Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

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It is July 26, 2008, and Phil Shnier and his son Mitchell are visiting the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, in Mount Hope, Ontario (it shares a runway with the Hamilton International Airport).

We're here to see the inside of their Lancaster bomber (which was the type of aircraft piloted by Clifford Shnier).

At this early hour (9:15 am on a Saturday), there are already over 50 cars in the parking lot – all members who are volunteers and pay to work on restoring the aircraft.

The museum has an annual budget of over $3,000,000, and less than 1% of this comes from the government – they are self-supporting through membership dues, their educational program, a summer camp program, admission fees, a gift shop with excellent posters and DVDs, and fees for guests to fly in the aircraft ($2,000 for the Lancaster).

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Perhaps these people are aspiring proctologists.

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There are now only two Lancaster bombers in the world that are in flying condition, and this is one of them (the other is owned by the RAF in the UK, and the public isn't allowed into it).

This is the largest airplane in the Museum's collection, and some information is here.

In this photograph, you can see two of the four 1,460 horsepower engines, the huge wheels, and the two front .303 Browning machine guns, which were operated by the bomb aimer who usually would lie prone, looking through the perspex cupola below them.

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The museum had a wedding reception scheduled for that evening (this is another source of revenue, and is apparently typically the groom's idea – one can just imagine a common bride's response).

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Here is the cockpit of the Lancaster. This particular aircraft was in service as an RCAF Maritime Patrol search and rescue aircraft until the 1960s, and was slightly modified for this role (the front machine guns were removed, and a dual control was added to the right). The GPS receiver was a more recent addition.

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The hose down the centre of the windshield is hot air from the engines, for defrosting and de-icing. All of the gauges and switches are original (I've removed the GPS receiver for this photograph).

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This view is of the lower portion of the instrument console, and the path to the front of the aircraft.

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The view from the pilot's seat is impressive. The Packard Merlin 28 engines each have 12 cylinders, and here you can see the 6 exhausts on the near sides.

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We were most lucky and during the summer when the Lancaster's engines are used, they must be “run-up” every week to keep the oil circulated. We were able to stay in the aircraft while it was pushed back out of the hanger, and this is a view to the back of the plane from the pilot's canopy. The lucky maskot is in a radio antenna.

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Here is a view looking forward from the navigator's canopy. You can see the pilot's head to the front. Apparently many of the museum's volunteer pilots are retired Air Canada pilots.

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This other aircraft is the museum's DC-3, and is also in flying condition.

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The engines roared and shook the aircraft.

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The propellers are spinning, and the sheet metal fuselage of the aircraft amplified the sound and vibrations, which were so loud, from the windowless back of the plane you could imagine it was flying.

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The flight engineer's seat to the right folds away to give access for the bomb aimer to get to the bombsight head, and above that are the front machine guns.

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The bomb-release selector switches are to the right of the bomb aimer's position.

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The bomb aimer would lie in darkness, looking through the bombsight head.

Working with the navigator to know the target position, and the aircraft's height and velocity, and other factors such as the wind would determine the right time to drop a bomb (there would be a bombsight computer to the bomb aimer's left to assist with this).

Outlined in yellow, you can also see the nose parachute exit (you'd want to make sure those latches are secure).

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The flat glass would enable an undistorted view for the bomb aimer and his bombsight head.

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To the right of the flight engineer's seat beside the pilot are the fuel tank selectors and gauges and pump controls.

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Here is a view looking back from the pilot's seat. In the foreground is the navigator's chart table, which would have a curtain around it so the lighting would not bother the pilot and could not be seen outside of the aircraft. The navigator would face to the right – which would be to the left (port) side of the plane – and would have a airspeed and altitude indicator in front of him.

The aircraft's radio would be mounted at the far end of this table, and the wireless operator would sit in the seat at the end of the table, facing frontwards.

The wing's main spar is inside the huge hump behind the wireless operator's seat (the wings aren't just glued onto the side of the plane, the wing's main structural member passes through the aircraft).

