Walsh, Harold Francis (Flying Officer)

Missing 1955-July-25

Flying Officer Harold Francis Walsh RCAF

Birth Date: 1937-July-25

Born: Edson, Alberta

Son of Frances Biers of Victoria, British Columbia and Ken Walsh.

Home: Edson, Alberta

Enlistment: Victoria, British Columbia

Enlistment Date: 1954-06-30

Service

RCAF

Unit

3 AFS- Advanced Flying School

Base

Gimli, Manitoba, Canada

Rank

Flying Officer

Position

Pilot Officer

Service Numbers

224981

Home

Edson, Alberta

1955-07-25 - Silver Star aircraft 21356 reported missing and presumed lost, piloted by Pilot Officer HF Walsh, RCAF Student. Full scale search operations conducted by 111 Squadron from Winnipeg with Otter Aircraft.

1955-08-02 - Search for Pilot Officer HF Walsh still continuing.

1955-08-15 - Group Commander, Air Commodore JG Bryans, paid a short visit to the unit with regard to missing aircraft 21356.

It appears that his aircraft has never been found and it is suspected that it is somewhere in lake Winnipeg, Manitoba. The find a grave record indicates he was cremated, i suspect this detail is also wrong.

Winnipeg Tribune - 1955-07-26 - page 1

Selkirk Enterprise - 1955-08-03 - Page 6

Son of Mrs Frances Gertrude Walsh, GM

Canada Primary Source Station Historical Record - RCAF Station Gimli - 1955-07-25

Canadian Virtual War Memorial

www.findagrave.com

Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)

Crew or Other Personnel

Silver Star 21356

Flying Officer Harold Francis Walsh RCAF

Flying Officer Walsh, Harold Francis (RCAF)

Missing
1955-July-25
cemetery unknown

Silver Star serial: 21356

Source: Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

The Canadair CT-133 Silver Star (company model number CL-30) is the Canadian license-built version of the Lockheed T-33 jet trainer aircraft, in service from the 1950s to 2005.

The Canadair CT-133 was the result of a 1951 contract to build T-33 Shooting Star trainers for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). The powerplant is a Rolls-Royce Nene 10 turbojet instead of the Allison J33 used by Lockheed in the production of the original T-33. A project designation of CL-30 was given by Canadair and the name was changed to Silver Star. The appearance of the CT-133 is very distinctive due to the large fuel tanks usually carried on each wingtip. A total of 656 CT-133 aircraft were built by Canadair.

The CT-133 entered service in the RCAF as its primary training aircraft for fighter/interceptors. The designation of the Silver Star in the Canadian Forces was CT-133.

The CT-133's service life in the RCAF (and later the Canadian Forces) was extremely long. One of the more unusual roles it played was as an aerobatic demonstration aircraft, the RCAF's Red Knight. Although the aircraft stopped being used as a trainer in 1976, there were still over 50 aircraft in Canadian Forces inventory in 1995. The youngest of these airframes was then 37 years old and had exceeded its expected life by a factor of 2.5. During this period, the Canadair T-33 was employed in communication, target towing, and enemy simulation. Wikipedia

Wikipedia Canadair CT-133 Silver Star