About

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

Muir, William Graham (Flying Officer)

Killed in Flying Accident 1944-October-30

Flying Officer William Graham Muir RCAF

Birth Date: 1917

Born:

Parents: Son of Stewart and Jane Muir, of Nanaimo; husband of Irene Farina Muir, of Campbell River.

Spouse: Husband of Irene Farina Muir, of Campbell River.

Home: Nanaimo, British Columbia

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: unkown date

Service

RCAF

Unit

8 AOS- Air Observer School

Base

RCAF Stn. Ancienne Lorrette, Quebec

Rank

Flying Officer

Position

Navigator

Service Numbers

J/24212
Prev: R/105835

Home

Google Map

Nanaimo, British Columbia

Final Burial

Google Map

Nanaimo Cemetery
Plot 137 Range 57

8 Air Observer School, Ancienne Lorene, Quebec. Anson aircraft crashed.

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)

Crew or Other Personnel

Anson 11705

Corporal Orran Willard Carey RCAF

Corporal Carey, Orran Willard (RCAF)

Killed in Flying Accident
1944-October-30
Willow Bank Cemetery, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada

Flying Officer James David Nicol Gillingham RCAF

Flying Officer Gillingham, James David Nicol (RCAF)
Navigator
Killed in Flying Accident
1944-October-30
Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Flying Officer William Graham Muir RCAF

Flying Officer Muir, William Graham (RCAF)
Navigator
Killed in Flying Accident
1944-October-30
Nanaimo Cemetery, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada

Flight Lieutenant James Thomas Robson RCAF

Flight Lieutenant Robson, James Thomas (RCAF)
Pilot
Killed in Flying Accident
1944-October-30
Royal Oak Burial Park, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Accident Card - Avro Anson Mk. V serial:11705

This accident involved 1 aircraft on 1944-October-30. Anson V s/n 11705.

This accident involved 5 people. Carey OW, Fedush GE, Gillingham JDW, Muir WG, Robson JT

This accident had 5 fatalities. Flying Officer James David Nicol Gillingham RCAF Killed in Flying Accident service no:J/24231 Anson 11705, Flying Officer William Graham Muir RCAF Killed in Flying Accident service no:J/24212 Anson 11705, Flight Lieutenant James Thomas Robson RCAF Killed in Flying Accident service no:J/9151 Anson 11705, Civilian George E Fedush Killed in Flying Accident service no: Anson 11705, Corporal Orran Willard Carey RCAF Killed in Flying Accident service no:R/154799 Anson 11705

Unit Desciption

8 AOS (8 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.

NO8 AOS

Royal Canadian Air Force RCAF.info - RCAF Station L'Ancienne Lorrette QC

Unvetted Source Wartime Heritage - Orren Carey

Project 44 BCATP

Unvetted Source Project 44 BCATP

YouTube YouTube - Valour Canada Aerodrome of Democracy