Brooks, Jerry Eaton

Killed in Flying Accident 1943-11-15

Birth Date: 1921

Born:

Son of Ralph Wentworth Brooks and Hattie Craig Brooks, of Victoria.

Home: Victoria, British Columbia

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: Unknown

Service

RCAF

Unit

11 EFTS- Elementary Flying Training School

Base

RCAF Cap de la Madeleine, Quebec

Rank

Sergeant

Position

Sergeant

Service Numbers

R/50700

Home
Google MapVictoria, British Columbia
First Burial
Google MapRoyal Oak Burial Park, Victoria, British Columbia
Sergeant J.E. Brooks and Pilot Officer L.S. Smoker were killed when Cornell aircraft 1 5263 crashed two miles north of St Louis de Champlain at St Loire, Quebec.

Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)

This incident involved multiple aircraft:

  1. Cornell Cornell III Serial: 15263

All the above aircraft in the above list are referenced in this report.

Cornell 15263

Sergeant Brooks, Jerry Eaton (RCAF)
Pilot
Killed in Flying Accident
1943-November-15
Royal Oak Burial Park, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Pilot Officer Smoker, Leslie Saunders (RCAF)
Pilot
Killed in Flying Accident
1943-November-15
Ocean View Burial Park, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Fairchild Cornell

Fairchild Cornell Mk. II
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
Fairchild_Cornell_159.jpg image not found

In early 1942, an agreement was signed between the Canadian Government and Fairchild Aircraft, which licenced Fleet Aircraft of Fort Erie, Ontario to construct the PT-26 Cornell in Canada. The first 800 Cornells used by the RCAF were supplied from Fairchild, until production commenced at Fort Erie in November 1942. By the end of the war in 1945, 2,853 Cornells had been built by Fleet - 1,565 for the RCAF and 1,288 for the RAF.

PT-26 Cornells were flown at many of the Elementary Flying Training Schools (EFTS) of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, where they replaced the Fleet Finch and the de Havilland Tiger Moth biplane trainers. After the Second World War, many Cornells were sold to the civilian market, but some were retained by the RCAF, where they were finally retired in 1948.CWPHM



YouTube Cornell Trainer

Wikipedia Wikipedia Cornell Trainer

General Harold A Skaarup Web Page

11 EFTS (11 Elementary Flying Training School)

An Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) gave a trainee 50 hours of basic flying instruction on a simple trainer like the De Havilland Tiger Moth, Fleet Finch, or Fairchild Cornell over 8 weeks.Elementary schools were operated by civilian flying clubs under contract to the RCAF and most of the instructors were civilians. For example, No. 12 EFTS Goderich was run by the Kitchener-Waterloo Flying Club and the County of Huron Flying Club.The next step for a pilot was the Service Flying Training School.

School operated by Quebec Airways and CP Air.

Information on RCAF Station Cap de la Madeleine can be found here

Canada Primary Source RCAF.info - RCAF Station Cap de la Madeleine QC

Project 44 BCATP

General Project 44 BCATP

YouTube YouTube - Valour Canada Aerodrome of Democracy

Cornell 15263

Cornell Cornell III 15263

With No. 11 Elementary Flying Training School at Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec. Crashed near St. Loire, Quebec on 15 November 1943. P/O. Leslie Saunders Smoker and Sgt. Jerry Eaton Brooks killed.
{{link,canadaprimary,https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c5933/4502,RCAF - Accident Investigation File}}

1943-10-08 Taken on Strength 2022-02-07
1943-November-15 Accident: 11 Elementary Flying Training School Loc: St Louis De France County Champlain Names: Brooks | Smoker
1944-02-29 Struck off Strength 2022-02-07