Davidson, Edward Wills (Flying Officer)

Killed in Flying Accident 1943-August-03

Male Head

Birth Date: 1923-January-12

Born:

Son of William and Isabel Davidson, of Olds.

Home: Olds, Alberta

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: Unknown

Service

RCAF

Unit

5 EFTS- Elementary Flying Training School

Base

RCAF Stn, High River, Alberta

Rank

Flying Officer

Position

Pilot

Service Numbers

J/22979

Home

Olds, Alberta

Final Burial

Olds Cemetery
Plot 3 Lot 7 Block 7

Pilot Officer Davidson and Leading Aircraftman K.A. Ing (RAF) were both killed when Cornell aircraft FH 865 came down out of control from a high altitude and crashed one mile north-east of Mazeppa, Alberta.

Canada Primary Source School Daily Diary Entry - 1943-08-03

Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

www.findagrave.com

Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)

Crew or Other Personnel

Cornell FH865

Flying Officer Edward Wills Davidson RCAF

Flying Officer Davidson, Edward Wills (RCAF)
Pilot
Killed in Flying Accident
1943-August-03
Olds Cemetery, Olds, Alberta, Canada

Leading Aircraftman Kenneth Arthur Ing RAFVR

Leading Aircraftman Ing, Kenneth Arthur (RAFVR)

Killed in Flying Accident
1943-August-03
Highwood Cemetery, High River, Alberta, Canada

Cornell serial: FH865

Fairchild Cornell Mk. II
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

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 Cornell Trainer

unvetted Source Harold A Skaarup Web Page

Aircraft Images

Cornell FH865

Cornell Mk. I FH865

Ex USAAF PT-26, serial number 42-15344. To RCAF in Canada, retained RAF serial number.

1942-12-12 Taken on Strength 2022-02-07
1943-February-02 Accident: 5 Elementary Flying Training School Loc: Aerodrome Names: MacDonald | McConnell
1943-August-03 Accident: 5 Elementary Flying Training School Loc: Mzehpa Alberta Names: Davidson | Ing
1943-09-21 Struck off Strength 2022-02-07

Unit Desciption

5 EFTS (5 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.