Happy New Year to all our readers. This is my first opportunity to send you greetings for 2023.
We held a very successful 2022 convention last September in Winnipeg, and plans are underway for a convention this year as well. Stay tuned for an announcement within the near future.
2023 has started off with us in good shape, but we still need your membership renewals and donations. There are many books for sale on our website, so please check it out as they make for great reading as well as good gifts. I encourage everyone to share our passion for Canadian aviation history and join, renew, and encourage new members to our society.
Volume 58, number 1 of the Journal will soon be in your mailboxes and email inboxes; it is currently at the mailing house and should be sent to Canada Post shortly. Our Journal Editor, Associate Editors, Editorial Board are hard at work on the next issues. Our hope is to see the remaining Volume 58 issues to follow in the months ahead.
Again, I express my deepest thanks to our Newsletter Editor, Katherine Simunkovic, our Journal Editor and Website Administrator, Terry Higgins, and our Webmaster and Data Administrator, Andrea Wiseman. These three people work incredibly hard to keep all of us informed and our social media presence current and alive.
On behalf of your National Executive and Board of Directors, thank you for your continued interest and support.
Click the button above or, if you have a smartphone, simply point its camera app at the on-screen QR code to donate via mobile.
From the Desk of the Journal Editor
Volume 58 Number 1 (covers and sample pages illustrated above) is at the mailing house and will be in the mail to all traditional members within the coming week.
The digital edition will be made available on our website members-only area early this coming week. All current members – both traditional and online-only will receive the usual notification and link via email shortly.
In the meantime, larger previews of the feature articles' title pages are available on our website's CAHS Journal page, where you can also view a summary of other Volume 58 feature articles.
Terry Higgins, Creative Director, Website Administrator,
CAHS Journal Managing Editor and Graphics Director,
Canadian Aviation Historical Society
From the Desk of the Treasurer
The CAHS Executive is working on securing some new aviation books to offer CAHS members and friends at discounted rates. This month, we are featuring three books by CAHS member Elizabeth Muir. Both titles "Air Crazy" and its sequel "Air Crazy Too" highlight women who have made an unusual contribution to aviation, many of them pioneers in their category. In "Air Crazy Too," there are more kinds of aviation other than airplanes, e.g. parachutes, helicopters. And "Air Crazy" has been translated into French and is for sale under the title of "Libres Comme L'Air." Each book retails for $19.95 (plus tax and shipping). Thanks to the author, the CAHS is able to offer each copy for $18 (shipping included). These books would be a great addition to any aviation library and an especially great gift for daughters and grand-daughters who might be inspired to enter an aviation career.
We still have 11 copies of the 2023 CAHS Aviation Artists Calendar. Since it features 13 months and 13 pieces of art, it isn't too late to secure a copy for yourself or a gift for a fellow aviation
Thanks for your support for the CAHS and the authors we feature. Please keep checking the newsletter over the coming months for new offers.
Donation tax receipts for 2022 have been sent to everyone for whom we have up-to-date email addresses. Hard copies are in the regular mail for anyone for whom we do not have email addresses (or working email addresses). If you are expecting a tax receipt via email and didn't receive one, or if you find an error/discrepancy in your receipt, please contact our treasurer for follow-up. Thank you to everyone who has donated to the CAHS; we so appreciate your generosity in helping our organization with its financial commitments.
Cordially, Dr. Rachel Lea Heide,
National Treasurer,
Canadian Aviation Historical Society
CAHS 2023 Aviation Art Calendar
$15 a copy (plus $5 shipping in Canada). Visit the calendar's web page for an overview of this year's art and artists…
Air-Crazy: Fascinating stories of Canadian women in the air
by Elizabeth Muir
When airplanes were first invented over 100 years ago, they were flown by men. Women weren't even supposed to be passengers. But many "air-crazy" women wanted to fly, and eventually they did - becoming pilots, stewardesses, flight instructors, and astronauts.
Author and historian Elizabeth Muir tells stories about some of these courageous and determined women across Canada who contributed so much to Canadian aviation history
Air-Crazy, Too: More fascinating Stories of Canadian Women in the Air
by Elizabeth Muir
In the early 1900s, when airplanes were first invented, women weren’t supposed to fly – not even as passengers. But many women persevered and became airplane and glider pilots. They even flew blimps. They became balloonists, skydivers, helicopter and medivac pilots, and even astronauts.
Enjoy our new stories about more daring women aviators in Air-Crazy, Too, a companion to the first book, Air-Crazy.
This book can be purchased for $12 (plus $6 shipping in Canada).
Libres Comme L'Air: Histoires fascinantes des pionnières de l'aviation canadienne
by Elizabeth Muir
Lorsqu’on a inventé les avions il y a environ une centaine d’années, ce sont les hommes qui les pilotaient. Les femmes ne devaient même pas être à bord comme passagères. Cependant, beaucoup de femmes souhaitaient voler dans un avion. Plus tard, c’est ce qu’elles ont fait.
