Canso Crash - April 19, 1945 - Eastern Quebec

[Neil T.]

I am looking for information on the crash (and crew) of RCAF Canso, registration no. 11076, on April 19, 1945 while enroute to Goose Bay, final destination Reykjavik. This Canso was part of RCAF 162 Squadron and used on anti-submarine patrols.

All crew members survived the crash although two men - P/O Bert Lahey, the pilot, and P/O William Baggett, the flight engineer - were subsequently burned in an explosion and fire at the crash site.

The rescue of the crew is described in Bob Petite's article, "Remarkable Rotorcraft Rescue", in Vertical Mag and involved two RCAF Norseman and a USCG Sikorsky helicopter.

Does anyone have additional information about this crash or its crew? I have seen the entry in 162 Squadron's ORB which lists the crew as: P/O B. Lahey, pilot; P/O A.C. Smith, 2nd pilot; F/O D.L. Munro, navigator; Sgt. G.J. Bunnell, 2nd navigator; P/O R. Sugden, WAG ; P/O W.R. Teillefer, WAG; P/O E.W. Lambert, WAG; P/O W.R. Baggett, flight engineer; P/O Joy, flight engineer. All of them were RCAF members.