Events

Hello

I am researching Charles Sutton. He worked for Interlaken Airways and was sadly killed when his aircraft crashed into Lake Ontario on 3rd September 1930.

I have found a message from Pierre Vachon asking for information on him for his book. I understand that Pierre has now passed away.

The website as described below is now out of action.

Charles was one of 4 pilots in a sortie in the skies of France on 6th February 1918.
There was a memorial service on 11th Feb in honour of Peter Francis Kent, who was killed that day, which was attended by, amongst others, Hugh Trenchard, 3rd Viscount Trenchard grandson of Hugh Trenchard, founding father of the RAF. Details of the service can be found on the website of St John the Baptist Church Aldenham Hertfordshire.

I am very much hoping that you can give me any information on Charles, and in particular perhaps a photograph. I am not sure if Pierre finished his book.

Any information you could give me would be greatly appreciated or alternatively point me in the direction of further areas to research.

Kind regards, Irene
ireneflynn@btinternet.com

NAV CANADA’s Explore Aviation Summer Camp

Do you know a girl who has what it takes to leave ordinary behind? If you do, then NAV CANADA’s Explore Aviation Summer Camp is made for her!

This summer, 20 girls entering Grade 10 high school from across Canada will gather in Cornwall, Ontario. Their mission: one week of learning, fun and friendship with a focus on aviation. This all-expenses-paid camp uses hands-on learning to give you the chance to explore exciting careers that will empower you to soar to success after graduation!

Who can apply: ​ ​Girls going into Grade 10 in September 2018

Where: ​NAV CENTRE, Cornwall, ON, with day trips to Montreal and Ottawa

When: ​July 15-20, 2018

Cost: ​No cost to you! It’s paid for by a NAV CANADA bursary, which includes flight, room and board for the week

Why: ​To inspire you to explore a career in aviation

To learn more, click here.

CAHS Museum Members

By John Chalmers, CAHS Membership Secretary

Museum Members of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society comprise a valued component of our membership. Each issue of our newsletter lists those members, with their names linked to the museum’s website. We encourage readers to visit those web locations, and to visit the museum itself when opportunity arises. This is second in a series of features about our Museum Members.

Alberta Aviation Museum

The Alberta Aviation Museum in Edmonton is housed in a 1941 double-wide double-long hangar built for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The museum is home to several aviation organizations in addition to its collection of military and bush flying aircraft. Post-war, the museum was home to 418 RCAF City of Edmonton Squadron. Shown here is the new Katherine Stinson display that features a replica of her unique Curtiss Special, built entirely from scratch by volunteers (Chalmers photo).

Bomber Command Museum of Canada

The Bomber Command Museum of Canada is located in Nanton, Alberta. The showpiece of the museum is its Lancaster bomber, restored by volunteers. All four of its engines are run several times a year at events held at the museum. On the Bomber Command Memorial at the museum are named over 10,600 men who were lost during the Second World War while serving with the RCAF in Bomber Command. Extensive expansion is planned for the museum (Chalmers photo).

Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame

At the Reynolds-Alberta Museum at Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame has its office in the museum and its displays among the aircraft in the museum’s hangar. Each year CAHF honours outstanding achievement in Canadian aviation. With the 2018 induction gala to be held in Calgary on June 7, the Hall will have 232 individual men and women as Members, and has bestowed its Belt of Orion Award for Excellence upon 23 aviation organizations including the CAHS (Chalmers photo).

Canadian Historical Aircraft Association

The mission of the Canadian Historical Aircraft Association in Windsor is to “honour Canadian veterans by preserving, maintaining, restoring, displaying, and demonstrating antique or vintage military and civilian aircraft and artifacts considered important to Canadian aviation history.” The Association has a fleet of flyable aircraft housed in the 1940 hangar of No. 7 Elementary Flying Training School, built for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. A Lancaster and a Mosquito are included in the aircraft collection (Museum photo).

