Ogden, Alan

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Westland Aircraft of Yeovil, UK, started to design an Army Cooperation aircraft for the British Air Ministry, in June 1935. The first Lysander flew a year later and demonstrated a remarkable short field performance that today would be seen in a STOL aircraft. At the outbreak of war in September 1939, seven RAF squadrons equipped with Lysanders were sent to France in support of the British Army. In May-June 1940, 118 Lysanders were destroyed in action and 120 aircrew were killed or taken prisoner. These severe losses showed that the old ideas about army support aircraft were out of date and the future lay in fighters like the Hurricane.

The most daring use of Lysanders in WW II was with the Special Operations Executive, which supported the Resistance in German occupied France and Belgium, by flying in agents and picking up escapees. It was during these night operations, that the Lysander came into its own, using its remarkable STOL capabilities to fly into the small fields marked out by the Resistance.

The first Canadian built Lysanders rolled out of National Steel Car factory at Malton, Ontario in September 1939 and later were delivered to RCAF No. 110 (Army Co-operation) Squadron at Rockcliffe, Ontario. In February 1940, No. 110 became the first RCAF squadron to be ordered overseas to Britain, becoming No. 400 Sqn..

By late 1941, most Canadian built Lysanders had been transferred to the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), where they were used for target towing at gunnery training schools. National Steel Car, which became Victory Aircraft, stopped building Lysanders in September 1942, as it started to gear up to manufacture Lancaster bombers. 1,652 Lysanders were built between 1938 and 1943; 225 of them in Canada. Lysanders served with the RAF, RCAF and the RAAF, as well as the air forces of seven other nations.Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

Lysander

Wikipedia Lysander

Harold A Skaarup Web Page

Lysander - Kestrel Publications

Century of Flight Web Page

7 BGS (7 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.

RCAF.Info - RCAF Station Paulson Manitoba

BCATP History - 7 BGS

Manitoba Historical Society - Paulson Airport

Staff Pilots 7 BGS Paulson MB

NO6 BGS Blog History

Project 44 BCATP

Project 44 BCATP

YouTube - Valour Canada Aerodrome of Democracy

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Lysander 2389

Lysander Mk. IIIA TT 2389

Assigned to No. 2 Training Command and used by No. 7 Bombing & Gunnery School at Paulson, Manitoba. Struck off, after Category "A" crash at Paulson, Manitoba, on 2 Sep 1942 when two a/c collided. Flight Sergeant A. Ogden and Leading Aircraftman R.E. Smith took off in #2389 on a gunnery exercise and approximately 8 mi north of the aerodrome, the a/c collided with Fairey Battle #1962. The three-man crew on the Battle, Leading Aircraftman C.P.P. Lowe (pilot) and LACs D.W. Duncan and K.A.Lambert also perished.

1942-07-11 Taken on Strength 2019-08-20
1942-September-02 Accident: 7 Bomb & Gunnery School Loc: Aerodrome Names: Duncan | Lambert | Lowe | Ogden | Smith
1942-09-02 Accident Category A 2022-01-09
1942-10-06 Struck off Strength Struck off, after Category A crash at Paulson, Manitoba on 2 September 1942 2019-08-20

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Battle 1962

Battle Mk. I 1962

Ex RAF L5118. TOS 3 June 1941 at No. 6 Repair Depot, Trenton. Assigned to No. 2 Training Command 23 June 1941; to No. 7 Bombing and Gunnery School at RCAF Station Paulson, Man 1 July 1941. Pilot blinded by glycol leak; overshot landing across road, Paulson, 7 Oct 1941, Category B damage. To MacDonald Bros, Winnipeg 20 Oct 1941; returned to No. 7 Bombing and Gunnery School 7 July 1942. Collided with Lysander #2389 and lost tail; fell into Lake Dauphin 10 m NW of Dauphin, MB, 2 Sept 1942; Sgt
C.P.A. Lowe, Leading Aircraftman D.W. Duncan and Leading Aircraftman K.A. Lambert were killed. Category A damage. SOS 8 Oct 1942; Cat A write-off.

1941-06-03 Taken on Strength 2019-08-20
1941-October-07 Accident: 7 Bomb & Gunnery School Loc: NWest Of Aerodrome Names: Freeman | Hoag | Pedrazzani
1942-September-02 Accident: 7 Bomb & Gunnery School Loc: Aerodrome Names: Duncan | Lambert | Lowe | Ogden | Smith
1942-10-08 Struck off Strength 2019-08-20