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To the left, and beside the wireless operator is the circuit breaker panel.

The red hose carries warm air from the engines to heat the clear astrodome, which would be used by the navigator for celestial navigation.

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This is a view of the circuit breaker panel.

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Here you can see up through the astrodome (to the ceiling of the airplane hangar). The radio antenna connectors are aft of that (that is, to the right, towards the rear of the plane), with the coaxial antenna connectors and cables routed through holes in the fuselage ribs.

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Here is a view forward, over the main spar, with the wireless/navigator's table to the left.

These photographs were all too light in the foreground, and too dark in the distance. Adobe Photoshop's “Shadow/Highlight” tool did an amazing job of compensating for this.

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Here is a view aft, over the main spar, and showing the smaller spar a few feet farther back. A few passenger chairs have been added to replace the original medical bed.

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Here you can see one of the museum's volunteers, Doug Chalk, who was gracious and patient and spent time with us explaining a huge amount about the aircraft.

At the very back, you can see the round window to the tail gunner's position.

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Here is a view forward, towards the rear spar (Phil Shnier is about to climb over it). The engine starting batteries are below the step, and the battery charging meters and controls are to the right.

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The battery charging controls are on the right.

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The yellow tank to the left of the batteries is the hydraulic oil resevoir. Hydraulic actuators are used for the bomb bay doors, landing gear and other purposes.

Duct-taped to the left of the red firefighting axe are the aircraft's:

Certificate of Registration
Certificate of Airworthiness
Certifciate of Insurance
Radio Station License
Weight and Balance Report
USA Foreign Civil Aircraft Flight Authorization
Airshow Low Altitude Authorization
... and more

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Here is a view forward from farther back in the aircraft.

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We're standing above the bomb bay here, which ends after the last chair, where there is a step down of over a foot. At the back, beside the crew door, is the modern-day hardware-store aluminum ladder (which is now pulled-in as we're on the tarmac).

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Dad is looking through the mid-upper gunner's turret (which has been mostly removed). Another pair of Browning .303 machine guns would be mounted here and used to protect the aircraft from attacks from above and the sides.

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Here is the view forward from the mid-upper gunner's position. I bet one would try very hard not to shoot your own pilot in the back of the head.

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Here is the view to the back from the mid-upper gunner's position. Apparently these gun barrels had to be custom-made as part of the aircraft's restoration, as they had been removed when the aircraft was converted for Maritime Patrol service.

This, and the tail gunner's positions were not heated, and the gunners would therefore wear electrically-heated suits for the long missions (often 8 hours or more).

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Here we can see the top of the ladder to step above the bomb bay, and to the left are the control rods for the rudders and elevator control surfaces.

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This close-up shows; the lubricated control rods coming through the bulkhead, the linkage to accomodate the curve of the fuselage, and a grounding strap.

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Due to the brightness correction for this photograph, Doug's looking a bit alien here. The aircraft's main crew door is open and to the right.

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Here is a view to the back, from a bit forward of the main crew door. Trays for ammunition would have been along the sides, rather than these plaques at the right. The tailplane spar is in front of the door to the tail gunner's position.

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Perhaps the heavy doors (the near set open, the far curved doors closed) were to protect the rest of the crew from attacks from the rear (no such protection for the tail gunner).

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Here is a view looking downwards, past the rear tailplane spar, showing how narrow the fuselage is at the rear.

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Now we're outside the plane, which is back in the hangar. The perspex cupola for the bomb aimer and the front machine guns look menacing. The pilot sits quite high, above the open bomb bay doors, which are open.

Notice the bright red pitot tube covers (with a long flag to ensure they will be noticed and not left on for flight). These ensure that bugs don't take up living in the pitot tubes (which aim frontwards and measure air pressure to indicate airspeed).

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The huge wheels and tires are actually from a different type of vintage aircraft (might have been a Shetland).

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This composite photograph shows the huge landing gear mechanism and wheel well.

