Canadian Warbirds of the Second World War - Trainers, Transports and Utility Aircraft

By Harold Skaarup

This aviation handbook is intended to provide the reader with a quick reference to identify military support aircraft flown by the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Army during the Second World War. The handbooks in this series include a general description and a photograph from the Canadian Forces Archives of at least one of the key variants or marks of each aircraft that has been in Canadian military service or used by Canadian servicemen overseas.

Each aircraft is listed alphabetically by manufacturer, number and type. General details describing the aircrafts engines, service ceiling, speed, armament or weapons load are included, along with a brief description of the Canadian or allied squadron in which Canadian aircrews used the aircraft operationally. This is the fourth volume in the series. It describes the trainers, transports and utility aircraft flown by Canadians during the war. A list of museums, private aircraft collections and other locations where a number of the survivors might be found is also included. The handbook is not a definitive list of all Canadian-manufactured or operated support aircraft, but it should serve as a quick reminder for anyone with an interest in Canadian military aviation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: May 29, 2001
• ISBN: 9781462048120

Harold Skaarup

Major (Retired) Harold A. Skaarup, CD2, BFA, MA in War Studies, is a retired Canadian Army Intelligence Officer with an interest in Military History. He has served overseas with 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group in Germany, with the Candian Airborne Regiment and the United Nations in Nicosia, Cyprus, with the NATO-led Peace Stabilization Force in Sarajevo, Bosni-Herzegovina, with North American Aerospace Defence Command and Northern Command in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and with the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul, Afghanistan. He currently resides at his home in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.

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Canadian Warbirds of the Second World War Trainers, Transports and Utility Aircraft

Harold Skaarup

Writers Club Press

San Jose New York Lincoln Shanghai

Canadian Warbirds of the Second World War Trainers, Transports and Utility Aircraft

All Rights Reserved © 2001 by Harold Skaarup

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the publisher.

Writers Club Press

an imprint of iUniverse.com, Inc.

For information address:

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Information about Canadian Warbirds and the locations for the survivors is constantly being updated or changed. Although every effort is made to ensure accuracy up to the time of publication, there are always amendments to be made. Updates to any of the information found in this handbook would be greatly appreciated, and every effort will be made to include them in future editions.

ISBN: 0-595-18403-0

ISBN: 978-1-4620-4812-0 (ebook)

Contents

DEDICATION

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

INTRODUCTION

CANADIAN WARBIRDS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR TRAINERS, TRANSPORTS AND UTILITY AIRCRAFT

APPENDIX A

APPENDIX B

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

AVIATION BIBLIOGRAPHY

ENDNOTES

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to the men and women who taught our military aviators to fly at home and overseas during the Second World War, and to those who serviced and maintained their aircraft and supported them throughout the conflict.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Airspeed A.S. 51 Horsa Mk. II Transport Glider

Airspeed A.S. 10 Oxford Mk. II

Armstrong Whitworth A.W. 38 Whitley Mk. V

Armstrong-Whitworth A.W. 41 Albermarle

Auster A.O.P. Mk. VI

Avro 652A Anson Mk. I 8

Avro 652A Anson Mk. IV

Avro 685 York

Barkley Grow 758/T8P-1

Beechcraft 18 B Expeditor

Boeing Model 247D, C-73

Boeing Model 299-O B-17E Flying Fortress Mk. II

Brewster Model 340 SB2A-1 Bermuda

Bristol Bombay

Cessna T-50 Crane Mk. I

Douglas C-47, Dakota Mk. I/III

Fairchild M-62A-4 Cornell Mk. I

Fairchild M-62A-4 Cornell Mk. II

Fairey Battle Mk. I

Fairey Battle Mk. IIT

Fleet Model 60 Fort

General Aircraft Hotspur Mk. II Glider

Grumman G-21 Goose Mk. I

Grumman G-21 Goose Mk. II

Handley Page H.P. 54 Harrow Mk. I

Lockheed Model L-10A, L-10B Electra

Lockheed Model L-12A Electra

Lockheed Model L-212

Lockheed L-18-56 Lodestar

Miles M.9A Master Mk. I

Noorduyn Norseman Mk. IV

Noorduyn Norseman Mk. IVW

Noorduyn Norseman Mk. VI

North American NA-64/BT-14 Yale

North American NA-66 Harvard Mk. II

North American NA-81 Harvard Mk. II

North American T-6J Harvard Mk. 4

Northrop—Canadian Vickers Delta Mk. I

Northrop/Canadian Vickers Delta Mk. II

Northrop A-17A Nomad

Stinson Model HW-75, RCAF 105 Voyager

Vickers-Armstrong C. Mk. I

Vickers-Armstrong Windsor

WACO CG-4A Hadrian Mk. II Glider

WACO PG-2A Glider

Westland Lysander Mk. II

Westland Lysander Mk. IIIA

Westland Lysander Mk. IIIT

Additional photographs of Canadian Military aircraft may be found in the following books which make up this series on Canadian Warbirds:

Book 1. Canadian Warbirds of the Biplane Era—Fighters, Bombers and Patrol Aircraft

Book 2. Canadian Warbirds of the Biplane Era—Trainers, Transports and Utility Aircraft

Book 3. Canadian Warbirds of the Second World War—Fighters,

Bombers and Patrol Aircraft Book 4. Canadian Warbirds of the Second World War—Trainers,

Transports and Utility Aircraft Book 5. Canadian Warbirds of the Post-War Piston Era Book 6. Canadian Warbirds-the Jets and Helicopters Canadian Warbird Survivors 2000

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank the staff who maintain the Canadian Forces Archives on the Air Force web page at www.airforce.dnd.ca for their assistance and for providing the majority of the photographs used in the preparation of the Canadian Warbirds series of handbooks. Every fan of Canadian Aviation should consult their website for countless helpful details that are invaluable to a person researching Canada’s air history. I would particularly like to acknowledge the invaluable research work carried out by John Griffin, who’s source book on Canadian Military Aircraft is the reference benchmark from which many of the serial numbers quoted here were derived. I would also like to thank the members of the Canadian Aviation Artist’s Association (CAAA) who gave much encouragement for the development of these handbooks. I would specifically like to say a special thankyou to the historians and those who volunteer their labour and input for countless hours to restore and preserve our aviation heritage. From all of us who have the interest, keep bringing those aircraft back to where they can be seen and appreciated, and whenever possible, keep them flying.

INTRODUCTION

There are a number of us who have a continuing interest in military aircraft that have been flown by Canadian servicemen throughout Canada’s long and interesting aviation history. There are relatively few of the World War II era aircraft preserved in various museums throughout the country, and less than a handful are still flying. Canada has done better than most at preserving a good number of examples of aircraft of particular significance to its aviation history, although many are still being sought and in some cases, no examples exist.

The purpose of this handbook is to provide a simple checklist of what aircraft were actually on the RCAF inventory, or were flown by Canadians during their service with an active squadron at home or overseas in the RCAF and the RAF during World War Two. A great number of photographs from the Canadian Forces Archives have been used to try and illustrate at least one example, mark or variant of each of the machines found in this list. Where there are surviving examples, the