On this day in Canadian Aviation History
01 June
1927
Western Canada Airways inaugurated weekly air service from Winnipeg to Long Lake, Manitoba via Lac du Bonnet.
1944
North West Air Command was formed at Edmonton under the command of A/V/M
T.A. Lawrence.
1953
No. 423 Squadron was reformed at St. Hubert, Quebec and equipped with Avro Canada CF-100 fighters.
02 June
1917
Captain William Avery Bishop, 60 Squadron, flying a Nieuport 17, made a single-handed attack on a German aerodrome and shot down three enemy aircraft. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for this action.
1942
Nos. 8, 111 and 118 Squadrons moved to Alaska to join No. 115 Squadron already there, to work with the US Forces against the Japanese threat.
03 June
1941
RCAF 405 Squadron Wellington bombers made the first raid on Germany.
1944
F/L RE McBride and crew in a Consolidated Canso of No. 162 Squadron sank the German submarine U-477 north of the Shetland Isles.
04 June
1942
No. 417 (Fighter) Squadron arrived in Egypt to serve with the Desert Air Force.
05 June
1950
RCAF Colours were presented to the Force by the Governor-General, Field Marshal Earl Alexander of Tunis, at Ottawa, Ontario.
06 June
1931
Barker Field was opened at Toronto by Mrs. W.G. Barker and L/Col W.A. Bishop.
1944
Thirty-seven RCAF bomber, fighter and coastal squadrons took part in operations for the invasion of Normandy.
1964
The historic aircraft collections of the Canadian War Museum, National Aviation Museum, and the Royal Canadian Air Force were displayed together for the first time at the Rockcliffe RCAF Station. The three collections together were designated the National Aeronautical Collection.
07 June
1942
No. 119 (BR) Squadron and No. 128 (F) Squadron were formed at Sydney, N.S.
1944
Nos. 401, 411 and 412 (Fighter) Squadrons of No. 126 (RCAF) Wing destroyed 12 enemy aircraft and probably destroyed or damaged five more over the Normandy beaches.
08 June
1978
Wardair became the first operator of the de Haviland Dash 7. The aircraft C-GXVF was named Don Braun after a famous Canadian bush pilot.
1940
No. 1 (F) Squadron, augmented by personnel of No. 112 (F) "City of Montreal" Squadron, sailed from Halifax, NS for Liverpool, England.
1944
F/O K.O. Moore and crew of a Consolidated Liberator of No. 224 Squadron (RAF) sank two German submarines (U-629 and U-373) in 22 minutes off the French island of Ushant (Ouessant).
1991
The "Herc" LAPES exercise was held at Mountain View.
09 June
10 June
1944
RCAF fighter wings 144, 127 and 143 moved to France.
1999
Canadian CF-188 Hornets began Operation Joint Guardian during the Kosovo Air War.
11 June
1940
No. 1 Fighter Squadron shipped Overseas with its Hurricanes in time to take part in the Battle of Britain.
1944
F/O L. Sherman and crew in Consolidated Canso of No. 162 Squadron sank the German submarine U-980 north of the Shetland Isles.
12 June
1941
First RCAF bomber attack was carried out by No. 405 (Bomber) Squadron against Schwerte, Southeast of Dortmund Germany.
1944
While attacking Cambrai, France, an Avro Lancaster of No. 419 Squadron was shot down in flames. P/O A.C. Mynarski, the mid upper gunner, made repeated attempts to free the tail gunner trapped in his turret. With clothing and parachute on fire, Mynarski finally gave up and jumped; he succumbed to his burns. Miraculously, the tail gunner survived the crash. Mynarski was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
13 June
1914
W.M. Stark flew his float-equipped Curtiss pusher biplane from Burrard Inlet to English Bay, Vancouver, BC.
1944
W/C CGW Chapman and crew in a Consolidated Canso of No. 162 Squadron sank the German submarine U-715 north of the Shetland Isles.
14 June
1919
Capt. John Alcock and Lt. Arthur Brown made the first Trans Atlantic flight from St. Johns Newfoundland to Ireland. The flight took 16 hours 12 minutes.
1957
HMCS Magnificent was paid off and returned to the Royal Navy.
15 June
1931
Canadian Airways pilot E.W. Stull in a Fokker F.14A, flew the first radio beam from Winnipeg to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
1942
No. 135 (Fighter) Squadron was formed at Patricia Bay, BC.