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Here I am (Mitchell Shnier), so you can judge the size of the wheels.

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The nose parachute exit is outlined in red.

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The bomb bay doors are open (the hydraulic actuators are at the far end), and we're looking up into the bomb bay. The arms are adjusted to secure the bombs.

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Here's a closer view, showing the adjustment to clamp the bombs, and one of the switches that indicates whether the bomb has been released.

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Here you can see the gears and chains, likely to release the bombs. The bomb-present switch can be adjusted along the track, as required depending on the size of the bomb loaded.

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Here is the air in-take for the engine.

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At the rear of the aircraft is the tail gunner's position, and on either side is a tailplane and the oval fins and rudders.

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The tail gunner has four Browning .303 machine guns.

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As you can see, the machine guns have a great vertical range of motion. It doesn't appear that there is much side-to-side motion, but I was corrected by Arthur Spencer (in an e-mail received March 18, 2009), as follows:

Under the picture of the rear gunner's turret, you refer to the guns having great vertical range, “but do not appear to have much side-to-side motion”. In fact, they had about 180 degrees horizontal movement because the turret itself was rotatable. If he had to bale out, the rear gunner would merely rotate hs turret fully to one side and drop out – once he had retrieved his parachute from its storage just inside the rear of the fuselage, of course!

For more about Arthur Spencer, who served in the same Squadron as Clifford, see the Remembrances section.

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Above and behind the rear gunner is the intercom station control.

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Here is a close-up of the intercom station control.

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There are shallow pans arranged below each engine, to catch oil drips.

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This plaque below the Lancaster reads:

AVRO Lancaster Mk. X

The Canadian War Heritage Museum Lancaster Mk. X (serial number FM 213) was built at Victory Aircraft, Malton, in July 1945. Too late to serve in the Second World War, FM 213 was reassigned to serve as an RCAF Maritime Patrol aircraft, based at Greenwood, Nova Scotia, and Torbay Newfoundland. After a number of years in the Maritime Patrol and Search and Rescue role, FM 213 was retired in 1964. From 1964 to 1977 FM 213 was on outside display in Goderich Ontario. With help from the Sulley Foundation, it was acquired in 1977 from the Royal Canadian Legion in Goderich. Eleven years passed before it was completely restored and flew again on September 24, 1988. The Lancaster is dedicated to the memory of Pilot Officer Andrew Mynarski and is referred to as the “Mynarski Memorial Lancaster”. It is painted in the colours of his aircraft (KB726) – VR-A, which flew with RCAF No. 419 (Moose) Squadron.
Thousands of Canadian aircrew and other personnel served with the RCAF and RAF's Lancaster squadrons in England; and thousands of Canadians at home worked at Victory Aircraft in Malton (Toronto), Ontario, where they produced over 400 Lancaster Mk. X's. In total, more than 7300 Lancasters rolled off the production lines in Britain and Canada. Only two still fly today.

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This close-up of one of the photographs in the above plaque shows this aircraft during the restoration.

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Beside the aircraft is this diorama showing the difficult situation for the Lancasters modified for the dam buster mission, described below.

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The plaque reads:

