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CASPIR Data Archive Mission & Data Sources Significant Canadian Historians Our Team RCAF Assistance CASPIR Volunteering

CASPIR contains documents, images and history of Canada's military aviation. The personnel and aircraft data has been compiled using data provided by trusted Canadian military aviation historians and original source documents. Where possible source documents are linked.
Research

CASPIR Resources

RCAF Accident Cards (1939-1945) JA Griffin Documents 1968 and 2005 Obtaining a World War II Service File

External Resources

RCAF.info: Research Resources RCAF.info: Finding Your Family Records

Griffin Library, 17 Wing Winnipeg

John Griffin was a significant historian, documenting Canada's Military aircraft.
Aircraft

Military Aircraft Associated with Canadians Choose a Specific Aircraft Serial

Lancaster FM213

CWHM flies one of the two airworthy Lancasters in the world. FM213 is usually marked as KB726 honouring Andrew Mynarski, VC.
Personnel

Name or Home Town Search Unit (Squadron) Search Aircraft Type or Serial Search Browse by Letter This Day in History

War Status Search Catastrophic Losses (Ships Hotels Aircraft) Choose Specific Military Cemeteries (WW1 WW2 and Beyond)

Andrew Mynarski, VC

We Shall Remember Them.
History

Education & History
Start Here Glossary Canada and World War II Combatants & First Airmen Casualties Air Force Operations Battle of Britain Women in War War Artists Canada in Korean Air War 1950-1953

Blogs & Articles
CASPIR Overview First World War Neighbourhood - Dufferin & Dupont Canada's First Military Aeroplane 1917

"A" Able flying through the Eiffel Tower? (although this event likely happened, this photograph is likely fake.) It is signed by the late Bill Bryant RAF who was the navigator of that aircraft piloted by Bob Boorman RCAF. The caption reads "This Stars Stripes photograph was taken on 14 September 1944 and shows a Mosquito Mk XIII of 409 Squadron RCAF. Pilot - W/O Bob Boorman RCAF Navigator F/S Bill Bryant RAF Flying through the Eiffel Tower."
Contact

Howe, Lorne Meredith (Leading Aircraftman)

Killed in Flying Accident 1944-September-18

Leading Aircraftman Lorne Meredith Howe RCAF

Birth Date: 1914

Born:

Parents: Son of Thomas E. Howe and Florence Frances Howe, of Ottawa; husband of Florence Helen Howe, of Ottawa.

Spouse: Husband of Florence Helen Howe, of Ottawa.

Home: Ottawa, Ontario

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: unkown date

Service

RCAF

Unit

1 AOS- Air Observer School

Base

Malton, Ontario, Canada

Rank

Leading Aircraftman

Position

Navigator

Service Numbers

R/283136

Home

Google Map

Ottawa, Ontario

Final Burial

Google Map

Beechwood Cemetery
Sec 29 Lot 4 Grave 158

LAC Howe was on a routine navigation flight and was the only casualty when his Anson aircraft 6385 crashed one mile west of Orono, Ontario.

Canada Primary Source School Daily Diary Entry - 1944-09-18

Canada Source Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Commonwealth War Grave Commission Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Canada Primary Source Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)

Accident Card - Avro Anson Mk. I / III / IV serial:6385

This accident involved 1 aircraft on 1944-September-18. Anson IV s/n 6385.

This accident involved 5 people. Howe L, Huntington GA, Nikon MV, Troup RH, Williamson GH

This accident had 1 fatality. Leading Aircraftman Lorne Meredith Howe RCAF Killed in Flying Accident service no:R/283136 Anson 6385

Unit Desciption

1 AOS (1 Air Observer School)

Air Observers were later called "navigators". For recruits in this stream, the training path after ITS was 8 weeks at an Air Observer School (AOS), 1 month at a Bombing & Gunnery School, and finally 1 month at a Navigation School. The Air Observer schools were operated by civilians under contract to the RCAF. For example, Nos. 7, 8, and 9 were run by CP Airlines. However, the instructors were RCAF. The basic navigation techniques throughout the war years were dead reckoning and visual pilotage, and the tools were the aeronautical chart, magnetic compass, watch, trip log, pencil, Douglas protractor, and Dalton Navigational Computer. They trained in the Avro Anson.

No. 1 Air Observer School. Dominion Skyways (Training) Ltd. Malton, Ontario.

The School was established at Malton, Ontario. The former school is now the Toronto (Pearson) International Airport.

More information on the RCAF Station at Malton can be found at

Royal Canadian Air Force RCAF.info - RCAF Station Malton Ontario

Unvetted Source Wartime Canada - Wings presentation December 1943

Project 44 BCATP

Unvetted Source Project 44 BCATP

YouTube YouTube - Valour Canada Aerodrome of Democracy