Events

The 75th Anniversary of High Flight

High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air …

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark or even eagle flew –
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth, so begins the poem, High Flight, one of the most-recited poems in the world, and it has been since it was written in August 1941 by a 19-year-old Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Pilot Officer, John Gillespie Magee Jr.  Magee was an American who had joined the RCAF in 1940,  receiving his wings in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, and joining No. 412 Fighter Squadron, stationed at RAF Digby, England, flying Spitfire fighter aircraft.

Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Pilot Officer, John Gillespie Magee Jr.

Three months later, on December 11, 1941, Magee was killed in a mid-air collision over England. Yet 75 years later, the poem Magee had written after a soaring flight in his Spitfire, remains his continuing legacy.

High Flight had been sent home to his parents and Magee’s aunt sent the poem to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Coupled with the news of his death, High Flight was reprinted in newspapers across the U.S. and was designated as the official poem of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Canadian Air Force.

High Flight was included in an exhibition called “Poems of Faith and Freedom” at the Library of Congress with Magee considered the first poet of the Second World War.

Linda Granfield with John Gillespie Magee Jr. pencil sketch.

Read more about the background of John Gillespie Magee in the CAHS History Newsreel.

History in the news

Check these recent newspaper stories for more fascinating stories about history past and present:

Lancaster restoration at Windsor ON

Halifax recovery story by Ted Barris, who spoke at the CAHS 2016 convention

92-year old RCAF veteran gets flight in a B-17 

More about Wop May, the Red Baron and Roy Brown

Stained glass tribute to RCAF at Comox BC

Photo below by Jerry Vernon shows one of the stained glass windows.

Boxtop Flight 22: Honouring the memory of “some fantastic Canadians”

Source: News Article / June 20, 2016

From Royal Canadian Air Force Public Affairs

Corporal Brett Guitard (left), Leading Seaman Garnet Robinson, Corporal Yvette Cedeno and Aviator Alain Fortier serve as sentries at the memorial cairn during its dedication marking the 25th anniversary of the crash of Operation Boxtop Flight 22, which happened on October 30, 1991. The cairn was raised on the crash site, about 16 kilometers south of Canadian Forces Station Alert, on June 15, 2016. PHOTO: Sergeant Paz Quillé, FA02-2016-0015-24

Under the hands of 8 Wing Commander Colonel Colin Keiver, a CC-130J Hercules aircraft circles an area 16 kilometres south of Canadian Forces Station Alert on June 14, 2016. Even on this beautiful sunny day, it is apparent this is no land to be messed with. Barren, snow-covered, and windswept – this is Canada’s most northern reaches. Add in darkness, blizzard conditions, and -30°C temperatures, and the feat of human survival becomes all that much more incredible.

“I can’t believe I spent more than 30 hours out here,” says Master Warrant Officer Tony Cobden as he looks out the small round window of the Hercules at the remnants of the CC-130 on the ground.

It was 25 years earlier when Master Warrant Officer Cobden, a communications researcher, and 17 others, were on board Boxtop Flight 22 when it crashed on final approach to CFS Alert during Operation Boxtop, the semi-annual resupply of the station. Logistics officer Captain Judy Trépanier, CANEX regional services manager Master Warrant Officer Tom Jardine, supply technician Warrant Officer Robert Grimsley and traffic technician Master Corporal Roland Pitre all died in the crash, while the aircraft’s commander, Captain John Couch, succumbed to hypothermia after leading the effort to survive in place, and giving up his coat to the other survivors.

Master Warrant Officer Cobden, the one survivor still serving today in the Canadian Armed Forces, fittingly represents all those on Boxtop Flight 22 during what is preparatory work ahead of 25th Anniversary commemorations to be held more accessibly in Trenton, Ontario, later this year. He is joined on this trip by fellow survivor Master Seaman (Ret’d) D.N. “Monty” Montgomery; search and rescue technician Sergeant Ben House, a member of the rescue team that parachuted into the crash site; and Lieutenant-Colonel (Ret’d) Scott McLean, the commanding officer of CFS Alert in 1991 who led the Station's response to the crash, dispatching overland rescue crews, supporting the SAR response, and preparing for and receiving the dead and injured.

It’s their first trip to the site since the crash.

Monty, who still lives with the physical effects of the crash, lost all his fingers and half his toes to frostbite, then endured 12 gruelling surgeries to graft some toes to his hand to restore some dexterity. “I can put my foot in my mouth faster than anyone!” he quips. “I don’t like to use the word ‘closure’ because it’s been 25 years,” he adds on a more serious note. “It’s hard, it’s difficult; but I can say, this sort of closes it for me.”

