{"id":27,"date":"2010-11-07T05:20:53","date_gmt":"2010-11-07T05:20:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.work.forfreedom.ca\/?page_id=27"},"modified":"2012-04-29T00:22:27","modified_gmt":"2012-04-29T06:22:27","slug":"history-rockcliffe","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.forfreedom.ca\/?page_id=27","title":{"rendered":"Rockcliffe"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Rockcliffe Era\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a01949 \u2013 1964 <\/strong><\/p>\n

10 Jan 49<\/strong><\/p>\n

408 Squadron is re-formed at RCAF Station Rockcliffe.\u00a0Its mission: To continue the aerial survey of Canada, previously being carried out by 413 and 414 (RCAF) Squadrons.\u00a0Between 1945 and 1949 these units combined to photograph nearly two million square miles of Canada, and were responsible for the initial evaluation and testing of SHORAN \u2013 a short-range navigation system used to establish the exact latitude and longitude of reference points on the ground which, in turn, were employed to fix precisely the locations of the photographed landscape.
\nThe CO of the newly formed squadron: W\/C C.L. \u201cChuck\u201d OLSON, formerly the commander of 413 Squadron and a key figure in the aerial survey programme.\u00a0To carry out its new tasks, 408 was equipped with eight Canadian built (and modified) Lancaster 10 aircraft.\u00a0Jun 49\u00a0By mid-month 200 squadron members and 4 Lancs deployed to four northern detachments:<\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0The Pas, MB –\u00a0served as field headquarters, commanded by S\/L J.W.P BARIL\u00a0–\u00a0responsible for the logistic support of the three satellite detachments<\/p>\n

\u00b7Yellowknife, NWT – \u00a0commanded by F\/L E.C. EMOND;<\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0Coral Harbour, NWT\u00a0– \u00a0commanded by F\/L R.G. CAMPBELL;<\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0Winnipeg, MB – \u00a0commanded by\u00a0 F\/L K.W. MACDONALD.\u00a0(There were 21 officers, 45 ORs and 22 civilians in this group, which was to conduct the first Shoran operations.)<\/p>\n

15 Oct 49<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first season of operations was over and acknowledged as a resounding success.\u00a0The first Shoran quadrilateral had been completed and enough evaluation photo runs had been flown and analyzed for the geodetic survey authorities to declare the Shoran technique a success.
\nFor this, much of the credit belonged to the maintenance crews.\u00a0Working under the most primitive conditions, they had dealt speedily with snags ranging from scraped wingtips to complete engine changes.\u00a0Their constant efforts and ingenuity had ensured a safe and productive season.<\/p>\n

Feb 50<\/strong><\/p>\n

3 Lancs, their crews and maintenance personnel are dispatched to Whitehorse to participate in combined operation \u201cExercise Sweetbriar\u201d.\u00a0The squadron\u2019s role, successfully accomplished, was to photograph enemy positions and conduct simulated bombing runs on them.\u00a0Temperatures in the \u201330\u00b0F range prove to be a maintenance nightmare, but the exercise provides the squadron with valuable experience for future arctic operations.<\/p>\n

14 May 50<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Winnipeg, Lac 214 crashes and burns on take-off when the undercarriage is retracted before the aircraft is fully airborne.\u00a0There are no serious injuries.<\/p>\n

16 Jun 50 <\/strong>
\nThe beginning of another photo-survey season.<\/p>\n

7 Aug 50<\/strong>
\nA second Lanc is lost on take-off from Resolute Bay.\u00a0Again, no serious injuries to the crew.<\/p>\n

20 Nov 50<\/strong>
\nW\/C Olsson, seriously injured in an automobile accident in Yellowknife, is replaced as CO by W\/C D.J.G. JACKSON.<\/p>\n

25 Nov 50<\/strong>
\n413 Squadron is disbanded.\u00a0All of its Canso and Norseman aircraft are transferred to 408 and, along with the Dakota, which appears sometime later, it become a completely independent force, able to look after all of its own requirements.\u00a0As a result, 408 is now the largest squadron in the RCAF.<\/p>\n

1951<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the \u201951 season two detachments are fielded for Shoran and photo duties (Coral Harbour and Yellowknife).\u00a0In spite of long periods of unfavorable weather during that summer, the squadron still manages to cover more than 10,000 square miles.<\/p>\n

23\u00a0Sep 51<\/strong><\/p>\n

W\/C H.M. SMITH succeeds W\/C Jackson as CO.<\/p>\n

October 51<\/strong><\/p>\n

With testing of nuclear weapons by the USSR being carried out beyond Canada\u2019s borders, 408 aircraft are given a novel assignment \u2013 sampling the atmosphere for radioactivity over northern Canada, east of the Rockies.\u00a0Ice reconnaissance flights in the north also become an increasing important assignment for the squadron.<\/p>\n

