RapidFireWeb RAF 2Lt Alan A. McLeod, VC (IWM Photo, Q 67601) 2Lt Alan A. McLeod, VC. On 27 Mar 1918 2Lt Alan A. McLeod from Stonewall, Manitoba, won the Victoria Cross for an action fought by him and his observer, Lt A.W. Hammond, while they were flying an Armstrong-Whitworth F.K.8. During an air battle at an … Read more
RCAF flying operations during the Dieppe Raid, 19 Aug 1942 On 19 August 1942, the RCAF found themselves committed to the Dieppe Raid. On that day, 60 RCAF fighter aircraft could be spotted above the shore of Dieppe, supporting Operation Jubilee. The RCAF suffered five casualties as a result of the Dieppe Raid. This operation … Read more
Air Chief Marshal Lloyd Samuel Breadner, CB, DSC (RCAF Photo) Air Marshall Lloyd Samuel Breadner Commanding Officer Royal Canadian Air Force 1940-43. (RCAF Photo) A/C Breadner became Chief of Air Staff on 29 May 1940, and having been promoted to Air Marshal on 19 Nov 1941, became Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RCAF Overseas in January 1944. Breadner … Read more
Air Commodore Leonard Joseph Birchall, CM, OBE, DFC, OOnt, CD (DND Archives Photo, PL-133463) Air Commodore Leonard Birchall, 30 May 1961. Air Commodore Leonard Joseph Birchall, CM, OBE, DFC, OOnt, CD (6July 1915 – 10 September 2004), “The Saviour of Ceylon”, was an RCAFofficer who warned of a Japanese attack on the island of Ceylon … Read more
Air Commodore R.H. Mulock, CBE, DSO and Bar (DND Photo, PMR71-405) Air Commodore R.H. Mulock, CBE, DSO & Bar. Redford Henry “Red” Mulock, CBE, DSO and Bar was born on 11 August 1886 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to parents William Redford Mulock, K.C., and Lillian Lucia Cummins, both descendants of Irish stock. After graduating from McGill … Read more
RCAF Crash Tender Boats (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3583312) RCAF Crash Tender Arrow, M.537, a 60 foot supply vessel (Type III). Based at Western Command, Vancouver, British Columbia, 20 June 1944. (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. RCAF Crash Tender Haida, M.206, 82=foot supply vessel Type II, CGXT. Based at Western Air Command, … Read more
Eastern Air Command Eastern Air Command was partof the RCAF Home War Establishment responsible for air operations on the Atlantic coast of Canada during the Second World War. It played a critical role in anti-submarine operations in Canadian and Newfoundland waters during the Battle of the Atlantic. Eastern Air Command also had several fighter squadrons … Read more
No. 242 (Canadian) Squadron RAF No. 242 (Canadian) Squadron RAF crest. 30 Oct 1939. Formation of No. 242 (Canadian) Squadron RAF, commanded by RCAF S/L Fowler M. Gobeil, to provide an early Canadian presence in the war. The Squadron took significant casualties and was reinforced with non-Canadian personnel. No. 242 Squadron was later commanded by … Read more
Flight-Lieutenant DavidErnest Hornell, VC (DND Photo) F/L David ErnestHornell, 1944. Flight-LieutenantDavid Ernest Hornell (26 Jan 1910 –24 Jun 1944), won the RCAF’s first Victoria Cross (posthumously)following an attack on a U-boat with his Consolidated PBY-5A Canso in 1944. F/L Hornell VC was born on Toronto Island, Mimico,Ontario. He enlisted in the RCAF in January1941, and received his … Read more
Piri Reis map (Library of Topkapi Palace Museum, No. H 1824) Map of the world by Ottoman admiral Piri Reis, drawn in 1513. Only part of the original map survives and is held at the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul. The map synthesizes information from many maps, including one drawn by Christopher Columbus of the … Read more
