From VINTAGE WINGS of CANADA,
"The Hurricane Mk 4 of Vintage Wings of Canada is painted in the markings of RAF 6 Squadron, “The Flying Tin Openers”, which operated the Hurry in the “tank- busting” and ground attack role. Many Canadian pilots flew the cannon-equipped tank-buster variant with 6 Sqn. on operations in North Africa."
Last Mark Hawker Hurricane IV in existence!
THE RED BARON in theatres, June 1, 2010.
I CAN'T WAIT to see this in the theatre!
The movie is highly accurate, as it claims No. 209 Squadron's Canadian Captain Roy Brown shot down the Red Baron (Manfred von Richthofen) as Manfred closed in on inexperienced Canadian Sopwith Camel pilot, Wilfrid May. May, had just been attacking the Red Baron's inexperienced cousin, Leutnant Wolfram von Richthofen.
Brown's and the RAF's claim of taking out the Baron has been disputed for a long time now, but it seems Australian gunfire from the ground could also have brought down the Red Baron.
Certainly, ace Captain Roy Brown who was from Ontario, with nine kills to his name at the time, had played a big part in the Baron's demise on that day.
Brown was aggressively chasing the deadly German ace at the time, and likely the pressure of the fray, or was it May's insolence in attacking the Baron's own cousin that allowed the Baron's mind to wander and violate his own cardinal rule: To never chase an enemy aircraft, by yourself, into enemy territory.
Oliver "Boots" Le Boutillier, an American ace from New Jersey who flew in the same squadron as Brown, witnessed Brown's attack on the Red Baron. Brown closed in on Richthofen and was only fifty yards away when he had finished up his 7 second gunfire attack on the world famous all red Fokker Triplane. Suddenly realizing the Canadian ace's gun fire was finding its mark on his triplane, and that he was already over enemy territory, the Red Baron immediately broke off his attack of novice May. This was only May's second combat mission and already he had locked up with the greatest ace of World War I!
Le Boutillier insists that Brown did indeed shoot down the Red Baron. He saw Brown's machine guns hit their mark.
Brown's gunfire also hit an Australian mobile kitchen, on the ground, and put holes in the big stew pot as these Australian soldiers lined up for chow, and were unexpectedly treated to front row seats of the demise of the greatest ace of World War I, the Red Baron.
Manfred von Richthofen was able to land his triplane but was found dead in his cockpit.
The Baron's last words were, "Allies kaput!".
Sergeant Cedric Bassett Popkin, Australian 4th Division, could also have been the soldier who fired the shot that killed the Red Baron.
We'll never know for sure, but I think the evidence tips in favour of Brown.
Friedrich Sternberg, the fictitious Jewish pilot, and cherished friend of Manfred von Richthofen in the movie, represents the 130 Jewish Knights of the Air that fought for Germany in World War I.
The LEADING ACES of WORLD WAR I were:
1) Manfred von Richthofen (80, Germany)
2) Rene Fonck (75, France)
3) Billy Bishop (72, Canada)
4) Ernst Udet (62, Germany)
5) Raymond Collishaw (62, Canada)
6) Edward Mannock (61, England)
And CANADA… you don't even know your heroes!
Still.
© 2009 Monterey Media
MORE CANADIANS flew more Halifaxes, on more missions, with more success, than any other nationality during World War II.
On January 20, 1944 an 800 plane bombing raid on Berlin racked up 27 Allied aircraft losses, including Halifax LW337 from 102 Squadron based at RAF Pocklington. Nicknamed "Old Flo", the RAF Halifax bomber, consisting mostly of an English crew of eight , except for a lone Canadian was shot down by anti-aircraft fire over Germany, on the leg home from the mission.
FOUR of the crew were taken prisoner by the Nazis. Two died in the crash, but were buried (are you ready?) after the war. Gee, how does that work??
Mysteriously, two of the crew, co-pilot flight engineer Sergeant John Bremner, and RCAF French-Canadian upper gunner Warrant Officer Charles Dupueis were never recovered.
What indeed, happened to them?
In 2005, "Pilot Officer Reg Wilson " became restless while thinking often of the war years and decided to return to Germany to try to find out.
If he could find the wreckage of the Halifax he commanded, Reg also hoped to be able to find his co-pilot to have him finally laid to rest. With the help of locals, and his daughter Janet who speaks German fluently, eye witnesses to the crash were located. By using a metal detector the smashed Halifax was found readily enough, in dense German forest.
Bones were recovered from the crash site and sent away for DNA testing.
Two years later, the results came back and indeed Reg's efforts for his buddy, co-pilot flight engineer Sergeant John Bremner, had paid off. Sergeant Bremner was buried with full military honours at the Heerstrasse War Cemetery, in Berlin, in 2008.
RCAF French-Canadian upper gunner, Warrant Officer Charles Dupueis, remains missing in action.
Charles… these two Halifax flypasts are dedicated to you, and all other Canadians of the RCAF who never made it home, and are still missing in action.
Rest in peace, brother.
