Vancouver, British Columbia
Anson aircraft 8207 was engaged on a low-level bombing exercise near target B3 at Evans Point, Lake Erie and had completed the exercise when it collided with Fairey Battle aircraft 1604 which had just completed a gunnery exercise. The collision occurred at about 2,500 feet and both aircraft went into a spin, the Fairey Battle crashed into the lake in about ten feet of water and the Anson crashed on shore and burned. Both aircraft were completely demolished, Leading Aircraftman W.M. Kirkby, Leading Aircraftman A.C. Reed, and Sergeant J.W. Whitehead (RNZAF) were killed in the Fairey Battle. Flying Officer Poole, Leading Aircraftman J.A. Lefurgey, and Leading Aircraftman G.C. Burke were killed in the Anson.
Lefurgey, John Alfred (Leading Aircraftman)
Killed in Flying Accident 1942-08-18
Birth Date: 1914-February-02
Born:
Son of Alfred Alexander and Eva Blanehe Lefurgey, of Vancouver.
Home: Vancouver, British Columbia
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: Unknown
Service
RCAF
Unit
1 BGS- Bombing & Gunnery School
Base
RCAF Stn. Jarvis, Ontario
Rank
Leading Aircraftman
Position
Leading Aircraftman
Service Numbers
R/146436
School Daily Diary Entry - 1942-08-18
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
www.findagrave.comThis incident involved multiple aircraft:
- Battle Mk. I / IT Serial: 1604
- Anson Mk. II Serial: 8207
All the above aircraft in the above list are referenced in this report.
Anson 8207
Read More ....
Avro Anson
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 HistoryBattle 1604
Battle Mk. I / IT 1604
Ex RAF N2158. TOS 24 Feb 1940 at Trenton. To No. 1 Training Command, for AAS. Collided with #1814 3 m W of Fisherville, ON, 9 Dec 1941; landed safely. Collided with Anson 8207 of the same School over the range near Evans Point, on the Lake Erie shore, at 17:00 on 18 August 1942. This aircraft spun into the lake. Sergeant J.W. Whitehead, LACs AC. Reed and W.M. Kirkby were all killed. SOS 27 Oct 1942. Cat A write-off.1940-02-24 Taken on Strength 2019-08-20
1941-December-09 Accident: 1 Bomb & Gunnery School Loc: Fisherville Ontario Names: Agnew | Barber | Bounds | Gould | Gray | Mitchell
1942-August-18 Accident: 1 Bomb & Gunnery School Loc: Aerodrome Names: Burke | Kirkby | Lefurgey | Poole | Reed | Whitehead
1942-10-27 Struck off Strength Struck off, after Category A crash on 18 August 1942. 2019-08-20
Anson 8207
Anson Mk. II 8207
Delivered to stored reserve, issued from storage on 4 May 1942. First assigned to No. 1 Bombing & Gunnery School at Jarvis, Ontario. Still with this School when it crashed on lake shore near Evans Point on Lake Erie at about 17:00 on 18 August 1942, after a mid air collision with Battle 1604 from the same School. Burned after crash, pilot Flying Officer M. Goole and two students killed. To No. 6 Repair Depot for write off.1942-04-15 Taken on Strength No. 1 Training Command 2019-08-20
1942-August-18 Accident: 1 Bomb & Gunnery School Loc: Aerodrome Names: Burke | Kirkby | Lefurgey | Poole | Reed | Whitehead
1942-10-29 Struck off Strength Struck off, reduced to spares and produce 2019-08-20
Read More ....
1 BGS (1 Bomb and Gunnery School)
The Bombing and Gunnery School (B&GS) offered instruction in the techniques of bomb aiming and aerial machine gunnery to Air Observers, Bomb Aimers, and Wireless Air Gunners. These schools required large areas to accommodate their bombing and gunnery ranges, and were often located near water. The Avro Anson, Fairey Battle, Bristol Bolingbroke, and Westland Lysander were the standard aircraft used at B&GS schools.
NO1 BGS Jarvis
RCAF.info - RCAF Station Jarvis OntarioRead More ....