I would like to bring to your attention the great work that the First Nations' Technical Institute (FNTI)has been doing for both the pilot shortage and Indigenous community. For 35 years, the FNTI has provided post-secondary training for First Nation, Métis, and Inuit communities in an environment that incorporates and nurtures Indigenous knowledge and a sense of community as many students travel far from their homes, culture, traditions, and family support networks. One of the college programs offered is the First Peoples' Aviation Technology - Flight advanced diploma, aimed at introducing more First Peoples to aviation and addressing the fact that First Peoples only make up 3% of pilots in Canada.
Sadly, late Thursday 24 February 2022, the FNTI Aviation Campus had a devastating fire. It destroyed their hangar (which dated back to 1943, being part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan) at the Mohawk Airfield at Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, and the fire also impacted the adjacent buildings (Student Residence, Aviation Simulator Building, and Indigenous Learning Centre). Fortunately, no students or staff were injured, but all 13 of FNTI's aircraft were destroyed; consequently the aviation program is on pause, and students are being sent home. The students, staff, and founders of FNTI would appreciate your support - whether through thoughts, prayers, or donations. Local media stories are available at the following links for further details, pictures, and updates: SkiesMag, Quinte News, and the Kingstonist.
At present, we have a range of articles blocked in through to the end of Volume 58 (2020 publication year) and then some. Due to the serialized nature of some of the more in-depth features (i.e., articles that span two or more Journal numbers), the place they hold in the current line-up may change. Still, the order of appearance should end up very close to that summarized under the In the Works - Volume 58 and Later tab on the Journal page of our website.
If all goes to plan, these four journals will be in mailboxes (or inboxes as is the case for Online Memberships) within the second quarter 2022. Meanwhile, as noted in last month's newsletter, a new team of associate editors are working on content development for Volume 59 (the 2021 publication year) while your managing editor is in the process of developing new content for the first two numbers of Volume 60 (the 2022 publication year).
Thinking of already-submitted articles as "inventory" and outlines as building blocks towards the same, we have enough material either in hand or in the works to maintain a healthy publication schedule through to at least the end 2023. However, to help us maintain a good balance of coverage across all eras and sub-genres (civil, commercial, military, industry, etc) of Canadian aviation history, it should be noted here that we are always eager to receive new articles to add to the line-up. Members and non-members alike are welcome to contribute to our Journal. Everything from serialized feature articles to short "In Brief" or "Historical Snapshot" items to single page photo essays are welcomed. If you have something to contribute, please get in touch with myself or one of our associate editors by providing a short iniital proposal via email to any one of the contacts listed here (click the name to begin your email message):
Each digital edition is posted to the website as a high-resolution PDF (published with colour throughout since Journal 57-1) so that all current CAHS National Members will have immediate online access to all digital editions.
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Have you ever found yourself looking for a specific CAHS Journal article but not wanting to spend hours flipping their your print-edition Journals to find it? Try using the search function in the main menu bar on CAHS.com to find out which Volume/Number it is in before "dog-earing" your print collection. The article titles, short descriptions, and authors for all volumes of our Journal have been indexed on our website for this purpose.
Terry Higgins, Creative Director, Website Administrator,
CAHS Journal Managing Editor and Graphics Director,
Canadian Aviation Historical Society
From the Desk of the Treasurer
I have finally been able to check the CAHS Post Office Box in Ottawa; it did involve crossing a police checkpoint and getting past two sets of fences, but it was nice to be able to walk the peaceful streets of Ottawa again without the fear of being accosted. The mailbox was very full, so I would like to say thank you to everyone who has renewed their membership after receiving the Journal and renewal notice. I look forward to receiving more renewals over the next few weeks - either in our Post Office box or through our online options. We are so grateful for your support and for the ability to be able to serve you and share Canada's amazing aviation history with you!
Over the next few months, we will be launching some more special deals on aviation related books; right now, we are working on setting up the offers in our online store. In the meantime, you can still browse the aviation books for sale by Shelia Serup, Carl Vincent, Chris Weicht, Shirlee Matheson, Tim Cole, Deana Driver, Joel From, Terry Higgins, and others. Click on the montage image below to find out more information about the books. It also isn't too late to order a CAHS Aviation Art Calendar for 2022, so don't forget to browse the calendar link below to see images of each month's artwork. The 13-months of full-colour art is an amazing addition to an aviation lovers' wall, whether you buy one for yourself or as a gift for friends and family.
