Angelini can be found in Typhoon and Tempest by Hugh Halliday.
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