Only ONE fully restored HANDLEY-PAGE HALIFAX (from only Halifax parts) is in existance today. It is located at the RCAF Memorial Museum at CFB Trenton in Trenton, Ontario.
SEE: http://neverwasanarrow.blogspot.com/2007/01/and-one-came-homethis-halifax.html
SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT in deteriorating weather conditions on November 13, 1941, RCAF Avro Anson W1672 with a training crew of five aboard slammed into Caledon Mountain…not far from the legendary Forks of the Credit.
The crew had lost their bearings.
The pilot thinking he was still near Hamilton, Ontario dropped to an elevation of 1200 feet above sea level, taking the Anson just below cloud cover when disaster struck. While that might have been a safe aerial height for RCAF Station: Mount Hope…it wasn't for Caledon Hills, Ontario.
Three British RAF navigators perished in the mishap.
One in the arms of a rescue worker, another was discovered dead after having crawled 200 feet from the wreckage, and the third later in hospital. Dennis Donahue, Denis Drayton and Reginald Gillman became the first training casualties of No. 33 RAF Navigation School based out of Hamilton, Ontario commonly known as YHM and Hamilton International Airport (hi). By the war's end there would be eleven others. They all rest in peace, nearby, at St. Paul's Glanford Anglican Church on the "Mountain".
Surprisingly the pilot and the wireless operator survived!
Take a second look at the Anson's nose will ya—
Miracle.
Majorie Cluff who resided two miles away on Highway #10, spotted the aircraft going down and alerted other locals. The wreck was found four hours later by Arthur Bracken, a Caledon farmer, who discovered the tragedy after hearing someone cry out. No lights around for miles, and brambles everywhere "in the hills" the aircraft was not an easy find.
Not even ten years after this crash, hockey legend Conn Smythe, owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs (1927 - 1961), and builder of Maple Leaf Gardens would buy 2,000 acres of Caledon land where he both lived and ran Smythe Racing Stables. Smythe and his son led the Leafs through their glory years and he also found time to breed his own horses and win the esteemed Queen's Plate twice! This former Anson crash site was located on his property and not far from his actual home.
(Photo by Ruth Braiden, courtesy of daughter, Urla Braiden and Fay McCrea of Caledon Village Heritage, Post-Production - Special Projects In Research)
The GLOSTER METEOR I (pictured above) was the only Allied jet fighter to attain operational status during WW II.
Produced by the British aircraft company Gloster, this fighter jet entered service with the RAF in the summer of 1944. It actually beat the German Me-262 jet fighter (by a few days) to enter operational status thus becoming the first active fighter-jet of WW II.
Because of its high speed capability (585 mph) the Meteor was immediately employed to counterattack German V-1 Rockets that the Third Reich were launching against Britain on a daily basis.
TWO CANADIAN PILOTS flying Meteors for the RAF scored victories early on in this campaign.
August 16th, 1944 Flying Officer W. McKenzie (616 Squadron) shot down a V-1 that he intercepted while on patrol.
Then, on the very next day, Flying Officer Jack R. Ritch (also of the 616) happened upon two RAF Tempests that were attempting to shoot down another V-1. Soon enough they broke off chase and the V-1 continued on toward London, unchallenged.
Jack then pulled his Meteor fighter-jet right up behind the V-1 at a range of about 150 yards astern. A long machine gun burst was fired. The V-1 finally rolled over, proceeding to fly straight into the ground, and exploded, at just before 7 am, four miles southeast of Maidstone, which is only 38 miles from London, England.
This photo of a Gloster Meteor was taken in 1944 by a Canadian gal, and shows keen public interest in the "marvel" of Britain's FIRST JET.
This photo has had only very minor touch-up. Save that for later.
I own the copyright to this photo. All rights reserved.
"The Hurricane Mk 4 of Vintage Wings of Canada is painted in the markings of RAF 6 Squadron, “The Flying Tin Openers”, which operated the Hurry in the “tank- busting” and ground attack role.
Many Canadian pilots flew the cannon-equipped tank-buster variant with 6 Sqn. on operations in North Africa."
Vintage Wings of Canada
CANADIAN PILOTS practiced by flying these "Hurris" only 10 or so feet above the ground. The actual Hurricane used was a Mk IID which was never used as a fighter-plane. They were used for low-level bombing raids against tanks, supply trucks, and large artillery guns (88 mm anti-tank gun).
These HURRICANES were feared by the German Africa Korps because their twin 40 mm cannons could penetrate the very thick armour plating found on their medium to heavy desert tanks.
THE SPITFIRE, of course, was/is an icon in the world of aviation.
BUT THE SPITFIRE was always more than just an airplane…it became the simultaneous symbol of the Allies' defiance, relentlessness, and victory.
The Hawker Hurricane was the "workhorse" of the Battle of Britain, and the arrival of the American fighterplanes later in the war ensured our eventual win, but the Spitfire gave a country hope in its' darkest hour.
When THE SPITFIRE joined the fray in the skies, it lead everyone to believe THREE THINGS: that "we can do it (we can win this war)", " we will do it", AND "we are going to look good, when we do it!"
And we did.
