Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum logo

Click on CASPIR logo to go to the entire CASPIR system.

Use the panel to:

  • select Optional Sections
  • Remove Page Breaks, that is, return to the non-print formatted document.
  • Click on the ⇩ to go directly to that section.

Merkel, Lawrence Reginald (Flying Officer)

Killed in Flying Accident 1952-September-28

Male Head

Birth Date: 1923-March-25 (age 29)

Born: Langbank, Saskatchewan

Son of Frederick E. and Elsie M. Merkel.

Husband of Marguerite Merkel. Father of Norma M. and Carol M. Merkel. Brother of Ernest Merkel, Alice Howlett, Emily Beer, Stella Ingram and Gladys Ecklund.

Home: Langbank, Saskatchewan

Enlistment: Toronto, Ontario

Enlistment Date: 1952-09-05

Service
RCAF
Unit
Air Training Command Headquarters 
Rank
Flying Officer
Marshal
Air Chief MarshalA/C/M
Air MarshalA/M
Air Vice MarshalA/V/M
Air CommodoreA/C
Group CaptainG/C
Wing CommanderW/C
Squadron LeaderS/L
Flight LieutenantF/L
Flying OfficerF/O
Pilot OfficerP/O
Warrant Officer 1st ClassWO1
Warrant Officer 2nd ClassWO2
Flight SergeantFS
SergeantSGT
CorporalCPL
Senior AircraftmanSAC
Leading AircraftmanLAC
Aircraftman 1st ClassAC1
Aircraftman 2nd ClassAC2
Position
Pilot
Service Numbers
R/176120
F/O Merkel is the only RCAF casualty associated with this accident.Confirm Service Number - Not an Officer numbers.

Canada Source Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Find-A-Grave.com Find-A-Grave.com

Burial
Google Map Whitewood Cemetery, Canada
Family Plot Plot 269 Grave 7

de Havilland Canada Chipmunk

de Havilland Canada DHC-1B-2-S5 Chipmunk
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

The de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk is a tandem, two-seat, single-engined primary trainer aircraft designed and developed by Canadian aircraft manufacturer de Havilland Canada. It was developed shortly after the Second World War and sold in large numbers during the immediate post-war years, being typically employed as a replacement for the de Havilland Tiger Moth biplane.

The Chipmunk was the first postwar aviation project conducted by de Havilland Canada. It performed its maiden flight on 22 May 1946 and was introduced to operational service that same year. During the late 1940s and 1950s, the Chipmunk was procured in large numbers by military air services such as the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Royal Air Force (RAF), and several other nations' air forces, where it was often utilised as their standard primary trainer aircraft. The type produced under licence by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, who would produce the vast majority of Chipmunks, as well as by OGMA (Oficinas Gerais de Material Aeronáutico) in Portugal.

The type was slowly phased out of service beginning in the late 1950s, although in the ab initio elementary training role, this did not happen in the Royal Air Force until 1996, when it was replaced by the Scottish Aviation Bulldog. Wikipedia

YouTube Chipmunk Trainer

Wkikpedia Wikipedia Chipmunk Trainer

General Harold A Skaarup Web Page

CASPIR Aircraft Groups:
RCAF On Strength (113), RCAF 400 Squadron (3), Canadian Aircraft Losses (7)
last update: 2021-10-13 18:02:41

Chipmunk CF-CXN

Purchased by RCAF, loaned to Ontario Flying Club (Oshawa). Crashed on 28 September 1952, killing Flying Officer L.R. Merkel.
1950-10-28 Taken on Strength 2020-09-30
1952-10-20 Struck off Strength 2020-09-30

© Canadian Warplane Heritage 2024

To search on any page:
PC — Ctrl-F
Mac — ⌘-F
Mobile — or …