Watson, Desmond Pelham
Killed in Flying Accident 1942-02-19
Birth Date: 1919
Born:
Son of Kenneth and Kate Alice Watson, of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. England.
Home:
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: Unknown
Service
RAF
Unit
33 SFTS- Service Flying Training School (RAF)
Base
Carberry, Manitoba, Canada
Rank
Flying Officer
Position
Flying Officer
Service Numbers
42922
First Burial
Brandon Cemetery, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)This incident involved multiple aircraft:
- Anson Mk. I Serial: N9607
- Anson Mk. I Serial: K8745
All the above aircraft in the above list are referenced in this report.
Avro Anson
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
Avro Anson History33 SFTS (33 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.
Notable student Actor Richard Burton
For Information on RCAF Station Carberry see here
RCAF.Info - RCAF Station Carberry MB
RCAF.Info - Relief Landing Field Petrel MB
RCAF.Info - Relief Landing Field Oberon MB
Manitoba Historical Society - Carberry Airport
Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum Anson N9607
Anson Mk. I N9607
To No. 2 Training Command on 17 March 1941, for use by No. 33 Service Flying Training School at Carberry, Manitoba. Coded "W". Category A crash at 17:30 on 19 February 1942, at Melbourne, Manitoba (7 miles north-east of Carberry), following a collision with Anson K8745. 2 fatalities.1941-02-12 Taken on Strength MacDonald Brothers Aircraft 2019-08-20
1941-May-14 Accident: 35 Service Flying Training School Loc: Carberry Names: Compson | Connally
1942-February-19 Accident: 33 Service Flying Training School Loc: Pleasant Point Manitoba Names: Watson | Wellings | Wright
1942-03-12 Struck off Strength Struck off, reduced to spares and produce at No. 33 SFTS 2019-08-20
Anson K8745
Anson Mk. I K8745
To RCAF for BCATP use, retained RAF serial number.1942-February-19 Accident: 33 Service Flying Training School Loc: Pleasant Point Manitoba Names: Watson | Wellings | Wright
1942-June-24 Accident: 33 Service Flying Training School Loc: Carberry Names: Francis | Genge | Spencer