Led by Royal Canadian Air Force commander Lieutenant-General Mike Hood and RCAF Chief Warrant Officer Gerry Poitras, the contingent also includes 8 Wing, CFS Alert, CFS Leitrim and 435 Squadron personnel, and members of the search and rescue leadership.

“It’s a very personal thing for me, and I felt strongly about wanting to go there,” says Lieutenant-General Hood, who knew and worked with some of the members who died. “We’re going to honour the memory of some fantastic Canadians.”

The memorial cairn, designed by a team at 1 Canadian Air Division and the Engineering Section of Real Property Operation Detachment Trenton, was flown to CFS Alert and then slung via a CH-147 Chinook helicopter to the crash site in order to have the memorial dedicated at the sacred site. The 1,133-kilogram cairn, shaped like the tail of the Hercules where survivors huddled after the crash, will then be flown back to 8 Wing Trenton where it will be unveiled in the presence of family members of those who died, and survivors and rescuers, at a ceremony on or about October 30, 2016, the actual anniversary of the crash. The RCAF is contacting families and survivors as planning for this event builds momentum.

Master Warrant Officer Cobden admits that being at the site and taking part in the ceremony made him emotional for the first time. “We did lose some lives here,” he says, his voice wavering. “I'm just happy I got the opportunity to be invited back to see it in person, because it was dark then.”

Yellow birds return to Moose Jaw

Source: News Article / July 19, 2016

National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces

In honour of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), 2 Canadian Flying Training School (2 CFFTS) received its newly painted CT-156 Harvard II at 15 Wing Moose Jaw on June 17, 2016. PHOTO: DND

On June 17, 2016, residents of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and 15 Wing in particular, were treated to a sight not seen in the skies over Moose Jaw since the mid-1960s – a yellow-painted Harvard!

Flown on its maiden voyage by 2 Canadian Flying Training School (2 CFFTS) commandant Lieutenant-Colonel David Smith, the commemorative CT-156 Harvard II 156120 touched down in Moose Jaw after a short acceptance test flight and ferry flight from a paint facility in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

“It was a privilege to receive the commemorative British Commonwealth Air Training Plan [BCATP] Harvard II and return it home to the skies above Moose Jaw. I am extremely proud of the efforts of all members of our team, within both 2 CFFTS and our industry partner, CAE,” Lieutenant-Colonel Smith said. “The monumental focus of effort symbolized by Canada’s contribution of the BCATP to the Second World War continues today, albeit on a much smaller scale, with the NATO Flying Training in Canada [NFTC] program, and reminds us of what we can accomplish when we all work toward a common goal.”

Through the diligent efforts of many and in cooperation with NFTC program partner CAE, the aircraft has been painted in a yellow Second World War BCATP paint scheme to commemorate the BCATP. The aircraft is painted to resemble an aircraft flown by Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr., the famed author of “High Flight”. Pilot Officer Magee completed his wings training on BCATP Harvards in June 1941 as a student at No. 2 Service Flying Training School, RCAF Station Uplands (Ottawa). “High Flight” is now considered to be the poem of the Royal Canadian Air Force, and is commonly read during Battle of Britain commemorations and graduation ceremonies.

Vice President and General Manager of CAE Canada Mike Greenley has expressed his strong support of the project. "CAE is delighted to have had the opportunity to collaborate with the RCAF and 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School on the BCATP commemorative CT-156 Harvard II paint scheme,” he said. “The proud history of military flying training in Canada, and specifically Saskatchewan, is certainly worth celebrating. CAE looks forward to telling the BCATP story alongside our DND partners during this important commemorative year. A big thanks to Plane Perfection in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, who painted the aircraft; we are ecstatic with how everything turned out."

The commemorative CT-156 Harvard II is more than an impressive looking aircraft; it has also returned to its flying rotation within the training program. This means that current student pilots will once again have the honour of flying a yellow Harvard during their training, just like the pilots that came before them 75 years ago.

Second Lieutenant Greg Warr was the lucky student pilot who flew the first flight in the yellow Harvard after its return to the flying training rotation, along with his instructor pilot, Major Marc-André Asselin. Although he initially had to get used to the new colour, Second Lieutenant Warr said it was business as usual.

“Flying the yellow Harvard was no different than flying one with a normal paint scheme but it does make you think about the history that has brought the school to where it is today,” he said. “The fact that 75 years ago there was a student pilot doing the exact same thing I’m doing today with the same coloured Harvard is pretty incredible, and I’m proud to be a part of that legacy.”

