Red Deer, Alberta
Harvard aircraft 2554 and Harvard 3003 were engaged in a night test when they were in a mid-air collision. Harvard 2554 was flying straight and level at 5,000 feet when Harvard 3003 came up from ahead and underneath and struck 2554 at the rear of the fuselage rendering the controls of 2554 useless. The occupants of 2554 parachuted to safety but 3003 crashed seven and one half miles north-west of Aylmer. Leading Aircraftman Trussler and Pilot Officer J.D. Seagram were both killed in the crash.
Trussler, Duncan Mckenzie (Leading Aircraftman)
Killed in Flying Accident 1943-July-19
Birth Date: 1919-January-06
Born:
Parents: Son of Milton and Olive Victoria Maud Trussler, of Red Deer; husband of Ethel Adene Trussler, of Calgary.
Spouse: Husband of Ethel Adene Trussler, of Calgary.
Home: Red Deer, Alberta
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: unkown date
Service
RCAF
Unit
14 SFTS- Service Flying Training School
Base
Aylmer, Ontario, Canada
Rank
Leading Aircraftman
Position
aero engine mechanic
Service Numbers
R/121100
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Finadagrave.com
Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)Crew or Other Personnel
Harvard 3003
Accident Card - North American Harvard Mk.II serial:3003
This accident involved 2 aircraft on 1943-July-19. They are: Harvard II s/n 2554, Harvard II s/n 3003.
This accident involved 4 people. Trussler DM, Molesworth F, Seagram JD, Wilson E
This accident had 2 fatalities. Leading Aircraftman Duncan Mckenzie Trussler RCAF Killed in Flying Accident service no:R/121100 Harvard 3003, Pilot Officer John David Seagram RCAF Killed in Flying Accident service no:J/23819 Harvard 3003
Unit Desciption
14 SFTS (14 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.
SFTS14 Aylmer ON
For More Information on RCAF Station Aylmer see here
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14 SFTS Aylmer ON History
Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum - 14 SFTS Aylmer ON
SFTS 14 Moved from Aylmer ON to Kingston ON 14 August 1944
For More Information on RCAF Station Kingston see here
RCAF.info - RCAF Station Kingston ON
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