From Detachments at Churchill and Yellowknife, the squadron photographs more than 200,000 square miles of northern Canada.\u00a0As well, with the appearance of Soviet Ice Stations in the northern regions, 408 recce flights develop into regular Arctic patrols.<\/p>\n

2 Feb 52<\/strong><\/p>\n

The squadron suffers its first peacetime casualty.\u00a0Cpl G. HEALY is killed when a 408 Lanc crashes on take-off at Goose Bay, Labrador.\u00a0Four other crewmen are seriously injured.<\/p>\n

An unusually successful year for the Shoran operation, with an impressive 1004 lines being flown over northern Quebec, northern Ontario and the southern half of Baffin Island.<\/p>\n

3 April 54<\/strong><\/p>\n

W\/C Jack SHOWLER assumes command of the squadron, becoming the 13th CO in the 13 years since its formation in 1941.<\/p>\n

With the construction of the Mid-Canada (Pinetree) Line of radar sites, the squadron\u2019s main priority becomes the photography of a strip, 40 miles wide, almost from one coast of Canada to the other.<\/p>\n

20 Sep 55<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Lanc crew headed by F\/O \u201cPablo\u201d Mackenzie, was among the first to identify and photograph a Soviet ice island installation, floating about 24 miles from the north geographic pole.\u00a0Others in the crew included navigator F\/O Moe GATES and Sgt. Dick TALBOT, who took the first-ever series of photographs of Soviet activity inn the Arctic.<\/p>\n

The photo survey work on the Mid-Canada Line is completed.<\/p>\n

While the rest of the squadron is busy with the Shoran work in the high latitudes, a detachment of three Lancs is established at Resolute Bay.\u00a0Commanded by S\/L Ken BROWN, a former member of the wartime \u201cDambusters\u201d, this group carries out ice reconnaissance patrols, assessing the movement of ice packs and providing information to vessels engaged in re-supplying the early warning radar sites.<\/p>\n

28 May 57<\/strong><\/p>\n

The last line of the Shoran programme is flown.\u00a0W\/C Showler turns over \u2018command\u2019 of the final site (Ice Cap in Greenland) to a local Inuit resident.\u00a0The largest survey project undertaken anywhere in the world is now complete.<\/p>\n

With the end of the Shoran programme, the primary role of the squadron becomes reconnaissance of the Arctic, with the dual purpose of reporting on ice conditions for the benefit of re-supply ships and the monitoring of Soviet activity in that region.\u00a0For this task 5 photo and 3 Arctic recce version of the Lanc remain, while the Dakotas, Otters and Cansos are struck off strength, along with the attached personnel.<\/p>\n

July 1957<\/strong><\/p>\n

W\/C Showler relinquishes command to W\/C J.F. MITCHELL.<\/p>\n

Aug 1958<\/strong><\/p>\n

On 20 Aug 1958, W\/C F.W.H. MACDONELL replaces W\/C Mitchell as CO.<\/p>\n

May 1959<\/strong><\/p>\n

The squadron is one of the last units anywhere still flying the Lancaster aircraft.\u00a0Lanc 122, with F\/L R.A. BELL as captain, is sent to Britain to participate in the presentation of Colours to No. 617 (RAF) \u201cDambusters\u201d Sqn by HRH The Queen Mother.<\/p>\n

1960\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The squadron\u2019s role is amplified to include routine surveillance of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Polar Basin for the possible encroachment of Canadian territory by unauthorized forces, i.e. the Soviets.<\/p>\n

Several squadron aircrew members, trained in the Russian language, provide escort service on Russian aircraft making diplomatic flight through Canadian airspace.\u00a0This provides an opportunity to examine first-hand the Soviet aircraft (IL-18) and crew procedures and to compare them to our own.\u00a0Included in these escort flights was the July 1961 visit to Cuba of astronaut Major Yuri GAGARIN.<\/p>\n

3 Oct 61<\/strong><\/p>\n

W\/C S.F. COWAN succeeds W\/C McDonnell as CO.\u00a0\u201cStew\u201d Cowan was one of the relatively few aircrew who managed to evade capture after being shot down over enemy territory and make his way back safely to friendly hands.\u00a0His personal story is told in the book, \u201cForty Nights To Freedom\u201d, written by his sister, Gladys Smith.<\/p>\n

Apr 19\u00a062<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Squadron takes part in \u201cOperation Tirec II\u201d \u2013 an exercise in support of a photo satellite, involving the simultaneous photography of a specified area by four aircraft types, flying at different heights.\u00a0The purpose: To solve the problem of distinguishing, in photographs, between cloud, ice and snow.<\/p>\n

A T-33 Flight is established on the squadron.\u00a0Equipped with a photo-recce nose, these aircraft operate in support of army exercises at Gagetown, Wainwright and Suffield.<\/p>\n