Barnes Wallis
Scientist, Engineer and Designer

Barnes Wallis was a British aviation engineer whose most famous design was the Bouncing Bomb developed for the Dam Busters Raid of 1943. He originally trained as a marine engineer but soon turned his hand to aircraft design. He worked for Vickers Aircraft and its successor companies, including British Aircraft Corporation, from 1913 until his retirement in 1971.
His many achievements include the first use of geodesic design in engineering. Wallis's pre-war aircraft designs included the Vickers Wellesley and the Vickers Wellington, both employing a geodisic design in the fuselange and wing structure. The geodesic construction offered a light and strong airframe, compared to conventional designs, with clear space within for fuel tanks, payload etc.
On September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland and the Second World War began. Wallis saw a need for strategic bombing to destroy the enemy's ability to wage war, leading him to develop the bouncing bomb. He was confident that if one mine could be dropped in the right place, a dam could be destroyed. Early in 1942, Wallis had the idea of a “missle” which would be dropped upstream of a dam, ricochet over the water in a series of bounces, and hit the dam. This offered two signifcant advantages: it would jump over anti-torpedo nets strung ahead of the dam wall and also sink against the dam wall – the perfect location to cause the wall to crumble. Some initial tests led him to develop a spherical bomb, and full-scale test drops of his design began at Chesil Beach, England in September 1942 using a modified Wellington bomber. Persuaded by Wallis and films of the test drops, officials gave the go-ahead for further tests which led to the development of two separate variants of the “bouncing bomb” idea – a large cylindrical mine, codenamed Upkeep, to be carried by modified Lancaster bombers for use against dams and a smaller spherical mine, codenamed Highball, to be carried by Mosquitoes for use against battleships, such as the Tirpitz.
Wallis also designed the Tallboy (6 tonnes) and Grand Slam (10 tonnes) deep penetration (“earthquake”) bombs used to attack V1 rocket launch sites, submarine pens, and other reinforced structures. These two bombs were the fore-runners of modern bunker-busting bombs, and could enter the earth at supersonic velocity. Wallis's first superlarge bomb design came out at ten tonnes, much larger than any current airplane could carry. He also proposed using large cargo submarines to transport oil undersea, hence avoiding surface weather conditions.
During the 1960s and into his retirement, he developed ideas for an “all-speed” aircraft, capable of efficient flight at all speed ranges from subsonic to hypersonic. He also became a pioneer in remote control of aircraft. Wallis became a fellow of the the Royal Society in 1945 and was knighted in 1968. Barnes Wallis's contribution to aviation engineering has been one of the most highly recognized of the 20^th century.

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Here is our host Doug Chalk in front of a display with a cut-away model of a Lancaster.

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In that display is a pilot's log book, which, in perfect penmanship records the following:

The date (this page covers the first three weeks of April, unfortunately the year is written is on a previous page).
The type and identification of the aircraft.
The name of the 1^st and 2^nd pilot (one of which is “self”).
The duty (these are all “Ex 1”, “Ex 2”, and so on – perhaps these are training exercises).
The flying hours, itemized for; single- and multi-engine aircraft, whether during the day or night, and whether as Dual, 1^st Pilot, or 2^nd Pilot &ndash or as a passenger or in the Link Trainer (which is a type of flight simulator).

Each column is totaled at the bottom of the page, to be carried forward to the top of the next page's columns (today, “real men” use spreadsheets – in those days, they flew bombers). Above that are totals for the hours of day and night flying.

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This describes the types of Lancaster bombers.

Closer photographs of the original Lancaster (Mark I, top-left), the Mark III (centre), and the dam buster (bottom-left) are below.

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The original Lancaster.

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This is the type piloted by Clifford Shnier when he was shot down. The main difference in the aircraft is that this type used engines (the Packard Merlin 28) which was manufactured by the Packard Motor Company in the United States , rather than the Mark I's Rolls Royce Merlin-224 engines. As shown, some of these Lancasters had a ventral (that is, under the fuselage) machine gun turret.

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Note this Lancaster variation does have the mid-upper turret or bomb bay doors – to make room for the cylindrical “bouncing bomb” (as shown). A total of 19 Lancasters were so modified.

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The Avro Lancaster Bomber Crew are described as follows:

