Glidepath
THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF The Canadian Museum of Flight
A HISTORY OF FLIGHT IN THE CMF LIBRARY
Members of the Canadian Museum of Flight have a unique opportunity to visit their own specialized library that contains fascinating information hidden in plain view. Your library is the home to lost or forgotten stories and facts that deserve the excitement of re-discovery. Man’s history of flight did not literally take off nor is it a recent phenomenon. A quick thumb through some of the historical books will reveal the unglamorous history of flight and tales of the dreams and failures of inquisitive yet ingenious minds.
Unlike traditional libraries the collection of books at CMF are very unique and offer much more detailed information about aviation than regular libraries can afford space for. The following paragraphs have been written from facts taken from various archived books that when pieced together paint a rather slow initial development of flight and a resistance to embrace the concept even when flight was finally conquered. The following historical events that are mentioned in this article are a mere sampling of randomly chosen books and the adventure we can enjoy by joining the dots.
Traditionally, we accept the 1903 accounts of Orville and Wilbur Wright as man’s first recognized attempt at flight but truthfully this idea had been on man’s mind much longer. Leonardo DaVinci committed his ideas of flight to paper in the 1450’s however, searching through a couple more books later one finds another early aviation account from nearly 200 years earlier. A small article tucked away inside this book tells of a Jesuit monk, Francesco de Lana, who in 1670 developed sketches of an ‘aerial ship’ a basket-like container with 4 large copper globes or spheres. The thought was that when the heavy copper globes were exhausted of their air the ‘aerial ship’ would rise up to the clouds. Of course his design would never work nonetheless, our Jesuit monk realized immediately the strategic value of his invention if applied to warfare. It seems strangely ironic that this 17th century peace-nik would foresee the possibilities and military advantage of an air invasion and the launching of fireballs from the sky destroying cities and ships below.
Laying just a few books away another chronicle reports that our monk’s vision from 1670 had finally been endorsed nearly 300 years later pilots of 1914 began the ascent in to air weaponry in it’s most basic and primitive form in the dropping of steel darts, artillery shells and kerosene on the unsuspecting enemy.
Reading through some books written shortly after and in to the 20th century unusual statistics rear their ugly heads in aviation engineering that never get a mention today. Excellent statistical data of aviation’s first wobbly steps reveal information that would only appear to embarrass today but thankfully someone recorded these agonizing moments for us to ponder today.
Early aviation records reveal the unglamorous fact that many pilot deaths were attributed to them simply falling out of their bi-planes. Those primitive structures of wood, canvas and wire cables did not include seatbelts, which came shortly after. Records indicate that the discipline of aviation engineering was at least in its’ infancy with much of the science of aviation not yet understood.
The initial forms of aviation engineering and science were discovered and then applied often after tragic results of trial and error; wings tore off from pulling up sharply; side slipping in under-engineered bi-planes caused an astounding number of pilot casualties until it became fully understood; a lack of continuity in quality aeroplane components caused a great many early bi-planes to simply fall apart in mid-air. Flying Flea
Any aviation buff might easily assume that once man mastered the air then aviation development would be swift moving like the rapid pace of technology today but this wasn’t so. Early aviation was fraught with consistent and continual disaster. Many people think the First World War would have accelerated the development of the aeroplane but history reveals otherwise. Aviation accidents and deaths were in the hundreds and they were well publicized causing harm to its’ newly burgeoning reputation.
The war dealt the progress of aviation a blow, which stalled any meaningful progress for eleven years, and it was not until 1925 that consciousness returned, and people began to take up flying again, on aeroplanes, which had much the same performance as those planes in use in 1914.
Now that’s interesting stuff! In just a few brief trips through the library inventory a better understanding is gained in the birthing of flight and that success was paid in a much higher price than I think most of us could have imagined. This is the kind of adventure you discover by joining the dots of information available from the books in our Museum of Flight library. There is so much more available to the members of Museum of Flight for instance; technical manuals on specific plane models; flight periodicals, books of both fiction and non-fiction, videos, and much more too numerous to list however, these are all available and one of the privileges waiting for its membership to take advantage of.