Elizabeth Muir, auteure et historienne, raconte les histoires vécues de ces femmes courageuses et déterminées qui ont grandement contribué à l’histoire de l’aviation canadienne
Will You Be Our Mrs. Muir? is a collection of the many magazine articles Ken Wright and Anne Gafiuk collaborated on together. The title of the book comes from Harry Hardy, an RCAF veteran of the Second World War, who asked Anne to be the Typhooners’ Mrs. Muir, referencing the 1947 movie "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir", and record the stories of Typhoon pilots so that they would not be forgotten. Harry wanted people to understand the role the Typhoon had during the Second World War. Other aircraft are also featured in the book, plus three bonus stories of men who served in the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Navy.
A Quick Trip Through The Main Exhibition Hangar at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum
The main Exhibition Hangar at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum contains a fascinating collection of aircraft and artifacts in helping to preserve Canada's aviation and space history. This video shows much, but not all, of what the main Exhibition Hangar has to offer.
Boeing bids farewell to an icon, delivers last 747 jumbo jet
At the end of January, Boeing Co. bid farewell to their final 747 jumbo jet. The four-engine airliner has served in many capacities since the first one was built in 1969 including a cargo plane, a commercial aircraft, a transport for space shuttles, and the Air Force One presidential aircraft.
The Alberta Aviation Museum is excited to announce their Women of Aviation Celebration event set to take place on March 11, 2023 from 11:00am - 4:00pm MDT. This will mark the 10th Anniversary of this major annual event!
Opportunities to have a career booth for those looking to recruit to the aviation sector, are also available. Please contact: Jean Lauzon, Executive Director of the Alberta Aviation Museum.
This annual celebration is part of International Women of Aviation Worldwide Week (WOAW); a global aviation awareness week for girls of all ages to mark the anniversary of the world’s first female pilot licence (March 8, 1910). The week is a call to address gender imbalance in the air and space industry.
Advance tickets on on-sale now! SKIP THE LINES and pre-purchase your tickets online between now and March 10th at www.albertaaviationmuseum.com. Special event ticket pricing is in effect at $17/adults, $14/students/seniors, $12.50/youth 13-17, and $11.50/children 6-12. Children 5 and under are free.
Here are the questions and answers to November's Canadian Aviation Moments:
Question 1: What amazing record of the First World War did Canadian Raymond Collishaw establish during the months of June and July 1917?
Source:
Canada’s Fighting Airmen,
pg. 68 (Drew)
Question 2:What was the estimate of the number of aircraft by type that would be required for the BCATP during the Second World War? And what portion of the airplanes by type would be supplied by each of the four countries involved (Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia)?
Source:
Wings for Victory,
pg. 43 (Dunmore)
Question 3:How did the bombing of 22/23 Oct 1943 provide some valuable breathing space for the Allies?
Source:
No Prouder Place,
pg. 269 (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: “During June and July of 1917, Collishaw established one of the most amazing records of the war, when in a period of less than two months he destroyed twenty-nine German aeroplanes. Only Richthofen exceeded this number over the same period. True, in ten days, in 1918, Bishop shot down twenty-five enemy machines, a mark which was never approached by any other pilot; but the fact remains that in day-in-day-out fighting, Collishaw’s record stands first among British airmen. And there was an important difference between his victories and those of the German idol. Richthofen only exceeded the Canadian’s total by one, when in March and April of 1917, he was given credit for the destruction of thirty British planes, but of those thirty only eight were fighting scouts while on the other hand twenty-three of Collishaw’s victories were won against fast, well-armed fighting machines.”
Source:
Canada’s Fighting Airmen,
pg. 68 (Drew)
ANSWER 2: “Moreover, it was calculated that the scheme would require only 3,540 aircraft instead of the 5,000 first considered essential: 702 Canadian-built Tiger Moths and Fleet Finches for elementary instruction, 1,368 Avro Ansons for twin-engine pilot training and for navigation instruction, and 750 Fairey Battles for gunnery instruction. Britain promised to provide the Ansons and Battles, more than 500 of the Harvards along with 133 replacement engines, as well as half of the engines for the Tiger Moths. The rest of the Harvards were to be provided by Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Canada would also pay for the Tiger Moths, half of their engines, plus the Finch airframes and engines."
Source:
Wings for Victory,
pg. 43 (Dunmore)
ANSWER 3: “One such “heavy blow” was dealt to Kassel on the night of 22/23 October 1943. Of the 569 aircraft dispatched, a force consisting of 322 Lancasters and 247 Halifaxes, 43 aircraft were lost, representing 7.6 percent of the force. Initial H2S marking overshot the target area, which contained, among other elements of industry, a plant for the manufacture of V1 flying bombs. However, eight of nine following visual markers correctly identified the aim point and placed their T1s accurately. Although the loss rate was heavy, what resulted was the most devastating attack on a German city since the Hamburg firestorm in July, and a similar degree of damage would not be attained again until well into the following year. The bombing was so concentrated that it totally stopped the manufacture of the flying bombs for several weeks, a delay which later provided some valuable breathing space for the Allies. It also created a firestorm at its epicentre, although this one was not as extensive as the Hamburg experience.”
Source:
No Prouder Place,
pg. 269 (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!
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