3 Operational Training Unit, Patricia Bay, British Columbia. Canso aircraft 9701 crashed on landing at Saanich Inlet, BC after a bombing exercise
Pilot Officer R Brooke (RCAF) was killed. Please see Kingswood, GT for complete casualty list
Birth Date: 1924
Born:
Son of Wallace I. Fraser and Hermia Rose Fraser, of Victoria.
Home: Victoria, British Columbia
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: Unknown
Service
RCAF
Unit
3 OTU- Operational Training Unit
Base
Patricia Bay, British Columbia, Canada
Rank
Pilot Officer
Position
Pilot Officer
Service Numbers
J/50820
3 Operational Training Unit, Patricia Bay, British Columbia. Canso aircraft 9701 crashed on landing at Saanich Inlet, BC after a bombing exercise
Pilot Officer R Brooke (RCAF) was killed. Please see Kingswood, GT for complete casualty list
The Consolidated Catalina and Canso were close cousins. The Canso was the true amphibious version of the design and therefore included a conventional undercarriage to allow for either water or land use. The Canso provided more than two decades of valuable service to the RCAF. The Catalina variant came first and was produced beginning in 1935 for the United States Navy. The amphibious version, designated PBY-5A, came in service early in 1941 and the RCAF began using the aircraft on anti-submarine patrols that same year. After the Second World War, the RCAF used Cansos for search and rescue, Arctic survey missions and various transport operations.RCAF