This year, the RCAF is commemorating the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, one of the largest air training programs the world has ever seen, and marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the 400-series squadrons, which continue to serve Canada and Canadians today.

2 CFFTS, as the principal host unit of the NFTC Program, currently operates the CT-156 Harvard II in both the primary and advanced fast-jet training role as part of 15 Wing Moose Jaw. Graduates of the Harvard II basic training program are assigned to fast-jet, helicopter, or multi-engine advanced training with advanced fast-jet candidates remaining in Moose Jaw before progressing on the CT-155 Hawk and, eventually, the CF-188 Hornet.

With files from Lieutenant-Colonel David Smith.

In search of PWA pilots and info from 1960 in NWT!

I'm hoping to track down information about folks who flew for Pacific Western Airlines in April/May 1960, bringing Inuit patients from Perry River to Cambridge Bay and then on to the Charles Camsell Hospital in Edmonton. If you were up there around then, please check your logbooks, scrapbooks and memory banks. I'd also love to find out who was working at the Cambridge Bay nursing station then.

Or maybe you worked for Associated Airways or the RCAF? I would love to hear if you have stories or photos about the Tuberculosis Xray tours, medevacs to Camsell, or any other connections to the Indian Hospital system, especially between 1944 and 1970.

I'm doing research for a family whose father was sent for medical treatment and unfortunately passed away while in Edmonton. This follows on the work I did in Polar Winds: A Century of Flying the North and will be in a new book about the Camsell Hospital. I'm trying to get diverse viewpoints to create as balanced a book as possible.

Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail, who can be reached via e-mail at info@daniellemc.com or call 780-708-1848 M-F 9 am to 3 pm.

Canadian Forces Borden Celebrates 100th Anniversary

Canadian Forces Borden, Ontario, celebrated its 100th anniversary with an air show on June 11-12. Despite heavy winds, a large crowd enjoyed the centennial celebration at the sprawling base north of Toronto. Borden began training soldiers for trench warfare in July 1916. It became the first flying station of the Royal Flying Corps Canada in 1917 and is known as the birthplace of the RCAF. Base Commander Brigadier General Carl Doyon, who stated in the official program: "As the largest military training base in Canada, CFB Borden now trains approximately 20,000 students each year and we have supported every major conflict that Canada has been involved in since the First World War." It has supported every major conflict that Canada has been involved in since the First World War. The base is home to 400 "City of Toronto" Tactical Helicopter Squadron, equipped with the CH-146 Griffon, and has one of Canada's largest military museums, with a significant collection of wartime and post-war armoured vehicles, trucks and aircraft.

CH-147F Chinook, 147308, 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron, Petawawa, at CFB Borden 100th Anniversary Air Show, June 12, 2016. (Gord McNulty)

CT-146 Griffon Outlaw, C-FYZT, originally CH-146 Griffon 146451, transferred to Allied Wings Ltd. for pilot training.  CFB Borden, June 12, 2016

Harvard Mk 4 CF-FBD 20307 of the Canadian Harvard Aerobatic Team at CFB Borden June 12, 2016. (Gord McNulty)

CH-146 Griffon, 400 City of Toronto Squadron, CFB Borden, June 12, 2016. (Gord McNulty)

CFB Borden 100 logo on CF-18 Hornet 188707,  June 12, 2016.

Flags flying in extreme wind at CFB Borden 100th Anniversary Air Show,  June 12, 2016.

2017 CAHS Convention

Canadair Silver Star, formerly 133422, mounted at London International Airport, July 15, 2016 (Gord McNulty)

Active planning is now under way for the 2017 CAHS Convention and AGM, to be held in London, Ontario, for the first time. A Canadair Silver Star, formerly RCAF 133422, is displayed outside the terminal of London International Airport in honour of all who served with RCAF 420 "City of London" Squadron, RCAF, during the Second World War and afterward when it was reformed as an RCAF Auxiliary Squadron. The "Snowy Owl" Squadron was formed in 1941 as part of RAF 5 Group at Waddington.

London is home to the Diamond Aircraft factory, the Secrets of Radar Museum, the Jet Aircraft Museum, and the International Test Pilot School. The Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association, at Tillsonburg, the Canadian Historical Aircraft Association, Windsor, and the Canadian Warplane Heritage, Hamilton, are all within a couple of hours' drive. The amazing Henry Ford Museum and the Yankee Air Museum (Willow Run) are just across the US border.

A date has not been confirmed yet, but as soon as it is, you will see it in our newsletter.