Pilot: The pilot was responsible for the safety and duties of the crew. As the aircraft commander, the efficiency of the crew depended on his leadership. During the operation the pilot was responsible for keeping the aircraft in formation and protecting the crew from harm.
Mid-Upper Gunner: In a Lancaster bomber crew, there were two air gunners, one located in the mid-upper portion of the aircraft and another in the rear. As well as knowing how to target and shoot at the enemy aircraft, the air gunner was responsible for scanning the night sky to spot enemy fighters and directing the pilot toward evasive action.
Tail Gunner: Like that of the mid-upp gunner it was the duty of the tail gunner to scan the sky for enemy aircraft and warn the pilot to take evasive action. Air gunners were the last line of defense for a heavy bomber when manoeuvers were not enough.
Navigator: A proficient navigator was essential to the success of any aircraft on operation. The navigator would calculate and log the aircraft's course to direct the pilots to their destination and then home again. Also it was up to the navigator to direct the aircraft to its bombing target. These men were intensively trained to various methods of navigation, from dead reckoning to astral observation.
Bomb Aimer: Air Bombers were reponsible for checking and dropping the bombs. They were required to be able to calculate the exact moment of when to drop the bomb load and then press the button to do so. He also had to learn to take photographs to record the damage inflicted on the enemy. His final duty was to main the gun turret in the nose of the aircraft.
Wireless Operator: Wireless operators were trained to use the radio equipment on board an aircraft. It was this person's job to maintain communication with the world outside of the aircraft. In addition, a straight wireless operator was trained in using navigational equipment and was the member of the crew who would administer first aid if need be.
Flight Engineer: The flight engineer was the seventh and final member to be added to the Lancaster crew. The flight engineer was an expert technician, who would assist the pilot in take-offs, landings and monitor oil, fuel and pressure gauges. It was also this man's duty to take over the aircraft if anything happened to the pilot.

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This cut-way model view of a Lancaster shows the front of the aircraft, where the bomb aimer could lie prone at the bombsight head, man the front machine gun turret, or use the reconnaissance camera.

Behind the pilot is the navigator's chair and chart table, and the radio and wireless operator is to his left. Behind the wireless operator is the main spar, the medical bed, and the second wing spar.

The bomb bay is below.

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The rudder and elevator control rods run the length of the plane, and behind the medical bed are the ammunition trays and mid-upper gunner turret.

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Behind the mid-upper gunner's turret and photo-flares (these were dropped through a chute to illuminate the target for the reconnaissance camera or for the benefit of subsequent bombers.

To the aft is the head (after all, it would frequently be an 8-hour mission).

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This plaque notes:

The Lancaster bomber dropped 64% of the tonnage of bombs dropped by the RAF and RCAF during the war, and was chosen for special operations such as the dam busters raid and the attack which sunk the battleship Turpitz. It was the only aircraft which could carry the 22,000-pound “Grand Slam” bomb.
The wing span is 102 feet, and the length is 69.5 feet.
Maximum speed is 275 miles per hour, with a cruising speed of 185 to 225 miles per hour.
Fuel capacity is 2,154 imperial gallons.
Range is 2,530 to 1,550 miles with a 7,000 to 22,000 bomb load.

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This diagram shows typical Lancaster bomb loads.

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The museum had a copy of the memorial book “They Shall Grow Not Old”.

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Across from an “Invasion Map of Fortress Europe”, with dated events, the book's subtitle is “A Book of Remembrance”. The book is “dedicated to all those Canadian airmen and airwomen who served their country, during the Second World War, that we may be free”, and published by the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum, in Brandon, Manitoba (probably in 1992).

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The next two pages are shown individually below.

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The next page continues:

