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CAHS Newsletter
 
CAHS logo - plain white
 

The Canadian Aviation

 

Historical Society

December 2022 e–Newsletter 

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From the Desk of the Executive

By the time you read or receive this newsletter, Christmas will either be immediately upon us or perhaps just past in the rearview mirror.  We hope you have had a wonderful Christmas celebration with friends and family, with all your favourite treats and traditions. Can you believe that the New Year is just around the corner?  The CAHS survived 2022 in good financial standing - thanks to the support of all our members and friends who have kept memberships up-to-date, given generous donations, and purchased the books and calendars we've had to offer. Thank you from the bottom of our heart! We hope you can continue your journey with us into 2023. If you need to renew, please click here. If you would like to give a donation before the year ends, please click here; we give donation tax receipts for amounts of $10 and above.

 
 
Wishing you health and happiness this Christmas season as you celebrate the holidays and ring in the new year!

Cordially, Dr. Rachel Lea Heide,

National Treasurer,

Canadian Aviation Historical Society

 
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From the Desk of the Journal Editor

 

We have had technical issues with getting Volume 58 Number 1 printed properly but, looking at the latest round of soft proofs delivered on the 20th, I am confident that all should be good with the latest round. I'm just waiting for a new hard-copy mock-up from the printers before signing off on it. It should arrive on 30 December. Once approved the new inside pages lot will be printed and bound to the already reprinted colour covers within the week, and dispatched to our mailing house between 9 to 13 January.

 

Although it is standard operating procedure to distribute the digital edition via the site members-only area only after the print edition has mailed, we may opt to post it earlier given the circumstances, most probably sometime between Christmas and New Years Eve.

 

Production on the remaining issues of Volume 58 will go much faster in the early part of the New Year, while our Associate Editors chip away at all of the Volume 59 content to follow on its heels.

 

On behalf of our Journal editorial and online/digital content teams, here's wishing everyone a very merry Christmas and peaceful New Year.

Terry Higgins, Creative Director, Website Administrator,

CAHS Journal Managing Editor and Graphics Director,

Canadian Aviation Historical Society

 
 
 

From the Desk of the Treasurer

If Santa did not bring the aviation book you were hoping to get, you can still buy copies for yourself. Most everything is still in stock. In Our Youth and the 2023 Calendars are almost sold out - hurry and get yours before the current supplies run out (if demand is there, we can always make another purchase and restock). Check out our online store by clicking here. 

Cordially, Dr. Rachel Lea Heide,

National Treasurer,

Canadian Aviation Historical Society

CAHS 2023 Aviation Art Calendar

 
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Pre-order for $15 a copy (plus $5 shipping in Canada).  Visit the calendar's web page for an overview of this year's art and artists…

5 copies remaining, plus more to be printed in the new year to fill additional orders.

 
Pre-order yours here now…
 
 
 
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AviaDossier 1: Canadian Aircraft of WWII

By Carl Vincent

(with illustrations by Terry Higgins)

 

Heavily illustrated softcover, 8.5 x 11 inches landscape format with photos, profiles, and maps.

Drawing on an immense range of archival records, memoirs, and photographs collected over decades of diligent research, author Carl Vincent provides a unique insight into some of the men and machines covered under this broad title.

 
See more or order now…
 
 

North Atlantic Crossroads 

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by Darrell Hillier

 

Gander was a bustling hub of aviation during the Second World War as thousands of bombers passed through on their way to Britain. In North Atlantic Crossroads, the challenges and hazards of transatlantic ferrying come alive. Tales of search and rescue, aircraft salvage, medevac missions, and VIP visits highlight the activities of the Ferry Command Gander unit, notably the work of its aircraft maintenance department, headed by the incomparable John Joseph “Joe” Gilmore. Postwar, the boom in commercial air travel transformed Gander, setting the airport on its way to becoming the crossroads of the North Atlantic. 

 

This book can be purchased for $15 (plus $6 shipping in Canada)

.

Get your copy here…
 
 

In Our Youth:

The Lives, Adventures, and Sacrifices of Early Canadian Flyers

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by Angus Scully (9x6 inches, 288 pages)

 

Using long-forgotten photographs from provincial archives, formerly confidential military records, and precious family collections, In Our Youth: The Lives, Adventures, and Sacrifices of Early Canadian Flyers shares the stories of 32 young, Canadian pilots in the First World War—a time when flying was pure adventure and danger.

