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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

Start Here Glossary Canada and World War II Combatants & First Airmen Casualties Air Force Operations Battle of Britain Women in War War Artists

"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

Kiewyryga, William

Died 1944-09-15

Male Head

Birth Date: 1916

Born:

Son of Karl and Effle Kiewyryga, of Grande Pointe.

Home: Grande Pointe, Manitoba

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: Unknown

Service

RCAF

Unit

7 AOS- Air Observer School

Base

Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada

Rank

Flight Sergeant

Position

Flight Sergeant

Service Numbers

R/166294

Home

Google Map

Grande Pointe, Manitoba

First Burial

Google Map

Elmwood Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

7 Air Observers School, Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. RCAF Pilot on indefinite Leave Without Pay, Employed by Portage Air Observer School as a Staff Pilot. Died of surgical complications at the St Boniface Hospital, St Boniface, Manitoba while on leave without pay.Listed by several different names depending on document referenced. Birth Name: Wasyl Kiewyryga. Declaration on service file changed name to William Kiewyryga. Most Documents on service file have last name amended from Kiewyryga to Keveriga, Headstone reads Keweriga.

Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)

7 AOS (7 Air Observer School)

Air Observers were later called "navigators". For recruits in this stream, the training path after ITS was 8 weeks at an Air Observer School (AOS), 1 month at a Bombing & Gunnery School, and finally 1 month at a Navigation School. The Air Observer schools were operated by civilians under contract to the RCAF. For example, Nos. 7, 8, and 9 were run by CP Airlines. However, the instructors were RCAF. The basic navigation techniques throughout the war years were dead reckoning and visual pilotage, and the tools were the aeronautical chart, magnetic compass, watch, trip log, pencil, Douglas protractor, and Dalton Navigational Computer. They trained in the Avro Anson.

Canada Primary Source RCAF.info - RCAF Station Portage la Prairie Manitoba

General Manitoba Historical Society - Portage Airport

Museum Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum - 7 AOS History

General University of Alberta -Souvenir History Of 7 AOS

Project 44 BCATP

General Project 44 BCATP

YouTube YouTube - Valour Canada Aerodrome of Democracy