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Publications

THE CANADIAN AIR FORCE AT HIGH RIVER

When the Canadian Air Force was formed in 1923, the High River Air Station was the busiest in the country. Throughout the 1920's, High River was at the forefront of aviation in Canada. The air force returned to High River in earnest during World War II as the Calgary Aero Club and the RCAF combined to operate a very successful Elementary Flying Training School that graduated thousands of young pilots for service overseas. See also: No. 5 Elementary Flying Training School

JOHNNY

Air Commodore John Fauquier DSO and 2 Bars DFC was Canada's most decorated airman and its leading bomber pilot during World War II, flying at least 93 combat operations. 'Johnny' did it all during his flying career as a bush pilot, flying instructor, bomber pilot, squadron commander, pathfinder, master bomber, base commander, and finally leading the legendary 'Dambusters' squadron as they dropped 22,400 pound Grand Slam bombs on Nazi targets. See also: Johnny Fauquier -DSO and two Bars DFC

HELL BURNED THROUGH

Hell Burned Through is primarily the story of WWII Lancaster rear gunner, David Kenneth Mould, but also of all the "air gunners" of Bomber Command. Mould didn't write a diary of his war service, but instead illustrated his training and combat operations with dramatic, full-colour paintings and pencil drawings. With Hell Burned Through, war historian and author, Susan Raby-Dunne has assembled a unique and vivid record of that singularly challenging bomber crew position - air gunner. See also: The David Mould Collection

NOSE ART - The Clarence Simonsen Collection

The artwork that adorned the noses of Bombers and other aircraft during World War II made the bold statement that these aircraft were not all the same. Their crews, through the selection of the names and the images, became forever connected to the aircraft -their lives intertwined with that of their machine. This second edition of the book incorporates colour photos of the fifty-seven nose art paintings on display at the Bomber Command Museum of Canada. See also: The Clarence Simonson Nose Art Collection

WINGS OVER HIGH RIVER - Conversations with A. Gordon Jones

Veteran pilot Gordon Jones of High River first flew a Tiger Moth aircraft when he learned to fly as an 18 year old in 1941 at an RCAF base at High River. As his biography is released, this remarkable pilot owns and continues to fly tiger moth #1214, one of the aircraft in which he taught students at #5 elementary Flying Training School (High River) during World War II. For more than twenty years, Gordon has performed fly-pasts over special events at the Bomber Command Museum of Canada. His flying career is unique in the history of Canadian aviation -but there is much more than flying to Gordon's story . . . In Gordon's biography, author Anne Gafiuk has done a remarkable job of creating a very thorough record of Gordon's career, presenting his story in a most readable and interesting way utilizing numerous photos, documents, and other images. A summary of Gordon's career may be found at: Gordon Jones - Living Aviation History See also: RCAF High River

BIG JOE McCARTHY - The RCAF's American Dambuster

After training in Canada, Joe McCarthy completed a tour of operations with 97 Squadron before being personally selected by W/C Guy Gibson to fly on the Dambusters Raid. Joe continued with 617 for another 13 and a half months, participating in an additional 33 challenging and varying operations with this "special duty" squadron. Following the war, Joe spent time with the RAF's "Foreign Aircraft Flight" flying Nazi aircraft to the U.K. and evaluating them before completing his RCAF career in Canada. The author has made extensive use of video and audio interviews recorded following Joe's retirement. A summary of Joe's career may be found at: Joe McCarthy - The RCAF's American Dambuster

PEOPLE AND PLANES - Stories from the Bomber Command Museum of Canada

These thirty-nine "Stories from the Bomber Command Museum" are those of a wide variety of people who all have a direct connection to the museum. Through these stories, the history presented at our museum is told -the wartime history of Bomber Command and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, the history of our Lancaster Bomber, and the history of the Bomber Command Museum itself.

BAZ - The biography of S/L Ian Bazalgette VC

Based on extensive interviews with Ian Bazalgette's friends, relatives, and crewmembers, this is the complete story of a Canadian hero. This third edition incorporates over one hundred letters and other photos and documents that were only recently located by the family. "Baz" also chronicles the strong bonds that have developed between S/L Bazalgette, the Village of Senantes in France, and the Bomber Command Museum. See also: S/L Ian Bazalgette VC DFC

FM-I59 - THE LUCKY LANCASTER

This book tells the complete story of Avro Lancaster Mk. X FM159 One of 7377 Avro Lancasters built to wage war against the Nazis, the Bomber Command Museum of Canada's aircraft is one of only four taxiable Lancasters in the world. It has flown widely over the Pacific, across the Atlantic, and to the northern-most point in Canada; has been only weeks away from being scrapped; was towed by a truck across grain-fields and through a river; suffered the ravages of thieves and vandals; and stood outdoors, only metres away from a major highway, for 31 years. Today, as the Ian Bazalgette Memorial Lancaster, FM159 honours a Canadian Victoria Cross Recipient and is the centre-piece of the Bomber Command Museum of Canada.

BOMBER COMMAND MUSEUM of CANADA

A fully illustrated summary of the history presented at the Bomber Command Museum of Canada, the museum's collection, and the story behind the development of this unique memorial to Bomber Command. FREE LOW-RES DOWNLOAD

LEADING THE STEARMANS

After serving with the Royal Air Force in Egypt and India, Ron Watts barnstormed in Britain before rejoining the RAF to become part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada. Much of Ron's remarkable aviation career was intertwined with a particular group of Boeing Stearman Bi-planes that he was in charge of at Pearce and De Winton in southern Alberta, at Lahore in India, and finally led over the southern Himalayas to China. The book includes Ron's remarkable story, in his own words, that he titled, "No Cowards Fly the Hump in Stearmans." During this adventure, he led eighty-four Stearmans across the Burma Hump. From our museum's point of view, the details of his time spent in southern Alberta as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan draws attention to that effort and the important Royal Air Force training stations that operated at Pearce and De Winton. See also: RAF De Winton   and   RAF Pearce

SHE MADE THEM FAMILY

Mrs. Alice Spackman of Okotoks created a 'war years' scrapbook during the Second World War. She kept photos, articles, and anecdotes about many of the people who served during WW II from Okotoks and surrounding communities, as well as those who visited her from the wartime air-training base east of DeWinton. Additional research and interviews enhance his unique look at how war affected a small town in southern Alberta. See also: RAF De Winton

QUIETUS LAST FLIGHT

In 1948, sixteen men were selected for a study on accident proneness. All were fully trained RCAF pilots who died between February 1943 and February 1944. Generously illustrated, this book offers a unique insight into the Second World War on the Home Front in Canada, as well as a glimpse into post-war aviation medicine and present-day aviation accident investigation.