Nicholls, Peter Jack
Killed in Flying Accident 1943-11-06
Birth Date: 1923-June-21
Born:
Son of Mr. and Mrs. L. A. Nicholls, of Hounslow, Middlesex, England.
Home:
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: Unknown
Service
RAFVR
Unit
17 SFTS- Service Flying Training School
Base
Souris, Manitoba, Canada
Rank
Leading Aircraftman
Position
Leading Aircraftman
Service Numbers
1605865
Murrayville Cemetery, Murrayville, British Columbia, Canada
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
www.findagrave.com
Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)This incident involved multiple aircraft:
- Anson Mk. II Serial: 11532
All the above aircraft in the above list are referenced in this report.
Anson 11532
Avro Anson
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
The Museum's Anson Mk. V was built by MacDonald Brothers in Winnipeg in 1944. It flew with No. 7 Photographic Wing and No. 414 Squadron in Ottawa on photo survey work until the late 1940s. In 1956, it was purchased by INCO and used for mineral surveying until 1980, when it was donated to the Museum. The exterior is painted in the yellow colour common to all BCATP trainers and is in its same wartime RCAF markings.
The Avro Anson was known by a number of nicknames including "Faithful Annie" or "Flying Greenhouse". It was the first aircraft to be flown by the Royal Canadian Air Force to have a retractable undercarriage, which was a comparative novelty in 1936. In 1940, a Canadian government owned company, Federal Aircraft Limited, was created in Montreal to manufacture the Anson for Canadian use. Nearly 3,000 Anson aircraft were produced and, in the early days of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), the Anson was the standard trainer for many pilots, observers (navigators), wireless operators and bomb aimers. More than 20,000 aircrew received training on the Anson. In Canadian service, the aircraft was substantially re-designed with the substitution of North American engines and many other airframe and equipment changes.Harold Skaarup web pages
Avro Anson History17 SFTS (17 Service Flying Training School)
Graduates of the EFTS "learn-to-fly" program went on a Service Flying Training School (SFTS) for 16 weeks. For the first 8 weeks the trainee was part of an intermediate training squadron; for the next 6 weeks an advanced training squadron and for the final 2 weeks training was conducted at a Bombing & Gunnery School. The Service schools were military establishments run by the RCAF or the RAF.
There were two different types of Service Flying Training Schools. Trainees in the fighter pilot stream went to an SFTS like No. 14 Aylmer, where they trained in the North American Harvard or North American Yale. Trainees in the bomber, coastal or transport pilot stream went to an SFTS like No. 5 Brantford where they learned multi-engine technique in an Airspeed Oxford, Avro Anson or Cessna Crane
For More Information on RCAF Station Souris see here
RCAF.info - RCAF Station Souris MB
RCAF.info - Relief Landing Field Hartney MB
RCAF.info - Relief Landing Field Elgin MB
Manitoba Historical Society - 17 SFTS
Anson 11532
Anson Mk. II 11532
Delivered to storage in April 1943. Issued from storage on 3 May 1943. Destroyed by fire, following a crash. To No. 8 Repair Depot on 11 November 1943 for scrapping.1943-03-22 Taken on Strength No. 2 Training Command 2019-08-20
1943-November-06 Accident: 17 Service Flying Training School Loc: Aerodrome Names: Harris | Mackenzie | Nicholls
1943-11-30 Struck off Strength Written off, reduced to spares and produce 2019-08-20