The Canadian Museum of Flight

Located at the Langley, British Columbia, airport, the Canadian Museum of Flight is home to six aircraft that fly, including a 1937 Waco AQC cabin biplane that returned to the air after a 22-year restoration by volunteers. In April 2017 the museum’s S.E.5a First World War biplane replica was shipped to France and flew in the Vimy Ridge Memorial flight. Among aircraft on static exhibit is the only displayed Handley Page Hampden in the world (Chalmers photo).

Local Tuskegee Airman talks about battles at home during WWII

WAVY-TV
By Kara Dixon Published: February 21, 2018

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (WAVY) — A local Tuskegee Airman is recalling his time in the service.

Dr. Harry Quinton is 92 years old and lives in Williamsburg.

He’s a member of the Tuskegee Airmen-Tidewater Chapter and is also the chairman of the group’s speakers bureau.

“The fellow I work with used to say, who’s going to tell the story. So, I enjoy it and it’s rewarding. I get all these accololdades and attention. It feels good. Makes me feel good,” he said.

That attitude carries over through his joking personality.

Through his jokes and laughing, you’d never know he’s experienced a tough life.

“Life isn’t easy but I always had the attitude, if I could just get in and show what I could do, I could survive. It was a matter of survival,” he said.

Quinton was 16 years old when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

He says at the time, he didn’t even know where Hawaii was, but knew that America was headed to war in the late 1930s.

Instead of waiting to get drafted and ending up getting sent somewhere he didn’t want to go, he enlisted in the Army Reserves.

He trained to become an airplane mechanic, so he could be picked for the Tuskegee Program at Hampton, but he failed his final test, depth perception.

He reported for duty at Fort Lee before he was sent to Daniel Field in Augusta, Georgia.

Quinton says that’s where he saw how differently blacks were treated in the military.

Quinton says blacks could only go to the post exchange only one day a week at a certain hour.

When he went, he saw something he’ll never forget.

“They had German POWs who were laying around and drinking sodas, smoking cigarettes, having a good time. I said ‘wow! They’re treating German prisoners better than they’re treating us,’ ” he said.

From there, Quinton went to the North American Aviation Plant in Inglewood, California and worked with the 477th Bombardment group, which was part of the Tuskegee Airmen.

“We knew what we were doing was something we hadn’t been given an opportunity to do before. We also knew that everybody thought we couldn’t do it,” he said.

Quinton remembers watching pilots from the program fly for the first time.

“That was very satisfying,” he said.

Quinton says he never went abroad to fight.

Instead he went to Godman Army Airfield and Freeman Field and saw how officers tried separating the races.

He was there at the Freeman Field Mutiny, where dozens of African Americans were arrested for peacefully entering the officers clubs the base’s commanding officer banned them from.

Quinton says blacks in the military were fighting two battles, the one abroad and segregation at home.

He says he’s always asked why they wanted to fight for their country.

“Say we as a people had decided we weren’t going to participate, it would’ve set us back another hundred years,” he said.

Quinton says his group was getting ready to be shipped out to the Pacific theater when the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan.

After being honorably discharged, he went back to Maryland and got married.

He says there, an employee wouldn’t give him his veteran benefits and he couldn’t find a job as an aviation mechanic, so he moved to New Jersey.

Quinton says he also had trouble finding a job there as an aviation mechanic. So he ended up using the G.I. Bill to attend college, where he received a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Again, he says he had trouble finding accounting jobs, even though the newspapers had pages full of entry level openings.

“When I’d get there, they’d say ‘oh well you need this. You need that.’ I’d say ‘the job said I need no experience.’ Then, they’d start asking me a whole ton of questions. I knew what was going on. As soon as they saw who I was, their whole attitude changed,” he said.

Quinton says he got his foot in the door at a number of companies by working as a file clerk.

He eventually worked for Pan American World Airways and then worked for 23 years as an internal revenue auditor for the Department of Treasury.

Now he spends his time speaking about the Tuskegee Airmen and has a number of awards, including an honorary doctorate from Old Dominion University.

Quinton also attended two presidential inaugurations.

He says he’s blessed to have lived a long life and is in good health.

“I still play golf. I still try to get dates,” he laughed.

And his advice for those, who will face obstacles in life, is to be ready for your chance.