Written by Mike Craig
ISSUE 90
SUMMER 2006
HANGAR #3 5333-216th STREET LANGLEY, BC V2Y 2N3
TEL: 604-532-0035
FAX: 604-532-0056
museum@direct.ca
www.canadianflight.org
- PAGE 1 History of Flight in the CMF Library
- PAGE 2 Board of Directors & Staff/ Dinner & Let’s Make a Deal
- PAGE 3 Volunteer of the Quarter/ 2006/07 Board of Directors
- PAGE 4 New Members/ Members Day
- PAGE 5 The Hampden that Barely Made It Home
- PAGE 6 The Hampden that Barely Made it Home (continued)
- PAGE 7 History of Fight in the CMF Library (continued)
- PAGE 8 Classifieds/Upcoming Events
THE NEWSLETTER
The CMF Newsletter is published quarterly by the Canadian Museum of Flight. Contributions in the form of articles, news items, letters and photos are welcome, as are comments and criticism. No payment can be made for any manuscripts that are submitted for publication in the CMF Newsletter. The Editor reserves the right to make changes in the manuscripts without altering the meaning.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact Sandy Sideroff at the Museum by calling 604-532-0035. Museum is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
CMF BOARD OF DIRECTORS & STAFF
- Matt Offer President
- Gord Wintrup Vice President/Treasurer
- John Campbell Secretary
- Carol Bellavance Director
- Terry Brunner Director
- Roy Hafeli Director
- Jerry Lloyd Director
- Bob Parkes Director
- Capt Bill Thompson Lifetime Director
- Sandy Sideroff Executive Director
- Teresa Rhodenizer Gift Shop Manager
- Chris Ryan Project Manager
- Rob Currington Volunteer Coordinator
UP COMING EVENTS
MEMBERS DAY
Saturday, July 15th, 2006
Doors Open: 6:00 Dinner: 7:00
LET’S MAKE A DEAL STARTS AT.: 8:00
Dinner is $20.00 Per Person
RSVP by 4:00 pm Thursday July 13, 2006
We require 48 hours notice of cancellation or you will be charged for the dinner
To Reserve your tickets, please call the Museum at 604-532-0035 or email museum@direct.ca
Dinner reservations are required for caterers count.
“LET’S MAKE A DEAL”
Have we got a deal for you!
Bring your Loonies and Toonies and join us for a fun filled evening.
Will you be the one to make the best deal?
The dealing will start at 8:00 pm on Saturday July 15th.
Call the museum to reserve your seat…see you there!
The Spring 06 Volunteer of the Quarter Jim Beswick
Jim joined the museum in July 2004 and became a regular volunteer in 2005. Over the course of the past year Jim has consistently shone as an outstanding volunteer. Many times when we were setting up events, Jim was there, then when the events were finished and all that was left was the clean up, Jim was there. Jim has spent many hours doing the type of jobs that are needed to be done but are no fun, for example, putting the plastic fence slats up around the courtyard.
All CMF staff look forward to when Jim is at the museum as he has a wonderful sense of humour and brightens our day. From the staff and fellow volunteers…… we are proud to congratulate Jim as the CMF
2006 Summer Volunteer of the Quarter
Congratulations to the 2006-2007 Board of Directors
From Left to Right:
Back Row: Terry Brunner Roy Hafeli Gord Wintrup-Treasurer Jerry Lloyd
Front Row: Matt Offer-President Carol Bellavance John Campbell-Secretary Bob Parkes
The Board of Directors meet every 3rd Wednesday of the month in the CMF lunchroom. Members are invited to attend any and all board meetings or request a copy of the minutes from the Executive Director.
WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MEMBERS
Ralph Rowe Clarke Neufield New Westminster, BC Langley, BC Paul Windsor Nicholas Mufford Delta, BC Milner, BC Surrey, BC Langley, BC Langley, BC Jason White Tyler Burns Dominic Fricker James Patton Langley, BC Langley, BC Michael Emmett Nicholas Tycholaz Roy & Helen MacEwen Hope, BC Surrey, BC Smith Falls, ON Matthew Billesberger Brian Solomon Langley, BC
MEMBERS DAY
Due to the ever increasing costs of operating the museum aircraft, the rising cost of fuel and the shortage of member’s aircraft, we will not be able to host the CMF Member’s Day as we have in the past.
We are pleased however to offer the following two options;
20 minute ride in the North American Harvard for $150.00
20 minute ride in the deHavilland Tiger Moth for $50.00
If you are interested in either of these two aircraft rides, please contact Sandy at 604-532-0035 or by email at museum@direct.ca to book your time. Rides will start at 9:00 a.m. and continue until 4:00 p.m. These flights will fill up fast, so book early to not miss out on this wonderful opportunity. All funds raised from these rides will go towards the aircraft operations. Plan to join us for dinner and an evening of fun starting at 7:00 pm, details on page 2
The deHavilland Vampire shown here in the picture is being worked on by museum member/ volunteer Don Butterley.
The Vampire was moved to the main courtyard from where it sat at the front of the hangar so that it could be covered and restoration work could start on the areas that have succumbed to the elements of being on display outside.
