Westgate, Marion Mercedes

Killed in Flying Accident 1943-10-27

Birth Date: 1917-February-27

Born: Regina, Saskatchewan

Daughter of Robert James and Christie Mercedes Westgate, of Regina, Saskatchewan.

Home: Regina, Saskatchewan

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: Unknown

Service

RCAF

Unit

15 EFTS- Elementary Flying Training School

Base

RCAF Stn. Regina, Saskatchewan

Rank

Flying Officer

Position

Flying Officer

Service Numbers

C/24609

Home

Regina, Saskatchewan

First Burial

Regina Cemetery, Regina, Saskatchewan

15 Elementary Service Flying Training School, Regina, Saskatchewan. Flying Officer Westgate and Pilot Officer D.C. Bishop took off in Cornell aircraft 15148 and encountered some fog. Pilot Officer Bishop was trying to gain altitude and they were both killed when the aircraft struck the ground one mile southwest of the aerodrome at Regina.

Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

www.findagrave.com

Library and Archives Canada Service Files (may not exist)

This incident involved multiple aircraft:

Cornell Cornell III Serial: 15148

All the above aircraft in the above list are referenced in this report.

Findagrave.com

Cornell 15148

Pilot Officer Bishop, Denis Clive (RCAF)
Pilot
Killed in Flying Accident
1943-October-27
St John's Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Flying Officer Westgate, Marion Mercedes (RCAF)
nursing sister
Killed in Flying Accident
1943-October-27
Regina Cemetery, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

Fairchild Cornell

Fairchild Cornell Mk. II
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

Fairchild_Cornell_159.jpg image not found

In early 1942, an agreement was signed between the Canadian Government and Fairchild Aircraft, which licenced Fleet Aircraft of Fort Erie, Ontario to construct the PT-26 Cornell in Canada. The first 800 Cornells used by the RCAF were supplied from Fairchild, until production commenced at Fort Erie in November 1942. By the end of the war in 1945, 2,853 Cornells had been built by Fleet - 1,565 for the RCAF and 1,288 for the RAF.

PT-26 Cornells were flown at many of the Elementary Flying Training Schools (EFTS) of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, where they replaced the Fleet Finch and the de Havilland Tiger Moth biplane trainers. After the Second World War, many Cornells were sold to the civilian market, but some were retained by the RCAF, where they were finally retired in 1948.CWPHM

YouTube Cornell Trainer

Wikipedia Cornell Trainer

General Harold A Skaarup Web Page

15 EFTS (15 Elementary Flying Training School)

An Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) gave a trainee 50 hours of basic flying instruction on a simple trainer like the De Havilland Tiger Moth, Fleet Finch, or Fairchild Cornell over 8 weeks.Elementary schools were operated by civilian flying clubs under contract to the RCAF and most of the instructors were civilians. For example, No. 12 EFTS Goderich was run by the Kitchener-Waterloo Flying Club and the County of Huron Flying Club.The next step for a pilot was the Service Flying Training School.