“I believe if you prepare yourself and the opportunity comes, you have to be ready,” he said.

The 101-year-old woman who flew Spitfires in WW2

Mary Ellis is the last surviving female pilot from World War Two.

The 101-year-old joined the Air Transport Auxiliary after hearing an advertisement for women pilots on BBC radio.

She was responsible for delivering Spitfires and bombers to the front line. She now wants to encourage young women to get involved in flying.

Click on image below to view video.

Save the date! A FREE aviation event!

Presented By The First Canadian Ninety-Nines and Durham Flight Centre

Saturday April 21, 2018

Enterprise Airlines
1190 Keith Ross Drive, Oshawa
Oshawa Executive Airport

2018 EVENT ACTIVITIES (Preliminary)
9:00am to 4:00pm

Everyone Is Welcome (no registration required):

• Aviation activities
  
• Get information about Aviation and Aerospace Careers
  
• Watch presentations by inspiring women of aviation
  
• Interact with women of aviation, present and future:
  
• Get up close and personal with some cool aircraft
  
• Browse aviation industry displays
  

Take a FREE Flight in a general aviation aircraft
For girls and young women
Registration in advance is required - visit Girls Take Flight Oshawa for more information.

The Canadian Aviation Moments were submitted by Dennis Casper from the Roland Groome (Regina) Chapter of the CAHS. Spoiler alert - if you read any further than each question, you will find the answer to the questions directly below. Good luck and have fun!

The Canadian Aviation Moments questions and answers for February are:

Question: How many of the BCATP sites IN Canada were chosen because the riding for the site had elected a Liberal candidate for Parliament?

Answer: “In 2000, Carleton University student Rachel Lea Heide completed a paper entitled 'The Politics of British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Base Selection in western Canada'. “It seems that communities were awarded bases only if their sites met technical criteria and were cost effective. Officials would not budge on their decisions, even with extensive lobbying efforts. This did not, however, stop various communities from trying. In fact, Heide discovers lobbying occurred to such an extent that she breaks it down into segments. In what she calls the early lobbying years, Heide describes lobbyists as altruistic. The correspondence on file documents community sentiment to be eager to participate in the war effort by hosting an air base. As base selection continued, correspondence from communities became more insistent. The people in the lobbying communities wanted to participate in the war effort, but expressed that this opportunity was inaccessible to them because the government had not presented them with an airbase from where to do so. Later still, these communities lobbied on the premise that they simply deserved a school because of their political affiliations to the Liberal government. When this approach didn’t work, lobbyists became even more aggressive, threatening to discontinue their support for the government if they did not receive an air base. Even still, base selection officials did not waver. Another reason for Heide’s conclusion of lack of partisan politics in base selection is that decisions about base selection were made by RCAF officers and elected officials merely signed their recommendations. The site selection reports, final decisions and reasons for awarding or rejecting a site illustrate the effort to meet technical criteria, not political ends. In evaluating which constituencies were awarded aerodromes, no political pattern can be found. Liberal ridings were not awarded airbases any more or less than ridings that had elected members of other parties.”

Source: Website - Wings Over Alberta – Homefront

Question: Which bomber carried the heaviest individual bomb loads of the Second World War and which bomber was it derived from?

Answer: “The Avro Lancaster was derived from the unsuccessful twin-engine Avro Manchester bomber that first flew in 1939. The decision was made in late 1940 to replace the two Rolls Royce Vulture engines of the Manchester with four of the more reliable Rolls Royce Merlin (Packard Merlins on Canadian-built Lancasters) engines, which had a proven record in the Hurricane and Spitfire fighter designs. The revised design was an immediate success and the Lancaster went on to carry the heaviest individual bomb loads of the Second World War. The Lancaster was manufactured in Canada by Victory Aircraft Ltd. in Malton, Ontario, and 430 MK X versions were built. In post-war use, the Canadian built Lancasters went on to serve in highly useful roles. Quickly converted into photographic reconnaissance variants for charting and mapping and into maritime patrol versions, the Lancaster soldiered on well into the Cold War era.”

Source: Canadian Combat and Support Aircraft – T.F.J. Leversedge – Page 64