Calgary, Alberta
The crew of Anson aircraft 12478 were engaged in a cross- country navigation exercise when their aircraft disintegrated in the air. F/Ls Hodge, E.B. Allan, T.B. Akin, Li. Aide, Flying Officer G.J. Overend, and Sergeant I. Stacey (RNZAF) were all killed when the aircraft crashed seven and one half miles north of Ponoka, Alberta.
Hodge, Robert George (Flight Lieutenant)
Killed in Flying Accident 1945-May-16
Birth Date: 1916-April-16
Born:
Parents: Son of John and Lillian Hodge, of Toronto, Ontario.
Spouse: Husband of Evelyn M. Hodge, of Calgary, Albert.
Home: Calgary, Alberta
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: unkown date
Service
RCAF
Unit
3 SFTS- Service Flying Training School
Base
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Rank
Flight Lieutenant
Position
Pilot
Service Numbers
J/27801
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
www.findagrave.comCrew or Other Personnel
Anson 12478
Anson serial: 12478
Avro Anson Mk. V
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
The Museum's Anson Mk. V was built by MacDonald Brothers in Winnipeg in 1944. It flew with No. 7 Photographic Wing and No. 414 Squadron in Ottawa on photo survey work until the late 1940s. In 1956, it was purchased by INCO and used for mineral surveying until 1980, when it was donated to the Museum. The exterior is painted in the yellow colour common to all BCATP trainers and is in its same wartime RCAF markings.
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
The Museum's Anson Mk. V was built by MacDonald Brothers in Winnipeg in 1944. It flew with No. 7 Photographic Wing and No. 414 Squadron in Ottawa on photo survey work until the late 1940s. In 1956, it was purchased by INCO and used for mineral surveying until 1980, when it was donated to the Museum. The exterior is painted in the yellow colour common to all BCATP trainers and is in its same wartime RCAF markings.
The Avro Anson was known by a number of nicknames including "Faithful Annie" or "Flying Greenhouse". It was the first aircraft to be flown by the Royal Canadian Air Force to have a retractable undercarriage, which was a comparative novelty in 1936. In 1940, a Canadian government owned company, Federal Aircraft Limited, was created in Montreal to manufacture the Anson for Canadian use. Nearly 3,000 Anson aircraft were produced and, in the early days of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), the Anson was the standard trainer for many pilots, observers (navigators), wireless operators and bomb aimers. More than 20,000 aircrew received training on the Anson. In Canadian service, the aircraft was substantially re-designed with the substitution of North American engines and many other airframe and equipment changes. Harold Skaarup web pages
Harold A Skaarup Web Page
Avro Anson HistoryAircraft Images
Anson 12478
Anson Mk. V 12478
With No. 3 Service Flying Training School when it crashed on a cross country flight, 6 fatalities. Crash dated listed as 16 January 1945 on Record Card, but recorded on 16 May 1945 in School Daily Diary.1944-11-10 Taken on Strength 2022-02-07
1945-May-16 Accident: 3 Service Flying Training School Loc: Ponoka Alberta Names: Aide | Aken | Allan | Hodge | Overend | Stacay
1945-07-28 Struck off Strength 2022-02-07
Unit Desciption
3 SFTS (3 Service Flying Training School)
Graduates of the EFTS "learn-to-fly" program went on a Service Flying Training School (SFTS) for 16 weeks. For the first 8 weeks the trainee was part of an intermediate training squadron; for the next 6 weeks an advanced training squadron and for the final 2 weeks training was conducted at a Bombing & Gunnery School. The Service schools were military establishments run by the RCAF or the RAF.
There were two different types of Service Flying Training Schools. Trainees in the fighter pilot stream went to an SFTS like No. 14 Aylmer, where they trained in the North American Harvard or North American Yale. Trainees in the bomber, coastal or transport pilot stream went to an SFTS like No. 5 Brantford where they learned multi-engine technique in an Airspeed Oxford, Avro Anson or Cessna Crane.
Cessna Crane Midair No3 SFTS Calgary
For More Information on RCAF Station Calgary see here
RCAF.info - RCAF Station Lincoln Park, Currie, Calgary Alberta
RCAF.info - Relief Landing Field Shepard Alberta
Bomber Command Museum of Canada