For the past 21 years, CanadaHelps has helped promote fundraising for Canadian charities, including providing an online platform for donating and creating tax receipts. CanadaHelps' latest promotion is to encourage Canadians to become monthly donors to their favourite causes and charities. If you set up a new monthly gift of $20 or more through CanadaHelps in March, CanadaHelps will make a one-time extra $20 donation to the CAHS! The CAHS page on Canada Helps is here, and you will receive a tax receipt from CanadaHelps directly. You may view the Terms and Conditions of CanadaHelps' offer at this page.
For everyone who donated to the CAHS in 2021, your tax receipts have been created and emailed to you. If we did not have an active email address on file, we will be putting your hard copy tax receipt in the mail this week. Please contact the Treasurer if you have not received your tax receipt in your email inbox yet. We so appreciate all the support you have given us over the years, and we thank you in advance for any future donation. Your support helps us continue to meet our administrative costs and Journal production and keep membership fees steady.
Cordially, Dr. Rachel Lea Heide,
National Treasurer,
Canadian Aviation Historical Society
CAHS Annual Aviation Art Calendar, 2022 edition
There are now less than two dozen left from our intial print run. Always popular, always fresh, open up a new, colourful window on aviation history each and every month of the new year. Get yours directly from our e-shop today.
As Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame reflects back on the last two years and the new challenges they’ve had to face, they are excited to kick off 2022 with new plans and initiatives. Follow the link below for ways to support CAHF and details on new benefits to donors.
The Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia works to preserve African Nova Scotia history. Among their remarkable research and history is the story of Allan Bundy, who during the Second World War became the first Canadian-born Black pilot to enlist in the RCAF. To read some of his story shared by CTV News Atlantic, please click here.
Colonel (ret’d) John L Orr shares the story of the Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King helicopter with the CAHS Ottawa Chapter. The chapter made a video of his presentation, as posted in the link below.
Traveling over the past ten years to Ottawa for her RCAF Second World War research, Anne Gafiuk came upon the Ottawa Memorial located on Green Island, off Sussex Drive. After a bike ride one day, Anne stopped to reflect upon the names appearing on the bronze memorial, wondering who these people were. From the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) website: “The Ottawa Memorial commemorates almost 800 men and women of the Air Forces of the Commonwealth who lost their lives while serving in units operating from bases in Canada, the British West Indies and the United States of America, or while training in Canada and the USA, and who have no known graves.”
Approximately 400 Canadian RCAF men and women died during the Second World War and have no known graves, or their graves are in inaccessible locations.
Choosing not to travel to Ottawa due to COVID19, and due to the large number of files to read through, Anne decided to research these Canadians online from home. Through the Library and Archives Canada in conjunction with www.ancestry.ca, she accessed Canadian military files (of those who died in service). She also utilized Find a Grave, updating the person’s page if needed, even reuniting family members when possible!
With each unique story, Anne continues to learn about the people of the RCAF during the Second World War and is planning to write future magazine articles.
If anyone has additional information to add to the stories posted, please contact Anne at: [email protected]
To visit the Ottawa Memorial Project, please click here.
Report and Photo by Anne Gafiuk
Skyward Murray Peden
With a heavy heart the CAHS is passing on the news of the passing of F/L Murray Peden, DFC. Murray was a bomber pilot in the Second World War, after which he became an attorney and later an author. Jim Bell, CAHS Secretary, says of Murray’s book, A Thousand Shall Fall, that it is “quite possibly the best first-person account of a pilot in RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War”. To watch an interview with Murray in which he recounts several episodes from the book, please click here.
The CAHS extends its condolences to the friends and family of Murray Peden.
Last year, the City of Moncton announced that they were going to do upgrades to their Centennial Park, and this included a "restoration" of the CF-100 Canuck. We saw an immediate opportunity to provide assistance. In 2000, our Chapter undertook its first public project - the clean-up and repainting/relettering of this Canuck. It was led by one of our founding Directors, Clarke Sheppard. His son Norm is still one of our Directors and lives in the area, so he agreed to be the Chapter's point of contact.
