brewerjerry Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 (edited) Hi Curiosity again, just found out three airspeed horsa gliders were allocated to the RCAF, TL334, TL349, TL401 as I dont have the Air Brit serial books for this serial range I am wondering if they crossed the ' pond' to Canada ? it might make an interesting model for me cheers jerry Edited October 9, 2020 by brewerjerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Sinclair Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 Canadian Military Aircraft, Serials and Photographs 1920-1968, J.A. Griffen. Airspeed Horsa mark II TL334, TL349, TL401 all listed as Taken on Strength 20 December 1948, Taken off Strength 25 July 1950, "Received from Canadian Army". The RAF says they were built by Harris Lebus, contract card dates, 11, 11 and 14 June 1945 respectively. No information on where they were June 1945 to December 1948. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brewerjerry Posted October 4, 2020 Author Share Posted October 4, 2020 26 minutes ago, Geoffrey Sinclair said: Canadian Military Aircraft, Serials and Photographs 1920-1968, J.A. Griffen. Airspeed Horsa mark II TL334, TL349, TL401 all listed as Taken on Strength 20 December 1948, Taken off Strength 25 July 1950, "Received from Canadian Army". The RAF says they were built by Harris Lebus, contract card dates, 11, 11 and 14 June 1945 respectively. No information on where they were June 1945 to December 1948. Hi Many thanks for the info, i didnt know they were with the Canadian army before Rcaf use cheers jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Martin Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 The inventory cards for the three do exist but finding photos of the airframes would be interesting - if ever pulled from their crates. The Hadrian gliders were used, well most of them, and there are plenty of photos of them. PM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airjiml2 Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 (edited) At least one was uncrated. I think there is also a photo in one of the CANAV books. From IPMS Canada's RT 10-2 (1977!!) @Carl V has been doing this quite a while. Jim Edited October 4, 2020 by airjiml2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airjiml2 Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 Sorry, not sure why the image is so small. If anyone wants a larger copy, please PM me with an email and I'll send it along. Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brewerjerry Posted October 4, 2020 Author Share Posted October 4, 2020 5 hours ago, airjiml2 said: At least one was uncrated. I think there is also a photo in one of the CANAV books. From IPMS Canada's RT 10-2 (1977!!) @Carl V has been doing this quite a while. Jim Hi Thanks, at the end of the article, it mentions brewster bermudas which i never knew were used by the RCAF cheers jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airjiml2 Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 The RCAF had three Bermudas that were used for "special" testing (aka chemicals and gas) at Suffield, Alberta. Attached are a photo from Facebook and the US Navy archives. Jim 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl V Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 1. A small addition to the story of the RCAF’s Brewster Bermudas. 2. Of the three RCAF Bermudas, only one, FF568, was attached to the Chemical Warfare Establishment at Suffield, Alberta. 3. The other two, FF718 and FF732, went to 3 Training Command where one or both of them were converted to target tug configuration. While Bermuda target tugs already existed, the RCAF preferred to use its own equipment and technology. 4. A slight RCAF file on the subject exists in the Archives. As I only gave it a cursory glance more than four decades ago, my recollection is not precisely high-res. However, there did exist on the file some detailed photos of the TT installation, though nothing bizarre. As far as I could tell and can recall, the aircraft appeared to be in all-over yellow, though this could not be confirmed due to the fragmentary nature of the photos. 5. The conversion seemed to be reasonably successful and I do not believe that much more information existed on the file. However, I would guess that at this time, late 1943, additional target tugs were not a high priority with the RCAF. All three ended up as instructional airframes. 6. In the highly unlikely event that anybody would like to follow up and revisit this at anytime in the near future, forget about it! Thanks to the current state of affairs, as far as on-site personal research is concerned, the Archives is closed up tighter than the proverbial. Carl 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airjiml2 Posted October 7, 2020 Share Posted October 7, 2020 I have been schooled by the master again! Thank you so much @Carl V for the further input. You have intrigued me with the TT Bermudas, my friend. Maybe something to search for next time I'm in Ottawa. Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brewerjerry Posted October 9, 2020 Author Share Posted October 9, 2020 Hi Many thanks again for the info Ssems I have so much to learn about RCAF WW2 a/c cheers jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aeronut Posted October 9, 2020 Share Posted October 9, 2020 AirJim, You wouldn't have a photo of the Hotspur gliders towed by RCAF Spitfires during early 1944 would you? I can't believe such a sight wouldn't have gone un photographed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Sinclair Posted October 9, 2020 Share Posted October 9, 2020 (edited) To add some dates to Carl's Bermuda data. FF568 Taken on Strength 6 January 1943, "at Suffield 1943" became instructional airframe A380 3 March 1944, Struck off Strength 9 November 1946 FF718 Taken on Strength 18 June 1943, "3 TC T&D Flt" became instructional airframe A381 3 March 1944, Struck off Strength 30 March 1946 FF732 Taken on Strength 18 June 1943, "3 TC T&D Flt" became instructional airframe A382 3 March 1944, Struck off Strength 9 May 1946 To add a little mystery, FF472 (Taken on RAF Charge 12 November 1942) has Canada in its delivery log entry and Air Arsenal North America says it crashed in Canada. Edited October 10, 2020 by Geoffrey Sinclair FF472 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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