 

Get your copy for only $22 (the Publisher's retail is $29.95 plus tax and shipping) plus $6 shipping (within Canada).

 

Only one copy remaining in stock. More will be purchased from the publisher in the new year to fill additional orders.

Get your copy here…
 
 

For the Love of Flying

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by Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail

 

This book tells the story of Laurentian Air Services and its subsidiaries, Air Schefferville, Delay River Outfitters and more.

 

Drawing on interviews with Laurentian’s owners, pilots and ground crew, Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail explores this innovative company’s colorful 60-year history from its founding in Ottawa in 1936 with Waco biplanes through the 1990s when it operated twin-engine turboprops. This book is filled with lively flying anecdotes from the cockpits of world-famous bushplanes, including the de Havilland Beaver and Otter, the Douglas DC-3 and the Grumman Goose. From daring rescues and close calls, to the filming of Hollywood’s Captains of the Clouds, Laurentian’s pilots did it all.

 

Get your copy for only $20 (plus $20 shipping within Canada; we recommend buying multiple copies of Danielle's books at no extra cost for combined shipping, which would make the parcel shipping rate more worthwhile).

Get your copy here…
 
 

Polar Winds

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by Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail

 

Polar Winds uses the stories of pilots and others to explore the greater history of air travel in the North, from the Klondike Gold Rush through to the end of the twentieth century. It encompasses everything from exploration flights to the North Pole in airships to passenger travel in jet liners; flying school buses for residential schools to indigenous pilots performing mercy flights; and from the harrowing crashes to the routine supply runs that make up daily life in the North. Above all, it is a unique history told through the experiences of northerners on the ground and in the sky. 

 

Get your copy for only $20 (plus $6 shipping within Canada).

Order yours here now…
 
 

Alis the Aviator

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by Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail

 

Come along on an aviation journey with Alis! This spunky female guide will take you through an ABC of planes featuring gorgeous cut-paper art.

An A to Z of planes past and present, this book has stunning cut-paper art and a cute-as-a-button guide named Alis. Named for Dr. Alis Kennedy, likely one of the first Indigenous women to obtain a commercial pilot licence in Canada, Alis will take you on an aviation tour from the Avro Arrow to the Zeppelin and everything in between.

Meticulously researched and uniquely crafted, this is a one-of-a-kind book that will delight aviation fans big and little

 

Get your copy for only $20 (plus $6 shipping within Canada).

Get your copy here…
 

Click/tap anywhere on the montage below to to explore all the other books that the CAHS is offering for sale!

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Our Society is very thankful for the support of our Corporate Members, Museum Members, Individual Donors, and from the proceeds generated by the time-limited Special Offer items in our e-shop.

 
 

Aviation News and Events

 
 
 
 
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Saving a Halifax

The Bomber Command Museum of Canada (BCMC) in Nanton, Alberta has been hard at work rescuing and restoring a Halifax Bomber. Read here for updates and ways to support this historic project!

 

Story by Katherine Simunkovic

Newsletter Editor

Photos provided by Karl Kjarsgaard

Bomber Command Museum

Read more…
 
 
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International Contact in Restoration

Saving our aviation history is important work, and work that is often very difficult when parts become unattainable. Thankfully aviation restorers from around the world are there to help.  

by John Chalmers

CAHS Membership Secretary

Read more...
 
 
 
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North Atlantic Crossroads: The Royal Air Force Ferry Command Gander Unit, 1940-1946  

During the Second World War, RCAF Station Gander was a hub of activity as thousands of aircraft passed through the airport on their way to Britain. Join us as author Darrell Hillier talks about the Royal Air Force Ferry Command Gander Unit, 1940-1946, including the challenges and hazards of transatlantic ferry flying. From the beginnings of the wartime ferry flights, to search and rescue and aircraft salvage, Darrell explores the unit’s activities, as well as the history of the Gander airport. This presentation was given to CAHS Ottawa January 27, 2022.  

via Kyle Huth

Check it out on Youtube…
 
 
 
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Repairs Planned for Brandon Museum 

As reported in the November 2022 issue of the EDHS newsletter, the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum at Brandon, Manitoba, was closed temporarily due to safety concerns about structural roof support damage. Plans are now underway to make necessary repairs.