1963<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the period 29 April through 07 May, F\/L Dave Ives (A\/C); F\/L Des Desaulniers (FO); F\/O Ed Palmer (Nav); F\/O Ken Luengo (2nd Nav \/ Nose Camera Op); F\/Os Murphy and Giroux (RO and Raven); Sgts Neilson and Clark (FEs); Cpl Inglis (Camera Op); and Mr Derek Aston (MOT Ice Observer) embarked in Lanc ‘882’ on what was to be the last of the Squadron’s Apex Rocket, Arctic Sovereignty missions (AR 103\/63); although that was not known at the time.\u00a0On day seven of the mission, the original tasking was changed to a search, locate and recce mission in regard to the Soviet Ice Island ‘North Pole 11’, which was known to have been abandoned and was slowly breaking up, as it drifted into Canadian waters.<\/p>\n

During the first recce flight (01 May) the #1 engine gobbled a valve and the aircraft returned to the USAF base at Thule, Greenland where the engine had to be changed.\u00a0A successful airtest was conducted on the 04 May and that night the AIRCRAFT received the rerouting message.\u00a0On the 5th a positioning flight was conducted to Resolute Bay, where refuelling, and updated crew briefing and amended flight duties were assigned and a short crew rest were in order.\u00a0Later in the day (24 hours of daylight) a 7:45 hour mission was conducted that located NP11 on the first attempt, thanks to the excellent navigation, with minimal aids, of Ken Luengo and the keen eyesight of the First Officer.\u00a0The weather was generally overcast over the ice pack and significant airframe icing and light freezing drizzle were encountered on descent through the low stratus, such that the nose turret , nav bubble and forward firing camera ports were unusable and camera operations had to be manually called by the Pilot.\u00a0Initially there was also some difficulty in keeping the site in view during positioning turns, given some reduced visibility.\u00a0The tasking message provided authority for a landing on the ice runway, if in the AC\u2019s opinion that was possible.\u00a0However, as the runway had split apart in the center that option was not possible.\u00a0Thorough camera and visual coverage were obtained nonetheless and what turned out to be the final sovereignty flight of 408 Squadron was an unqualified success and that information was passed to Rockcliffe via HF, through the use of the code word ‘Gosling’.\u00a0There was some discussion at a later time that suggested the Soviets had complained to Ottawa in regard to the purpose of the mission, but that was disregarded as NP11 was in Canadian waters.\u00a0In due course the crew received a ‘thank you and well done’ letter from Air Commodore Lane, at that time the AOC of Air Transport Command.<\/p>\n

18 June 1963<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a symbolic sortie, Lanc 839 flown by F\/L J.M. \u2018Des\u201d Desaulniers is dispatched to the North Geographic Pole.\u00a0There, a canister containing newspapers, magazines and a crew list are dropped in order to establish a Canadian \u2018presence\u2019 for future travelers.\u00a0Other on board are: F\/L WILSON, NYZNIK, SHUBALY; F\/Os LUENGO, and GIROUX; F\/Sgt JONES, Sgt SWEETEN and DOT ice specialist Larry THIELE.<\/p>\n

JULY 1963<\/strong><\/p>\n

W\/C R.G. ORPEN succeeds W\/C Cowan, thus becoming the squadron\u2019s last commanding officer at RCAF Station, Rockcliffe.<\/p>\n

11 Mar 64<\/strong><\/p>\n

F\/Ls Dave Ives and \u201cWillie\u201d Wilson and Sgt Jones, in Lancaster 839, conducted the last operational mission of the Squadron’s Lancaster era, albeit an air test.\u00a0On completion, low level passes were made down both of the hangar and flight lines, although no photos were taken of the event.\u00a0While this final flight was being conducted, others of the squadron were converting back to the DC3 aircraft and they, together with their three Dakotas and the T-33 flight, departed to RCAF Station Rivers, MB on Thursday 1 April 1964.\u00a0And so ended the Rockcliffe era and a vital and significant chapter in the Squadron’s peacetime history.<\/p>\n

1 Apr 64<\/strong><\/p>\n

The unit is moved to Rivers, Manitoba, and is re-designated as \u201c408 Transport Support and Area Reconnaissance Squadron.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Rockcliffe Era\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a01949 \u2013 1964 10 Jan 49 408 Squadron is re-formed at RCAF Station Rockcliffe.\u00a0Its mission: To continue the aerial survey of Canada, previously being carried out by 413 and 414 (RCAF) Squadrons.\u00a0Between 1945 and 1949 these units combined to photograph nearly two million square miles of Canada, and were responsible for the initial evaluation and testing of SHORAN \u2013 a short-range navigation system used to establish the exact latitude and longitude of reference points on the ground which, in turn, were employed to fix precisely the locations…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":24,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-27","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forfreedom.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forfreedom.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forfreedom.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forfreedom.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forfreedom.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.forfreedom.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":390,"href":"https:\/\/www.forfreedom.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27\/revisions\/390"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forfreedom.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forfreedom.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}