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CASPIR Data Archive Mission & Data Sources Significant Canadian Historians Our Team RCAF Assistance CASPIR Volunteering

CASPIR contains documents, images and history of Canada's military aviation. The personnel and aircraft data has been compiled using data provided by trusted Canadian military aviation historians and original source documents. Where possible source documents are linked.
Research

CASPIR Resources

RCAF Accident Cards (1939-1945) JA Griffin Documents 1968 and 2005 Obtaining a World War II Service File

External Resources

RCAF.info: Research Resources RCAF.info: Finding Your Family Records

Griffin Library, 17 Wing Winnipeg

John Griffin was a significant historian, documenting Canada's Military aircraft.
Aircraft

Military Aircraft Associated with Canadians Choose a Specific Aircraft Serial

Lancaster FM213

CWHM flies one of the two airworthy Lancasters in the world. FM213 is usually marked as KB726 honouring Andrew Mynarski, VC.
Personnel

Name or Home Town Search Unit (Squadron) Search Aircraft Type or Serial Search Browse by Letter This Day in History

War Status Search Catastrophic Losses (Ships Hotels Aircraft) Choose Specific Military Cemeteries (WW1 WW2 and Beyond)

Andrew Mynarski, VC

We Shall Remember Them.
History

Education & History
Start Here Glossary Canada and World War II Combatants & First Airmen Casualties Air Force Operations Battle of Britain Women in War War Artists Canada in Korean Air War 1950-1953

Blogs & Articles
CASPIR Overview First World War Neighbourhood - Dufferin & Dupont Canada's First Military Aeroplane 1917

"A" Able flying through the Eiffel Tower? (although this event likely happened, this photograph is likely fake.) It is signed by the late Bill Bryant RAF who was the navigator of that aircraft piloted by Bob Boorman RCAF. The caption reads "This Stars Stripes photograph was taken on 14 September 1944 and shows a Mosquito Mk XIII of 409 Squadron RCAF. Pilot - W/O Bob Boorman RCAF Navigator F/S Bill Bryant RAF Flying through the Eiffel Tower."
Contact

Gagne, Irvin (Sergeant)

Killed in Flying Accident 1942-January-23

Sergeant Irvin Gagne RCAF

Birth Date: 1917

Born:

Parents: Son of Raymond F. and Rose Gagne; husband of Eleanor E. (nee Powers) Gagne (remarried as Patton). Father of Margaret Ann, of Caribou, Maine. Sgt Gagne was employed as a civilian training instructor un

Spouse: Husband of Eleanor E. (nee Powers) Gagne (remarried as Patton). Father of Margaret Ann, of Caribou, Maine. Sgt Gagne was employed as a civilian training instructor un

Home: Caribou, Maine, USA

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: unkown date

Service

RCAF

Unit

21 EFTS- Elementary Flying Training School

Base

Chatham, New Brunswick, Canada

Rank

Sergeant

Position

Pilot

Service Numbers

R/104921

Home

Google Map

Caribou, Maine, USA

Final Burial

Google Map

Evergreen Cemetery
Plot 170 Row 6

21 Elementary Flying Training School, Chatham, New Brunswick. Sergeant Gagne was engaged in instrument practice (spinning under the hood) and failed to recover from a spin. He was killed when his Fleet Finch aircraft 4797 crashed on the south side of the Little Black River, Bay du Vin, New Brunswick.

Canada Source Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Commonwealth War Grave Commission Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Find-A-Grave Finadagrave.com

Canada Primary Source Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)

Accident Card - Fleet Finch Finch II serial:4797

This accident involved 1 aircraft on 1942-January-23. Fleet Finch II s/n 4797.

This accident involved 2 people. Chambers BA, Gagne I

This accident had 1 fatality. Sergeant Irvin Gagne RCAF Killed in Flying Accident service no:R/104921 Finch 4797

Unit Desciption

21 EFTS (21 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.

Link Trainer NO21 EFTS

More information on RCAF Station Chatham can be found here

Royal Canadian Air Force RCAF.info - RCAF Station Chatham NB

New Brunswick Aviation Museum

Museum New Brunswick Aviation Museum

Project 44 BCATP

Unvetted Source Project 44 BCATP