Work is also progressing on many other areas of the Museum. If you have not visited us in the past 6 months, we are sure you will notice the upgrades that the volunteers have done.
Would you like to donate to help with the restoration of the Vampire and get a tax deductible receipt but don’t have a lot of expendable cash? Included in this newsletter is a form that will allow you to make a small monthly donation and receive a Tax Receipt at the end of the year.
THE HAMPDEN THAT BARELY MADE IT HOME
On the evening of August 6, 1941, a crew of four RAF 144 Squadron fliers took off from their base at North Luffenham, about 70 miles north of London. On board Hampden bomber AE122 (“PL-W”) were:
- P/O Peter Stevens – Pilot
- P/O George Girardet – Navigator/Bombardier/2nd Pilot
- Sgt. Douglas Wark – Wireless Operator/Air Gunner
- Sgt. John Matthews – Air Gunner
Their target for the night was the railway workshops at Karlsruhe, located in south-western Germany, and the bomb load was a measly 2,000 lbs of high explosives (1 x 1,000 lb + 2 x 500 lbs), due to the extreme distance to be flown. Flying time would be over seven hours, covering a distance of approx 450 miles each way, and flak could be expected to be heavy en route, and especially so over the target. The full-up weight maximum range of the Hampden was 870 miles carrying 4,000 lbs of bombs, so Karlsruhe could be considered a target at the extreme edge of the Hampden’s range. A total of 38 Hampdens were detailed to attack that target on that night.
The first part of the operation was not completely uneventful. Stevens and his crew took off from RAF North Luffenham at 2234 hours, and at 8,000 feet encountered severe icing conditions in cumulo-nimbus clouds. Climbing above the clouds to 12,000 feet, they were able to avoid the icing, and continued on course to the target at that altitude.
Arriving in the general target area, the cloud cover was 9/10th, with tops at 10,000 feet. Gliding through the clouds to attempt to pinpoint their position, they broke out into the clear at 8,000 feet. By identifying the Rhine and various canals, the crew were successful in dropping their bombs “in the target area” from 7,000 feet on a heading of 310 degrees at 0200 hours. Flak over the target was indeed heavy. The Hampden was caught in searchlights, and was hit by one or two pieces of shell, but was able to continue on its homeward leg.
Flying back above the cloud for the journey home, the Hampden had just crossed the Moselle River near Namur, Belgium, when it was again caught in searchlight cones. The lights held on the bomber for a few seconds, and then were extinguished, indicating that they were working in concert with German night fighters.
Sure enough, one of the Air Gunners in the rear of the fuselage soon reported a fighter approaching at a range of about 400 yards on the starboard quarter. F/O Stevens immediately threw the Hampden into a steep corkscrewing manoeuvre to the same side, and the German Ju 88 opened fire. After the Hampden had pulled out of the dive, the Ju 88 pulled along side on its port beam, then crossed above it to begin another attack from the starboard quarter. As Stevens again used the evasive corkscrew, the Ju 88 approached from below and was able to latch onto its tail. Firing a cannon burst, the German pilot put approx 50 holes in PL-W, and injured all three non-flying crewmen. Physical damage from the brutal attack included: the radio receiver, the intercom, the T.R. 9, the I.F.F. (“Identification – Friend or Foe”), the hydraulic system, and the pressurized air bottle, used as a back-up system for the hydraulics. Also hit were the rudders and tailplane, as well as the starboard engine and fuel tanks.
At first, the Hampden’s rear guns were frozen and would not fire, but now, as the German approached to a range of 100 yards, they miraculously came to life. While in the midst of a steep dive, the injured WOP/ AG (rear upper gunner) reached up and grabbed his gun trigger, firing a short burst. Amazingly, that short burst hit home. The Ju 88 exploded into flames and was seen falling to earth in burning pieces.
After further evasive action to ensure that they had escaped the night fighters, Stevens levelled the aircraft and set a course for England. As the intercom was now out of service, Stevens was unable to witness the carnage, both human and mechanical. A burning ammunition tin was jettisoned, and a small fire in the rear of the fuselage was put out by the WOP/AG using the coffee from his Thermos. While the aircraft was badly damaged, the human toll was even worse.