Viking Air’s 100th Twin Otter

Viking Air Ltd. of Sidney, British Columbia, has now built its 100th Twin Otter. The company was started by Nils Christensen, who was born in Norway and whose first job after emigrating to Canada in 1951 was working for de Havilland Canada.

Shown above in an excerpt from a Viking Air advertisement is the versatile Twin Otter, capable of landing on floats, skis, wheels and tundra tires. Viking Air, with facilities in Sidney, BC, and Calgary, AB, has become the de facto replacement for de Havilland in Canada with parts manufacturing rights for Beaver, Otter and Turbo Beaver. In 2006, Viking acquired type certificates for several de Havilland aircraft and now concentrates on production of the Twin Otter.

Nils Christensen retired as president of Viking Air in 1987 and sold his 90% interest in the company when it had 50 employees. Viking then embarked upon production of the Twin Otter, and now has some 650 employees.

Twin Otters were recently in the news again when flown from Kenn Borek Air Ltd. in Calgary to carry out a medevac operation from the South Pole.

To see a story and a short video about the 100th Twin Otter, go to: ctv.news/0U9XWoe.

Below is “Olivia,” a stunning Turbo Beaver conversion, flown by Viking Air from Sidney, BC, to Toronto in 2007 for the 50th Anniversary of the Beaver, a celebration that coincided with the 2007 convention of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society. (Photo by John Chalmers)

A Headstone for Captain Roy Brown, DSC

Story and photos by John Chalmers
CAHS Membership Secretary

A century after flying for Canada in the First World War, Captain Arthur Roy Brown is now honoured with a proper headstone.

Born in Carleton Place ON in 1893, Brown learned to fly at the Wright School of Aviation in Dayton, Ohio in 1915. He then joined the Royal Naval Air Service and flew as a fighter pilot in the war. On April 1, 1918, the RNAS combined with the Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force.

Twenty days later, as an RAF Captain and a squadron commander for 209 Squadron flying a Sopwith Camel, Brown was engaged in the aerial battle with Manfred von Richthofen, the “Red Baron” at the controls of his red Fokker triplane.

Brown fired on von Richthofen, who was in pursuit of Brown’s squadron mate, Wilfrid “Wop” May, with whom Brown had attended Victoria High School in Edmonton in 1913-15. Generally recognized as bringing down von Richthofen, Brown continued in aviation after the war. He formed General Airways Limited, which operated through the Depression years. He spent his last few years operating a farm near Stouffville ON, and died there in 1944.

In 1955, Roy Brown’s remains were removed from the cemetery at Aurora, Ontario, cremated and taken to the Necropolis Cemetery, located in Toronto, placed in an unmarked grave, identified by only a small marker bearing the number 60A. Thanks to the efforts of the Roy Brown Society of Carleton Place and the purchase of a plot and a headstone by the Last Post Fund, Brown is now remembered with a military-style headstone at the cemetery.

Carol Nicholson, a niece of Roy Brown, and Rob Probert, president of the Roy Brown Society, were among the speakers at the dedication ceremony at the Necropolis Cemetery on June 30, 2016

With some 50 people present, dedication of the headstone was attended by members of the Brown family, the Roy Brown Society and officials of the Last Post Fund. Others included former military officers, representatives of the Royal Canadian Military Institute and the Canadian Aviation Historical Society. I was given the opportunity to speak on behalf of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame, in my capacity as CAHF Historian. Captain Roy Brown was installed as a Member of the Hall in June 2015.

Above, Nadine Carter in her army cadet uniform, paid tribute to Roy Brown at the headstone dedication.

Interest in obtaining appropriate recognition and a proper memorial for Brown is the result of work by the Roy Brown Society, based in Carleton Place. As well, the efforts of Nadine Carter of Stouffville, now 12, have done much to raise awareness of Brown's place in Canadian aviation history. For two years she has done much to raise the profile of Roy Brown.

At left, historians of different generations, Nadine Carter and John Chalmers, delved into the history of Captain Roy Brown and the search for his mortal remains, when their location was not known by members of the Brown family. Eventually when the location was identified as the Necropolis Cemetery in Toronto, work by Nadine and the Roy Brown Society led to the placement of a headstone by the Last Post fund.

Seen below at the Royal Canadian Military Institute in Toronto are Nadine and John with the seat from Baron Manfred von Richthofen’s triplane from the aerial battle of April 21, 1918.