 

Shown here is the Bristol Bolingbroke of the Brandon museum and the wooden roof support structure of the wartime hangar of the BCATP that houses the museum’s aircraft and artifact collection. A story in the Brandon Sun of December 17 provided an update to the situation faced by the museum in dealing with roof damage.

by John Chalmers

CAHS Membership Secretary

Click here for the story...
 
 
 
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GREAT CANADIANS TO BE INDUCTED AT THE 50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS OF CANADA’S AVIATION HALL OF FAME 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

December 5, 2022

 

Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame (CAHF) wishes to announce the successful nomination to the Hall of Harvey Friesen, Dr. Gary Gray, Keith Hopkinson, and Ken Lett, along with No. 1 Air Division, recipient of The Belt of Orion Award for Excellence.

 

The Induction Ceremony will be held on September 14, 2023, at Sunwest Aviation in Calgary.

 

This Ceremony will be a special one as it will celebrate the Hall’s 50th Anniversary. Over its five decades since its creation in 1973 CAHF has honoured the accomplishments of 248 individuals and 26 organizations that represent the best of Canadian aviation and aerospace.

 

We are excited to announce Colonel Chris Hadfield as our keynote speaker for the event! Colonel Hadfield, a highly decorated astronaut, engineer, fighter pilot, musician, and author, was inducted as a Member into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame in 2005.

 

Join CAHF members, supporters, and distinguished guests to welcome our newest inductees and to celebrate our 50th Anniversary as we continue to preserve, honour, and share the story of Canada’s aviation and aerospace history. 

 

Source: [email protected]

Calgary: Jody Weyman, 587-583-2703

National: John McKenna, 613-301-3969

DE GRANDS CANADIENS SERONT INTRONISÉS AUX CÉLÉBRATIONS DU 50e ANNIVERSAIRE DU PANTHÉON DE L'AVIATION DU CANADA 

POUR DIFFUSION IMMÉDIATE

 

Le 5 décembre 2022

 

Le Panthéon de l'aviation du Canada est heureux d'annoncer que Harvey Friesen, le Dr Gary Gray, Keith Hopkinson et Ken Lett, ont été sélectionnés pour intronisation et que la Division aérienne no 1, sera le récipiendaire du prix The Belt of Orion Award for Excellence.

 

La cérémonie d’intronisation se tiendra le 14 septembre 2023 chez Sunwest Aviation à Calgary.

 

La cérémonie d'intronisation sera unique en ce qu’elle célèbrera le 50e anniversaire du Panthéon. Au cours de ses cinq décennies depuis sa création en 1973 le Panthéon a honoré les réalisations de 248 personnes et 26 organisations qui représentent le meilleur de l'aviation et de l'aérospatiale au Canada.

 

Nous sommes ravis d'annoncer que le colonel Chris Hadfield sera notre conférencier invité pour l'occasion. Le colonel Hadfield, astronaute hautement décoré, ingénieur, pilote de chasse, musicien et auteur, a été intronisé au Panthéon de l'aviation du Canada en 2005.

 

Joignez-vous aux membres, amisetinvitésdistinguésduPanthéonaccueillir nos nouveauxintroniséset pour célébrerle 50e anniversairealorsque nous continuonsàpréserver, honorer etpartagerl'histoiredel'aviationetdel'aérospatialedu Canada.

 

Source: [email protected]

Calgary: Jody Weyman, 587-583-2703

National: John McKenna, 613-301-3969

 
 
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Days left to double your donation! 

The Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada is letting donors and sponsors know that if you are able to donate to any of their ongoing projects prior to the end of 2022, the Richardson Foundation will match your donation.

 

Three projects currently ongoing that are accepting donations. Please click the links below to donate directly to the specific funds:

 

Education Fund
Restoration Fund
Accessibility Fund
 
 

Canadian Aviation Moments

Here are the questions and answers to November's Canadian Aviation Moments:

 
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Question 1: Who was the greatest fighter in the Royal Naval Air Services during the First World War?    

 

Source:

Canada’s Fighting Airmen,

pg. 59-60 (Drew)

 

 
 
 
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Question 2:  Which versions of the Consolidated PBY were used by RCAF during the Second World War?    

                                

Source:

Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Boat Stations,

pg. 269 (Weicht)

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
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Question 3:  Operation Hydra, a significant raid conducted on the 17/18 August 1943, sought to accomplish what?  