Flying shrapnel had injured both rear gunners, and they took care of bandaging their own wounds. John Matthews had been hit in both the face and thigh, and his right earphone had been completely shot away. Douglas Wark had been the recipient of two bullet wounds to the thigh, and he told Matthews to bail out of the stricken aircraft. Matthews was unable to don his parachute, however, because the buckle had been shot off the harness. The Navigator, however, was much worse off. One of the rear gunners came forward through the tunnel under the pilot’s seat to check on him, and was shocked to find blood spattered all over the nose of the Hampden. P/O Girardet had been the unlucky recipient of a German 20 mm cannon shell through his thigh, and was bleeding profusely. The rear gunner immediately applied a tourniquet high up on Girardet’s leg, at least slowing the bleeding somewhat. It was clear, however, that the Navigator was in great pain and needed urgent medical attention, and some brief thought was given to dropping him from the aircraft and opening his parachute for him. For whatever reason, this idea was soon dropped.
Using dead reckoning to head for home, Stevens quickly realized that the most direct course would take the Hampden close to the Thames estuary, and without the benefit of I.F.F. or radio communications, his own countrymen would likely shoot first and ask questions later. Despite flying with a damaged starboard engine at reduced speed, Stevens made the difficult decision to turn northwards over the North Sea, and stay well clear of the Thames before heading westwards to cross the English coast. Adding perhaps 15-30 minutes to the journey, Stevens reckoned that the additional time might just save their lives. He finally headed north for a full hour before turning inland.
The WOP/AG managed to repair the radio transmitter, and began transmitting the S.O.S. Rather than heading for home base at North Luffenham, Stevens decided to land at the nearest airfield he could find. Approaching RAF Coningsby, Sgt. Wark was unable to raise anyone on the radio to warn the base of PL-W’s impending arrival. At this point, P/O Stevens learned for certain the rest of the damage: no flaps and no undercarriage.
And so, Hampden PL-W was used by Stevens to practice his first successful belly landing by the early light of dawn. As the badly damaged aircraft came to a quiet rest back home on English soil, Stevens took stock of his injured crew, and waited for the ambulances to begin arriving. Because Coningsby was not their home base, however, and was not expecting any arrivals at 0550 hours that morning, virtually the entire base was asleep and unaware of the stricken aircraft. After 5 minutes, a seriously angry Stevens decided that he needed to take action, and ran off to find medical personnel to came and attend to his crew. He finally located some ground crew with a truck, which he commandeered to act as a makeshift ambulance and pick up his crew from the wreckage.
The two wounded Air Gunners were each hospitalized for a period in excess of one month, but were eventually discharged back to active service and survived the War. Upon recommendation by P/O Stevens, Sgt Wark was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal for his decisive action in shooting down the Ju 88 and extinguishing the fire. P/O Girardet nearly died from blood loss, but spent approx 6 months recovering in hospital and also survived the War. P/O Stevens was given two weeks’ leave, and joined a new crew to resume combat operations. His new Hampden was damaged seriously by flak over Berlin just a month later, on Sept. 7/8, and he again successfully crash-landed, this time just outside of Amsterdam. After destroying and then setting fire to the secret bits, he and his Navigator were captured by the Germans the following day. While a POW for 3 years and 8 months, Stevens escaped and was recaptured twice, and attempted escape on another 5 occasions. He was awarded the Military Cross for his escape activities, and is mentioned in at least 8 books covering POW escapes.
The Hampden suffers from a questionable reputation for its flying characteristics and unusual appearance. While it was known to have one serious issue (adverse yaw, potentially resulting in a flat spin), most pilots enjoyed flying the plane. It wasn’t the Spitfire for which most pilots yearned, but for a 1930’s-era bomber it was surprisingly fast and extremely manoeuvrable. Many pilots considered it a sports car in the air. While the odds of completing a tour of uty on the Hampden were extremely low (by some measures less than 20%), it certainly saved the lives of many Allied airmen.
The Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley, BC is the proud home of the only displayed Handley Page Hampden.
Submitted by CMF member Marc Stevens
Volunteers take the refurbished Flying Flea to participate in the Fort Langley May Day Parade Thank you to all the volunteers who worked many hours to get the aircraft ready for this event. If you would like to see it, come to the Langley Parade on Saturday June 17th, 2006
UPCOMING EVENTS .
- June 24 Hope Flight Fest Information Display-
- June 30 – July 1 Canada Day Selling Display
- July 15 Members Day and Dinner *.
- July 22 Abbotsford Wings and Wheels
- July 30 Chilliwack Flight Fest – Selling Display .
- August 11-13 Abbotsford Air Show
- August 20 Pitt Meadows Airport Appreciation Day
THE CANADIAN MUSEUM OF FLIGHT
You can support the preservation of British Columbia’s aviation heritage for as little as $10.00 per month
How?
Sign up for our monthly donation plan CMF is a registered non profit charity. All donors will receive a Tax Deductible receipt for Income Tax purposes at the end of the fiscal year. ASK ANY STAFF MEMBER FOR DETAILS