Wish I could be there (links added):
Aircraft tribute to the navy
Photo by photo courtesy Peter Handle [actually Attila Papp, hotrampphotography.com]Two vintage warbirds from Vintage Wings of Canada will soar into Victoria and be on static display for aviation enthusiasts, veterans, and current serving military members on Aug. 7 and 11.
“Hawk One,” a Royal Canadian Air Force F-86 Sabre 5 [more here] in the colours of the legendary Golden Hawks aerobatic team will be the first plane to arrive, followed by the “Gray Ghost,” which is a Goodyear FG-ID Corsair fighter [more here and here]. The Gray Ghost Centennial Tour is a tribute to Canada’s naval aviators during the ongoing celebration of the Canadian Navy Centennial.
“The appearance of both of these aircraft is a rare and significant event,” said Dan Dempsey, Hawk One team historian and event organizer. “Having these planes on display here provides a unique opportunity for Victorians to learn about Canada’s aviation heritage since many of the airmen who flew these and other similar aircraft in the RCAF and RCN are now retired in Victoria. This includes pilots who flew on each of the RCN’s aircraft carriers – HMC Ships Warrior, Magnificent and Bonaventure.” Both aircraft are the sole remaining flying examples of their type in Canada today.
After Vintage Wings purchased and restored the Sabre to celebrate the 100th anniversary of powered flight in Canada last year, they searched the world for a Goodyear FG-1D Corsair that they could adorn in the markings of the aircraft flown by Lt Robert Hampton Gray of the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve. Gray lost his life during the war in the Pacific while serving aboard the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Formidable and was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously, the last Canadian to be honoured with that medal. On Aug. 9, 1945 with his engine on fire, the 27-year-old native of Trail, B.C., dropped his one remaining bomb on a Japanese escort ship before his plane plunged into the ocean just a few days before the war ended.
“He is the only foreign serviceman to have a memorial in Japan,” said Dempsey. “We’d really like people to come and have a look at this plane. This may be the only time in history the Gray Ghost is on display in Victoria.”
An arrival date for Hawk One is still pending but it will be plainly evident when it flies over the city sporting a glimmer of gold and red in the sky before it touches down on the tarmac at Victoria International Airport. It will be flown in by Vintage Wings general manager Rob Fleck. The jet will go on display at the airport’s B.C. Aviation Museum (1910 Norseman Road in Sidney) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on August 7…
More from a Maritime Forces Pacific e-mail:
…A classic vintage naval warbird will make a special appearance in Victoria 10 – 11 August to help commemorate the Navy’s 100th anniversary and pay tribute to Canada’s naval aviators.
The Goodyear FG-1D Corsair, owned and operated by Vintage Wings of Canada (Gatineau, Quebec), will fly overhead CFB Esquimalt and the Pacific Fleet at 4 p.m. on 10 August followed by a flyover of downtown Victoria at 4:10 p.m. prior to landing at Victoria International Airport.
The general public is invited to see Gray Ghost One on static display on 11 August from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Victoria Flying Club…
Date: 11 August
Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Event/Location: Gray Ghost Static Display – Victoria Flying Club, 101 – 1852 Canso Rd, Sidney, BC…The Vintage Wings Corsair is owned and operated by Vintage Wings of Canada and is fully restored to airworthy condition. In its day during the Second World War, the Corsair was widely considered the most capable of all carrier-based fighters. Its distinctive “bent” wings were designed to keep the landing gear short and robust for carrier landings and give clearance for the enormous 13′ 4″ diameter propeller required to pull the aircraft to over 600 KPH. Its performance was considered equal to many other fighters, such as the North American P-51 Mustang, but its short range kept it either carrier-based or land-based in the South Pacific war. Trained in the US, Corsair pilots flying with the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy (RNFAA), including Canadian Lt. Robert Hampton Gray, were deployed on carriers such as HMS Formidable and Victorious and carried out daring fighter escort and attack operations in the North Atlantic.
For more information on the Hampton Gray Corsair visit www.vintagewings.ca/grayghosts…
Gray Ghost One:
Peter Handley / Vintage Wings of Canada
More on Hawk One and a nice photo:
Peter Handley / Vintage Wings of Canada
This photo I particularly like (more photos at link):
The Sabre was the RCAF’s last fighter armed with guns alone. 1184 Sabres flew with various units from 1950 until 1970, in Canada and Europe. This Sabre is having its guns harmonized at RCAF Station Uplands [Ottawa, at today's airport] in 1953…
And note this from last year:
…
At the height of the Cold War, Canada had more jet fighters stationed at five European wings than it currently operates at home. Our F-86 Sabres, CF-100 Canucks, CF-104 Starfighters and CF-101 Voodoos contained Soviet communism and kept the peace for 40 years…
Robust wording, I’d say.
Mark
Ottawa
Thanks for linking to the Grayghosts blog… but please credit the images appropriately. The first image you have of the Sabre and Corsair does not belong to Peter Handley – I’m not sure where you acquired it. The images of the Corsair and Sabre by themselves should be credited to: Peter Handley / Vintage Wings of Canada.
Thanks!
The credit for the first photo comes from the story at the link:
http://www.lookoutnewspaper.com/top-stories.php?id=307
Credit added at other two photos.
Thanks,
Mark
Ottawa
Not one to let a nit go past unpicked…(a character flaw of mine, I’m afraid)
The RCAF’s Air Division in Europe never had more than 4 Wings, and that only for just over a decade. It is correct that there were more fighters stationed in Europe than we now have, and indeed when the F-35′s replace the 18′s (should that happen), they will not even equal the aircraft that were to be found on a single wing in Europe. Lo, how the mighty have fallen.
To keep the nit that Mr. Thomson left unpicked from going any further, yes – he is correct-ish. At any one time there were only four wings in the RCAF’s No. 1 Air Division in Europe; No.1(Fighter)Wing, No.2(Fighter)Wing, No.3(Fighter)Wing and No.4(Fighter)Wing.
However, he did not mention that No.1(F)Wing was first formed at RAF Station North Luffenham, England in 1951 and that only four years later, in 1955, did the Wing move to its second location of Marville, France. Perhaps this is why the Air Force’s official history page which he critiques notes “…more jet fighters stationed at five European wings than it currently operates at home…”, for in fact there RCAF Fighter Wings served at five locations in Europe.
As well, I don’t think that any red-blooded Saber fighter pilot alive today would consider either the F-18 or the future F-35 to represent the fighter force’s fall.
Regards
Hi everyone,
Thanks for posting this article – really is an interesting read.
As far as credit for the formation flight photo, it goes to me. I believe that Vintage Wings sent over some photos to the publication, and most were credited to yourself, Peter, as you are the Vintage Wings photographer. The newspaper probably thought that the formation flight was yours as well.
It happens, and an email has been sent to the publication accordingly.
Cheers, and I hope everyone gets a chance to see the 2 birds in the air this weekend at the Abbotsford Air Show!
Mark – the original photo was credited accordingly on the website you reference.