The CAHS is in the final stages of developing a new website.

We invite you to Click Here to visit www.cahs.com now to view the new site and take advantage of the new features.

Once all relevant material from the old website has been transfered to the new website,
typing www.cahs.ca will automatically bring you to the new website.

Also visit the Newsflash page at www.cahs.com to read about the latest developments.

Thanks for your patience, support, and interest!

Membership

Print

The Canadian Aviation Moments were submitted by Dennis Casper from the Roland Groome (Regina) Chapter of the CAHS. The questions and the answers are now being published together in the same e-newsletter, rather than questions one month and the answers the next. We are hoping this instant gratification might encourage more interest and research by our readers. Spoiler alert - if you read any further, you will find the answer to January's questions directly below. Good luck and have fun!

The Canadian Aviation Moments questions and answers for January are:

Question 1: Was there ever a Canadian Naval Air Service. If there was, 1. What was the name of it? 2. When was it started and when was it disbanded? 3. What was its compliment of personnel and aircraft? 4. What type of aircraft were used?     

 

Answer: “Because of the importance of Halifax to the war effort, and the threat posed by German submarines, the British Admiralty suggested the establishment of two air stations on the east coast: One at the  Eastern Passage (Dartmouth) and one at Sydney, both in Nova Scotia.” “Initially the Americans rendered assistance by providing two flying boats to patrol the area around Halfiax and the Bedford Basin. On 5 September 1918, the Canadian government approved the Royal Canadian Naval Air Service. Personnel were to be trained on lighter-than-air airships (dirigibles) and heavier-than-air airships (aircraft). By the signing of the armistice, the RCNAS had 81 cadets of whom 60 were undergoing training in the United States, with 13 in the United Kingdom and 8 in Canada awaiting training. Additionally, 6 coxswains had enlisted for airship duties and were serving in the United Kingdom. However, on 5 December 1918 the RCNAS was disbanded and all the cadets and coxswains were demobilized.

Source: Canadian Combat and Support aircraft – A Military Compendium – T.F.J. Leversedge – ISBN 978-1-55125—116-5   


Question 2: The R.C.A.F.’s interwar role in “aid to the civil power” is most often associated with aerial photography and mapping. What was another task that preoccupied the air force between the first and second world wars? What was the purpose of the Air Board Act and in what year was it passed by Parliament? 

 

Answer: “The R.C.A.F.’s interwar role in “aid to the civil power” is most often associated with aerial photography and mapping. There was, however, another task that preoccupied the air force between the first and second world wars; forestry protection. The potential use of aircraft in fire patrols was in fact discussed even before the conclusion of the First World War, but it was a civilian firm – Laurentide Paper - that first used used H2SL flying boats, based at Grand-Mere, Que., for forestry survey and fire spotting in 1919. That was the same year Parliament passed the Air Board Act, creating a body that controlled both civil and military aviation.”

Source: LEGION MAGAZINE – SEP.OCT 2009 – Page 33


Question 3: Which one of the Canadian Military Services flew military aircraft during the Korean War? What was the aircraft and which Flight were they attached to?

 

Answer: On 1 March 1947, the Canadian Army Air Component was formed, and to equip it, 36 Auster AOP Mark MVI aircraft were ordered. “Following the success of the Auster Taylorcraft in the Second World War, an improved and upgraded version of the aircraft, simply known as the Auster Mk VI, was introduced just prior to the Korean War. The Auster MkVI differed from its predecessors in its more powerful engine, protruding rear flaps, longer undercarriage legs and increased fuel capacity. LiKe the Taylorcraft, the primary roles of this aircraft were also artillery spotting, along with liaison and light observation duties. During the Korean War, Canadian Army crews were attached to the Commonwealth Division Air OP Flight.” TOS: 1948 SOS: 1958 No: 42

Source: Canadian Combat and Support aircraft – A Military Compendium – T.F.J. Leversedge – ISBN 978-1-55125—116-5 - Page 56