Significant Events in RCAF April History
Week of APR 17,1944
A Canso aircraft from 162 Sqn,RCAFsinks German sub U-432,SW of Iceland
Details
Attacker:Canso 9767 "S" of 162 (Bomber Reconnaissance)Sqn
operating from Reykjavik, Iceland
Sunk: -German U-342
all hands lost
LINK
uboat.net/boats/u342.htm
A Brush With War
Portraits of 4 Canadians Aces of the Battle of Britain
(by WW2 artists Cuthbert Orde &Eric Kennington
PICS(L to R)
All were RCAF pilots in 242 Sqn & 401Sqn
S/L A.Skeets Ogilvie,DFC
F/O William “Willie” McKnight,DFC/Bar-18 victories
S/L Stan Turner, DSO/DFC/Bar
F/L Hugh Tamblyn,DFC
April 1945
Theme of these WW2 posters
BuyBonds
Canada,a free & democratic country,fights to free others
from tyranny-
volunteer soldiers fight on the battlefront
&
volunteer citizens buy Victory Bonds on the Home Front
From 1941-1945 Canadians bought $12 Billion in Victory Bonds to finance the war!
Significant Dates/Photo of the Day
April 17 1945
2nd Canadian Infantry Div liberate the last major Dutch city of WW2 at Groningen(NE Holland)
& defeat Dutch collaborators like
34th SS Volunteer Grenadier Div
PIC
Essex Scottish Regt Pipe Band marching across a Groningen canal bridge
Apr17 1945
Armoured Thursday at CVMM
Sherman tank variant with Canadians,Netherlands
The M4(105) Sherman tank with a rare 105 mm howitzer gun
ALL PICS
Canadian armoured regts in Holland,April,1945
L-Sherman M4 105 at Leeuwarden
R-105
R BELOW-2 tanks;Sherman Firefly with 17 pdr(L) & Sherman 105 howitzer(R)
DATES in CAN /HISTORY
APR 16 1945
HMCS Esquimalt is torpedoed and sunk by U-190 in the waters 6 km off of Halifax
This tragic sinking,so close to home & so near WW2's end
took 44 sailors lives (most by exposure)
27 survived
last Canadian warship sunk in WW2
navalandmilitarymuseum.org/archives/art...
DATES in CAN / HISTORY
April 15-16,1945
Leeuwarden is liberated by Royal Canadian Dragoons
& 1st Canadian Army reaches the Dutch coast
PIC
Royal Canadian Dragoons liberating it
With C Sq in front RHQ followed in 10 min
Lt. Col. Landeel halts by Hotel"de nieuwe Doelen"
Apr 16-RCDs move to Grijpskerk.
April 14 1944
HMCS Swansea & HMS Pelican sink German sub U-448 near Azores
A tale of 2 commanders
LEFT-Victor-RCN Clarence King,DSO,DSC on the bridge of HMCS Swansea
ACE Sub Hunter
7 U-boats sunk
RIGHT-Oblt. Helmut Dauter,Kriegsmarine,U-448
0 sunk
U-448 was sunk on Apr14 1944- 9 dead & 44 rescued
Part 2
General Purpose Frigate Program
1962-Adm Rayner,Chief,Naval Staff,proposed 8 modern frigates
1963-Liberal govt cancelled it & the RCN never got the upgrade
In this photo
RCN ships,HalifaxHarbour
Note 2 RCN St. Laurent-class destroyers(late1950s)
also note Prestonian-class frigates(1953-67)
Significant Dates in Naval History
APR 13 1962
Diefenbaker's government announces RCN to build 8 new
frigates & buy 3 subs
Named "General Purpose Frigate Program"
the RCN needed new ships for NATO role of ASW
BUT
in 1963
Lester Pearson's new Liberal Government stopped it all
PICS
Old& possible new
Canadian Significant Dates
April 12, 1713
The Treaty of Utrecht is signed as France abandons all claims to Acadia and Newfoundland,but maintains its sovereignty over îleSaint –Jean(PEI)& île Royale(Cape Breton Island)
MAPS
L-New France & America 1685 (pre1713)
R-Post 1713 Territory Changes
Canada's Battle of Vimy Ridge continues
April 9-12, 1917
Victoria Cross to PteJohn Pattison
On DAY2,Pattison,50th Bn at Vimy Ridge threw hand grenades at a German machine gun post
Killed many defenders
& overcame the rest
earned the Victoria Cross
LINK to BIO
thediscoverblog.com/2017/04/10/p...
Canadian Military History Dates
APR9 1869
Le Régiment de la Chaudiere under the Militia Act as Provisional Battalion of Dorchester
ALL Canadian regiments evolve.
Here,with many changes-names & language
via military rules "Queen's &King's regulations & orders"
LINK
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A9...