During the Strawberry Festival celebrations on Canada Day, July 1 at Stouffville ON two plaques were unveiled to remember Captain Arthur Roy Brown. At left are Brown’s granddaughter, Dianne Sample and a niece, Carol Nicholson. At right is Nadine Carter, who became interested in Roy Brown at age 10 and began her work in seeking recognition for him. One plaque is now installed in Stouffville. The other is placed at the nearby Rolling Hills Golf Club, located on land that was once the Browns’ farm.

Proud parents Dave and Chantal Carter, whose youngest of four daughters, Nadine, had the honour of unveiling a plaque to ace fighter pilot Roy Brown. He was credited with a dozen victories in the First World War, and was twice decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross.

The house from which Roy and Edythe Brown operated their farm near Stouffville from 1940 until Roy’s death in 1944 at the age of 50. Edythe continued to operate the farm for the next 20 years. Located next to the clubhouse at the Rolling Hills Golf Club, the house is still in use today, occupied by a staff member of the club.

For more info about Capt Roy Brown and to see a video, visit the Hall of Fame web site at www.cahf.ca and click on the Members button.

We hope you enjoyed answering the Canadian Aviation Moments in June. We encourage readers to send in their responses to the Canadian Aviation Moments questions at: info@cahs.ca. Your responses will be included in the following month's newsletter. Here are the correct answers:

Question: What factors helped to mitigate the effects of combat stress in Bomber Command crews?

Answer: “Crew solidarity, a sense of shared danger, and an exceptionally strong motivation not to do anything to jeopardize the other members of their aircrew team or family helped to mitigate the effects of combat stress. Many aircrew prevailed in the face of formidable obstacles simply because they would rather perish than let their buddies down. Bomber crews, in many ways, became classic examples of small-unit cohesiveness. Loyalty, and the strength they derived from these loyalties, is a major reason why most of them were able to prevail in the face of such daunting adversity.” “We were intensely preoccupied with our own crew and very strongly motivated not to let it down. Apart from our commanders and three or four other crews that were close contemporaries, we knew few other aircrew on the station as more than passing acquaintances”.

Source: No Prouder Place – Page 181

Question: When was the first United States Air Force’s Red Flag exercise held? When did the Canadian Armed Forces first participate in it? When was the first Maple Flag exercise held and how often has it been held since then (biannually or annually)?

Answer: “The famous Maple Flag air combat training exercise grew out of Canada’s 1977 participation in the U.S.A.F. Red Flag exercise, created in 1975 to give combat aircrew the tough practical experience that would help them survive their first few missions in a “shooting war”. The Canadian forces had its first Maple Flag exercise in 1978 and it has continued regularly ever since – biannually until 1987 and then annually thereafter”.

Source: Windsock – May 2008 – page 1.

Question: What did the 439 Squadron, when they were based in Europe, use for target tugs for gunnery practice and how did they equip the plane so that it could tow the target?

Answer: “For gunnery practice, a taxiing Sabre would open its speed-brake doors. Into the wells would be placed a T-shaped handle with 1,000 feet of cable attached: at the end of it was a banner-type target. The door would be closed, locking the handle in place. The Sabre would take off at an alarmingly steep angle (to minimize damage to the target). “I imagine there was more speed than I thought” Jack recalled. “But I never got used to it.” Making repeated firing passes at the target would be four more Sabres, each with two guns loaded with 100 rounds of .50 calibre ammunition, dipped in coloured wax so that the identity of the firing aircraft could be determined. Rounds passing through it at an angle of 15 degrees or less were ruled invalid, as this posed too much danger to the Sabre target tug and the intrepid aeronaut inside. “You’d try to close to 1,000 feet, which was the ideal range, at probably 300-350 miles per hour, with the tow-plane at only 185 mph.” Pilots were expected to put at least 20 per cent of their rounds into the target.”

Source: Windsock – September 1994

The Canadian Aviation Moments were submitted by Dennis Casper from the Roland Groome (Regina) Chapter of the CAHS.

The Canadian Aviation Moments questions for August are:

Question: What was the last name of the three brothers, all with the RCAF, who all died within a 12 month period in 1943-1944? What town in Saskatchewan did they come from? HINT: 1. Their last name is the same as the name of one of the buildings in Regina. 2. One of them had the distinction of being American by birth.

Source: Their Names Live On – Page 118

Question: What were the major differences, in 1995, between the Snowbird Tutor and the school training Tutor?

Source: Snowbirds Flying High (Canada’s Snowbirds Celebrate 25 Years) – Page 30

Question: Which RCAF squadron established a record with attacks on 22 U-boats, including 3 sinkings? What was its title?

Source: www.rcaf.com» The Squadrons » 1 -100 Series Squadrons»