 

Source:

No Prouder Place,

pg. 261 (Bashow)

 
 

Spoiler alert -  the answers to this month's questions follow. Skip the rest of this section and come back later if you wish to guess/research the answers first. Good luck and have fun!

ANSWER 1: “Lieutenant-Colonel Raymond Collishaw, C.B.E., D.S.O. and bar, D.S.C., D.F.C., Croix de Guerre (French), the greatest fighter in the Royal Naval Air Service was, like Bishop, a Canadian. He is the true D’Artagnan of British airmen, his whole life being one of continuous adventure. Although only twenty years of age at the outbreak of war, he had already been to the Antarctic with one of the Polar expeditions and sailed as second officer on the Alaska run from Victoria, at a time when the passengers to and from the Yukon were still a fascinating mixture of success and failure and gave those who came in contact with them a broad experience in human strength and human weakness.”

Source:

Canada’s Fighting Airmen,

pg. 59-60 (Drew)

ANSWER 2: “The name “Catalina”, denoting the flying boat version of the PBY, was used by the United States Navy and the Royal Air Force, but the RCAF rejected the name in favour of “Canso”. The amphibious PBY-5A was dubbed by the RCAF as the Canso A. In spite of this official nomenclatures, confusion often arises over which aircraft is being referred to in Station diaries and other recorded information. Generally speaking, a Catalina was a Flying Boat and Canso was the amphibian."

 

Source:

Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Boat Stations,

pg. 269 (Weicht)

ANSWER 3: “Code-named Operation Hydra, as the name implies, the intent was to conduct a decapitating strike on the secret research and development facility for the V2 rockets at Peenemunde, where Hitler had recently started focusing a tremendous portion of the Reich’s industrial output on his so-called vengeance weapons. The raid was unique for a number of reasons. Since it was being directed at a specific facility, it demanded precision, and for that reason, the attack took place in bright moonlight and in a relatively low altitude attacking band, between 6000 and 10,000 feet. Window was again used to stymy the German defences, and a diversionary or “spoof” raid was conducted in advance on Berlin in an effort to draw the night fighters away from the intended target.” 

 

Source:

No Prouder Place,

pg. 261 (Bashow)

 
 

Chapter News

Select a chapter to discover what they have been up to since the last newsletter.

Many of our Chapters remain very active on Zoom with presentations every bit as good as they would be if we did not have pandemic restrictions to deal with!

 
 
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Special Thanks To Our Supporters

 
 

In addition to its members, contributors, and newsletter subscribers, the CAHS is thankful for the ongoing support of its Corporate Members, Museum Members, and Partner Organizations, as well as the many individuals and organizations whose financial donations are so generously given.

 

If you would like to become a Corporate Member or Museum Member - or if you know an organization that might like to join - we are always happy to receive new applications. Please use the hyperlinks above to learn more about our corporate members and partner organizations. 

Corporate Members:

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Corporate Partners:

Aviaeology Publishing / SkyGrid Studio

CANAV Books

Northern Lights Awards / Elsie MacGill Foundation

The RCAF Association

Vintage Wings of Canada

 

Museum Members:

Alberta Aviation Museum

Billy Bishop Home and Museum

Bomber Command Museum of Canada

Botwood Flying Boat Museum

British Columbia Aviation Museum

Calgary Mosquito Society

Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame

Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre

Canadian Historical Aircraft Association

The Canadian Museum of Flight

Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum

Comox Air Force Museum

First In Last Out

Great War Flying Museum

The Hangar Flight Museum

Harvard Historical Aviation Society

Montreal Aviation Museum

National Air Force Museum

Quebec Aerospace Museum

Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada

Shearwater Aviation Museum

Western Development Museum

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If you have changed your mailing or e-mail address, please get in touch to keep us up to date. Contact the Membership Administrator here. To enquire about membership payment records, contact the Treasurer here.

 

Click here to renew immediately online, or to join as a new member. If you would like to register or renew by mail, printable forms are also available in the bottom area of this page on our site.

 

If you have any aviation history-related news or events to share, please contact our newsletter editor here.

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The Canadian Aviation Historical Society (CAHS)

P.O. Box 2700 • Station D • Ottawa • Ontario • K1P 5W7

visit us at www.cahs.com

The CAHS is incorporated as a Canadian Registered Charity under a Federal Charter with the business registration number 118829589 RR001

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Canadian Aviation Historical Society (CAHS)
P.O. Box 2700, Station D
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