Calgary’s Richard de Boer promoting Mosquito restoration

Story by Gord McNulty,
CAHS Vice President
Photos by Richard de Boer
posted November 2023
Two excellent presentations on the legendary de Havilland Mosquito were given by Richard de Boer in September to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton and the Canadian Aviation Museum in Windsor.
 
Richard, founder and president of the Calgary Mosquito Society (www.calgarymosquitosociety.com) and president of the CAHS Calgary Chapter, first discussed Mosquito LR503, F for Freddie, at the Canadian Aviation Museum.  F for Freddie was the most accomplished Allied bomber of the Second World War with 213 operations over Europe but was lost in a tragic accident at Calgary on May 10, 1945.
Mossie No. 1134 celebrated production of the Mosquito in Canada.
At the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, Richard covered the ongoing restoration of Mosquito CF-HMS in Calgary.  He engaged the audience with a complete, illustrated review of the fascinating history of the project.  A large crowd enjoyed the lively CWHM symposium.
 
The event was highlighted by the attendance of Second World War Mosquito pilot George Stewart, DFC, a CAHS Journal contributor; and Vern Schille, who flew the Mosquito in the 1950s with Spartan Air Services in aerial survey operations.
1954 shot of the Calgary Mosquito with Canadian registration for the first time.
Mosquito heads for Canada.
Mosquito P.R. 35 CF-HMS (s/n RS700) has had a long and colourful history to say the least. It was built in 1946 by Airspeed in England, entered service with 58 Squadron of the RAF in 1950 and was retired in 1952. It then made a ferry flight to Canada in July 1956 across the North Atlantic as the last of Spartan’s Mosquitoes to make the journey. 
 
The aircraft’s fate became problematic for years after it was purchased by Lynn Garrison of Calgary in 1964 and ended up with the City of Calgary’s vintage aircraft collection.  Any prospect of restoring the Mosquito was tied up in court battles and prolonged uncertainty until Calgary City Council voted in 2011 to retain both the Mosquito and a Canadian-built Hawker Hurricane and seek a volunteer group to oversee their restoration.
 
(The Hurricane project was described in detail by CAHS Membership Secretary John Chalmers in the December 2019 issue of the CAHS e-newsletter.)
Spartan’s paint job looked good on the Mosquito.
Richard met the challenge by providing dedicated leadership with the Mosquito Restoration Society, awarded CF-HMS in 2012.  The aircraft was moved to the Bomber Command Museum of Canada in Nanton, where the restoration has continued in earnest and is making good progress toward the goal of permanent display.
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