Significant Dates in Military History
April 9-10,1917
4 Canadian heroes whose acts of valour earned the Victoria Cross at VIMY
Sadly,they will NOT be mentioned by P.M.Carney today
Victoria Cross
L to R
Sgt E Sifton 18thBn
Capt.Thain MacDowell 38thBn
Pte Will Milne 16thBn
Pte John Pattison 50thBn
Significant Dates in Our Military History
April 9-12, 1917
Canada's Battle of Vimy Ridge
For the 1st time attacking together,all 4 Canadian divisions storm Vimy Ridge in a snowstorm
15,000 Canadians overrun a dug-in German 6th Army position
PIC
29th Infantry Battalion Advancing over “No Man’s Land”
Significant Dates in Our Military History
APR 7 1942
1st Canadian Army formed in UK under command of Lieut-Gen Andrew G.L. McNaughton
a brilliant WW1 artillery general
Resigned in DEC 1943 amid criticism by British generals
Minister of Defence 1944-5
LINK
thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/a...
Significant Dates
April 5-6 1942
S/L L.J. Birchall & crew,flying a PBY-5 flying boat-No.413 Sqn-spot a Japanese naval force (incl.5 aircraft carriers)heading for Ceylon(now Sri Lanka)
All forces defending Ceylon are mobilized in time & Japanese attack fleet is defeated
dubbed "Saviour of Ceylon"
Significant Dates in History
April 1665
1st military regt to New France
1000 of Le Regt de Carignan-Salières mobilize in France to deploy to New France protecting the colony VS English raids
PICS
L-Uniform &battle flag
R-La Rochelle harbor,departure point,France
thediscoverblog.com/2016/01/21/t...
Significant Dates in our Military History
3APRIL 1663
King LouisXIV orders the Governor of New France to organize his Canadian subjects into companies for military training
the official birth of Canada'sMilitia
PICS
1-Militia ambushing Americans
2-Militia winter outfits
3-Baron Longueuil,CDR 1733
Significant Dates
2APR 1915
The Canadian Army Dental Corps is organized within the Canadian Army
Only 30 officers & 74 other ranks to start
3.2 M dental treatments by 1918
LINK
150.oda.ca/the-first-wo...
PICS
Basic dental exams,France 1918
Dental staff,Ottawa,June23,1915
Cap Badge,CADC,copper,WW1
# OTD
Apr 1-2,1902
With the Boer War almost over, the Battle at Harts River results in the largest # of Canadian casualties for any battle in the South African War
PICS
Canadian Mounted Rifles
Canadian cemetery KIA Harts River,1903
Range of SA battles(see map)
LINK
legionmagazine.com/canada-and-t...
Significant Dates
April 1 1885
Lieut Col Darby Bergin,MP selected by Minister of Militia to organize 1st military medical service in Canadian history in NW Rebellion
groundwork for Medical Corps
PICS
L-Anglican Nuns/Nurses at Moose Jaw hospital
R-1850-85 served as Militia Capt &Surgeon,Cornwall
Significant Dates
March 29 1945
HMCS TEME (frigate)is torpedoed by U-boat 315 in the English Channel
was left afloat but declared a total loss
PICS
HMCS Teme,in drydock prior to U315's attack
U-315-Type VIIC U-boat-in arctic water during 1 of 11 combat patrols
LINK
readyayeready.com/ships/shipvi...
Mar27 1918
Lieut Alan Arnett McLeod,18 of Winnipeg,
Canadian pilot,No.2Sqn,Royal Flying Corps,saved his observer & aircraft which was set on fire
evaded German squad of 8 planes
suffered burns
For his heroic action aloft he's awarded the Victoria Cross
Read the amazing story
cahf.ca/alan-arnett-...
NEWS TO CELEBRATE
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Date with Destiny
27 MAR 1917
Lt.Frederick Harvey,Lord Strathcona's Horse,(MedicineHat)at Guyencourt,France,ran ahead of his men,jumped barbed wire around enemy positions,shot machine gunners & captured the gun
For his actions,Lt Harvey earned a Victoria Cross
PIC
The Leap
VC Investiture by GeorgeV
An excellent article & analysis. It should shock us.
Significant Dates in Canadian History
March 26 1885
First bloodshed in the North West Rebellion
At Battle of Duck Lake
NWMP retreated with 10 dead,13 wounded
Metis-5 killed
Controversy
It was NOT a"Resistance"
one term introduced by neo-Marxist historical revisionists,
&radical politics in Canada
Significant Dates
25MARCH 1941
HMCS Otter burns & sinks in the approaches to Halifax
Otter suffered a catastrophic fire
Role of Otter-a yacht transformed into a coastal patrol vessel for WW2
Naval role in Halifax Harbour: to search for Nazi submarines & sea mines outside the harbour
19died,22saved