Introduction

This book has been produced as a Memorial to all those Canadians who took part in the air war 1939 – 1945. It contains a short biography of the over 18,000 Canadian airmen, airwomen, and other nationals wearing the uniform of the RCAF, who lost their lives between September 3, 1939 and August 12, 1945.
The prime purpose of this book is to fill an information gap that exists. Judging by the questions we have been asked and the positive response to this book a large number of the next of kin, relatives and friends do not know what happened to the deceased nor where the body was buried. We believe this book fills that gap.
That the reader may get a better appreciation for the circumstances and the activities of the time, various pictures, poems and stories have been placed throughout the book. The pictures do not directly relate to the information contained in the biographies on the pages in which they appear.
Each biography contains some amount of detail regarding the circumstances at death inlcuding the name(s) of the other Canadians involved with a particular aircraft. In some cases we have been able to determine the names of the non-Canadians involved. The names of these non-Canadians will have the initials of their air force in brackets after the name. For instance a biography may state that Wellington aircraft # xxxx was lost and Sgt. B. Peters, F/O. J. Abercromby, and F/L. J. Heatherington (RAF) were also killed. The first two airmen named were in the RCAF and the last named was in the Royal Air Force and was probably from the United Kingdom. Three other air forces whose abbreviations were used are; RNZAF – Royal New Zealand Air Force, RAAF – Royal Australian Air Force, and SAAF – South African Air Force.
The information contained has been obtained from official documents such as grave registers purchased from the War Graves Commission, selected records from the National Archives, original documents provided by relatives, and personal stories provided by servicemen who witnessed the event.
Research for this book started in 1984 and has been a continuous endevour ever since – right to the moment of publication. A work of this size and detail will, invariably, contain errors and omissions, for these we apologize and trust the reader will look at the total project rather than at an individual mistake.
Most Squadrons and some Training Units had a motto, all Squadrons were numbered and some were also named. The mottos appear in many languages and dialects with Latin being the most common in use. We have, whereever possible, included this information and to aid the reader provide the following example; #409 Night Hawk Squadron (Media Nox Meridies); #409 is the Unit #, Night Hawk is the nick name, the words within the brackets are the motto and in this case are translated to mean “Midnight is our Moon”.
Some terms may be unfamiliar to the reader so a brief explanation follows:

Ack Ack – anti-aircraft fire, also flak.

ATC – Air Transport Command.

Bullseye – a cooperative night operation, over friendly territory between our bomber force, our night fighter force and our search light forces. The night fighter and search light forces tried to find and illuminate the bomber.

Gardening – a mine laying operation.

Nickel Raid – dropping propaganda leaflets over enemy-held territory.

Operation(s) or Op.(s) – a flight into harms way to inflict damage upon the enemy.

r/t – receiver/transmitter, the radio equipment used in aircraft.

Rhubarb – a low level fighter sweep over enemy territory.

Rover – a figher operation where no target was specified, i.e. targets of opportunity.

Tour – a certain number of completed operations equals one tour. In Bomber Command it was usually 30 ops. The number varied throughout the war and was calculated differently in Fighter Command.

Vegetables – mines.

Window – metallic foil strips cut to specified dimensions and dropped from an aircraft to confuse the enemy radar operators. The strips drifted down in loosely spaced bunches, bounced the radar signal back and blanked the enemy radar screen.

Flak &ndash anti-aircraft fire.

Predicted Flak – using wind direction and velocity, aircraft speed, aircraft direction and height, the enemy ack-ack gunners predicted where the aircraft would be and fired shells, grouped in a box, at those co-ordinates, very effective.

The page continues with miltary ranks and their abbreviations (such as Pilot Officer – P/O), and military decorations and their abbreviations.

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This page begins:

The airmen and airwomen listed in this book are buried in 75 countries throughout the world. A significant number of the bodies of those killed were never found and their places are, therefore, unknown. The names of these airmen have been commemorated on several War Memorials that were constructed and placed to be representative of the area of operations. The following is a list of the memorials, a partial list of the cemeteries, and the number of Canadians listed at each.
War Memorials:

Runnymede, England – 3,125

Singapore, Malayasia – 200

Malta – 310

Alamein, Egypt – 225

Ottawa, Canada – 470

Casualties in Canada were usually returned to their home provinces for burial. There were over 2,000 airmen and airwomen buried in cemeteries in all the provinces and territories.
Two of the larger cemeteries in the United Kingdom are Brockwood which holds 670 Canadian airforce dead and Harrogate which holds 666 Canadian airforce dead. Over 2,000 Canadian airforce dead are buried in smaller cemeteries in the U.K.

The page continues by listing the number of Canadians buried in cemeteries in other countries, and noting that there are 145 Canadians buried in the Becklingen (which the book spells Becklington) cemetery, as is Clifford Shnier.

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