In addition to the assistance noted in the story, we made the City aware of funding from Veterans Affairs Canada and other possible funding options. We offered to write up and provide a sign on the history of this specific aircraft. We also made contact with 403 (City of Calgary) Squadron at Base Gagetown for technical assistance in examining the air frame. Another significant contribution was Norm finding a person in Ontario who just happens to have, still in the original shipping crate, a CF-100 canopy that he was willing to provide. Our New Brunswick Squadron, 410 (City of Saint John) Squadron flew the Canuck from 1956 to 1961.
To read the news article shared on CBC, please click here.
NB Chapter members in 2000 for the first clean-up of the Canuck. Clarke Sheppard is on the lift with Ray Stevens below.
Canadian Aviation Moments
Question One:When the United States entered the First World War, what was the size of their air power?
Source:
Dancing in The Sky,
pg. 177 (Hunt)
Question Two: What was the role of the “Moth” airplane in the British Commonwealth starting in the mid-1920s, and were they used in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan during the Second World War?
Source:
Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Boat Stations,
pg. 236 (Weicht)
Question Three:What was one of the most profound stresses of the bombing campaign during the Second World War?
Source:
No Prouder Place,
pg. 214 (Bashow)
The answers will appear in the March 2022 Newsletter
Here are the answers to January's Canadian Aviation Moments:
QUESTION 1: How much training did the IRFC (Imperial Royal Flying Corps) training plan in Canada provide to the United States during 1917-1918?
ANSWER: “While in Texas, the IRFC trained 408 American forces pilots, comprised of 23 naval officers and 385 pilots for the air branch of the U.S Army Signal Corps. Another 6 had completed all tests except for aerial gunnery while the training of 42 cadets was well advanced. If these cadets are factored in, the IRFC trained a total of 456 pilots for American forces as well as an additional 1,600 ground trades.”
FromDancing In The Sky, pg. 290
QUESTION 2: What role did the Avro 504s play in the Canadian Air Force and the RCAF?
ANSWER: “The basic trainer used by the RAF in Canada during [the First World War] was the Curtiss JN-4(Canadian). The RAF recognized that the Canuck, as the JN-4[Can] was known, was not capable of giving the student pilots the experience they needed to competently operate the rotary-engine service types in use overseas. To overcome this problem, Major Robert R. Smith-Berry demonstrated that students could, with little difficulty, graduate directly from the AVRO 504s to service-type machines. Based on this information, the RAF in Canada ordered 500 AVRO 504s from Canadian Aeroplanes Limited. The order was placed in the late summer of 1918 to be completed by April 1919. The Canadian prototype was delivered to the School of Aerial Fighting at Beamsville, Ontario on October 1, 1918 and tested by Captain A.E. (Earl) Godfrey. Godfrey later became the Commanding Officer at Jericho Beach Air Station in Vancouver, British Columbia, and eventually rose to Air Vice-Marshal in the RCAF. The test flights were satisfactory, and the aircraft went into production. However, only two AVROs reached the end of the production line before the war in Europe came to an end with the signing of the Armistice, and the rest of the order was cancelled. Very soon after the war, Canada received a gift of aircraft and equipment from Great Britain which included sixty-two AVRO 504s. The aircraft became the standard Canadian Air Force trainer, and carried on this role with the RCAF.”
From Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Stations, pg. 234
QUESTION 3: What lesson about electronic technology and electronic countermeasures was slowly and painfully learned?
ANSWER: “However, one lesson that was only slowly and painfully learned by both sides was that most of this sophisticated new technology left an electronic signature, thus providing an unintentional marker as to a particular transmitter’s whereabouts. Many aircraft were lost from both fighting camps due to this new phenomenon. Bomber Command’s myopia about electronic signatures started as early as the spring of 1942. At that time, there was a widespread yet irrational belief, fostered by a few incredible coincidences, that the electronic cycling of the Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) equipment prevented enemy radar-directed searchlights and flak from locating the bombers. So widespread was this misguided belief that the Air Ministry actually for a time approved a modification to the IFF called the ‘J-Switch,” which allowed the aircraft to emit an electronic footprint for one-half second every twelve seconds in a highly predictable manner. In effect, this misguided procedure was providing an excellent homing beacon to the Germans”
From No Prouder Place, pg. 200
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!
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.
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.
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