Flight Instructor - Lancasters - Alberta, Canada

[David Brown]

I'm trying to obtain more information on a flight instructor that was posted to Canada during WWII. The information I have is as follows:

Surname: England
Posted: Alberta, Canada (Nanton??)
Aircraft: Lancasters
Country of Origin: Northampton, England


Would like the following information:

Christian Name:
Rank:
Confirmation of Posting: Was it Nanton??
Exact Time Period:
Other Postings:
Squadron No.:
Duration of tour(s):

Thanks in advance

Dear Dave,

Are you sure he flew Lancasters in Canada? During WWII, all Lancaster production from Ontario went to the UK. In Canada, one Lancaster was stationed with the Winter Experimental Test Flight at Gimli, Manitoba early 1944. In late 1944 this unit transfered to Kapuskasing, Ontario, and in early 1945 to Edmonton, Alberta, where it became known as the WEE flight.

In late 1945 and 1946, the RCAF flew many Lancaster aircraft to various bases in Alberta for storage and eventual disposal. There were no operational Lancaster training units in Alberta during the war; only those with single- and twin-engine aircraft that supported the Commonwealth Air Training Plan.

Norman Malayney

[Bill Walker]

Just to add to Norman's info: there were no BCATP facilities in Nanton that I'm aware of. There were several facilities nearby, however.

Vulcan, Alberta (about 20 miles east) had 19 SFTS and 2 FIS early in the war. Claresholm (25 miles south) had 15 SFTS. Calgary (50 miles north) had 4 TC headquarters from October 1941, a large repair depot, a supply depot, plus several schools, including 37 SFTS, a mostly RAF unit. The rest of Alberta had several other units, and Saskatchewan isn't far away (by Canadian standards), with quite a few more.

Your man could have served at any of these BCATP schools, as even the nominally Canadian units usually had some RAF staff and students.

As Norm said, all these bases were used to store surplus aircraft for several years after the war. I think Vulcan recieved quite a few Lancasters.

[David Brown]

Norman/Bill:
Thanks for your input. Based on your comments, it seems that Canada did not have any facilities for training crews on Lancasters bombers.
Maybe, "Instructor English" was involved in training pilots that were dedicated to be bomber pilots. However, based on their limited training with single and twin engine aircraft, it does not seem likely that these new pilots would know the type of bomber they would be eventually flying. Am I correct in this assumption?

[Bill Walker]

Dave;

That is a reasonable assumption.

After EFTS and SFTS, a new bomber pilot would go to an OTU, and then maybe an HCU "finishing school" for 4 engined bombers. Most multi-engined OTUs in Canada trained crews for Coastal Command, for transport aircraft, and for light tactical bombers. The one exception was 5 OTU, which trained Liberator crews from April 1944, all for South East Asia. These OTUs were all on the west and east coasts, none in Alberta.

Anybody who wound up on Lancasters would have to go to an OTU, usually a Heavy Conversion Unit, and maybe an AFS, all in the UK. Depending on the training he had in Canada and at the OTU, he would go to the Advanced Flying School for more instrument flying. He may not have known he was destined to fly Lancasters until he got to the HCU. Early on, say 1943 and before, the HCU might be the first place the pilot flew a 4 engined aircraft of any kind. The OTU would be the first place a new crew flew as a crew.

My understanding is that the student would be asked his preference of operational postings, and the RAF/RCAF would try to at least get close. It seems high scoring students had a better chance of getting their wish, but no guarantee.

An instructor at a Canadian twin-engined SFTS, especially late in the war, could be pretty certain that a good per centage of his graduates would end up on Halifaxes or Lancasters with 6 Group. He probably had no knowledge about individual students' detailed futures at all.

[David Brown]

Bill: Thanks for your input.

[lancasterman]

David, aircrew trainees were billeted in Nanton during ww2. One of the buildings involved is now an atique store and you can see the very small one room with kitchenette apartments that were used. I didn't find out about this until recently. The nearest airbase to Nanton is Vulcan and Claresholm.

[Bill Walker]

Thanks for that information Lancasterman.

Had another thought: some of the instructors at an SFTS would be tour expired operational pilots. Your man could have flown Lancasters before coming to Canada as an instructor.