1942
No. 147 (BR) Squadron was formed at Sea Island, Vancouver, BC.
1943
No. 434 (Bomber) Squadron was formed in England.
1946
No. 437 Squadron was disbanded.
1959
A monument was unveiled at Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck, N.S. commemorating the flight of the Silver Dart in 1909.
16 June
1941
No. 441 (Fighter) Squadron was formed in England.
1945
The RCAF accepts its first Victory Aircraft built Lancaster X (FM101).
17 June
1940
A detachment of five Douglas B-18 Digby's from No. 10 (BR) Squadron at Dartmouth, commenced operation from Gander Airport. This was the first RCAF Operation in Newfoundland.
1941
No. 409 (Night Fighter) Squadron was formed in England.
18 June
1920
The first aircraft were taken on strength by the Canadian Air Force. They were four Avro 504Ks, registered G-CYAA to G-CYAD.
19 June
1918
Major W.A. Bishop, O/C 85 Squadron, was credited with five enemy aircraft destroyed on this date.
1976
Maj Rudy Willhauk, 414 Squadron North Bay, reached 3000 hrs on a CF-100 Canuck aircraft.
20 June
1951
First Orenda-powered Avro Canada CF-100 was tested at Malton, Ontario.
1983
First flight of Bombardier Dash 8.
21 June
1950
RCAF's 412 Squadron accepted Canadair C-5 VIP transport aircraft.
1954
No. 428 Squadron was reformed at Uplands, Ontario, and equipped with Avro Canada
CF-100 fighters.
22 June
1946
No. 436 Squadron was disbanded.
23 June
1985
A terrorist bomb explodes aboard Air India Flight 182 from Toronto. It crashes into the North Atlantic off the coast of Ireland, killing all 329 on board. Airport security is subsequently tightened across the country. The crash becomes the subject of the longest criminal investigation in Canadian history.
24 June
1910
J.A.D. McCurdy crashed attempting a flight in the Canadian Aerodrome Company's Baddeck No. 2 biplane at Lakeside, Que.
1918
Airways go postal: Carrying 120 letters in envelopes specially postmarked for the journey, Capt. Brian A. Peck makes the first airmail flight in Canada, from Montréal to Toronto, piloting a Curtiss JN-4. Canada would wait until 1924 to establish regular airmail, when Laurentide Air Service introduces delivery between Haileybury, Ont., and the goldfields around Rouyn, Que.
1940
The first four Elementary Flying Training Schools (EFTS) were officially opened: No. 1 at Malton, Ontario; No. 2 at Fort William, Ontario; No. 3 at London, Ontario; No. 4 at Windsor Mills, Quebec.
1941
No. 408 (Bomber) Squadron was formed in England.
25 June
1910
The Hubbard monoplane, also referred to as 'Mike', was entered in the Montreal Air Meet of 25 June-5July, 1910.
1942
No. 425 (Bomber) Squadron was formed in England.
26 June
1943
331 Wing, comprised of Nos. 420, 424 and 425 (Bomber) Squadrons and commanded by G/C CR Dunlap, commenced operations in Tunisia.
1946
Air Cadets were renamed the Royal Canadian Air Cadets by permission of H.M. the King.
27 June
1914
Lincoln Beachey completes the first loop-the-loop and inverted flying in Canada during an exhibition at Maisonneuve Park in Montréal.
1930
Canadian Airways Ltd., formerly Western Canada Airways, was incorporated.
28 June
1944
A/C AD Ross, Sgt JR St Germain, Cpl M Marquet, LAC MM McKenzie, and LAC RR Wolfe made repeated attempts to rescue the crew of a burning bomber of No. 425 Squadron in spite of bomb explosions. All of the crew were saved. Ross, St Germain and Marquet were awarded the George Medal; McKenzie and Wolfe the British Empire Medal.
29 June
1927
Flight Lieutenant G. E. Brooks, flying in an Avro 504K conducts the first flight test of Wallace Turnbull’s variable-pitch propeller, a major Canadian innovation in aviation technology.
30 June
1920
A provisional establishment of 1340 officers and 3905 airmen for the CAF was authorized by Order-in-Council.
1941
No. 410 (Night Fighter) Squadron and No. 412 (Fighter) Squadron were formed in England.
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