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Question of the Hour

Jantor said:
Okay....next question then

During the early stages of WWII the Atlantic Ferry Organization began to ferry aircraft across the Atlantic from Canada to England. After this organization had shown that this was a good idea it became a full fledged RAF formation called Ferry Command.
Who was its first commander?

"In June 1941 the President of the United States informed the British Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, that he was prepared to help us by flying all the aircraft des tined for Great Britain from the factories on the west coast of the United States, to Montreal or to any other airport in Canada, by Army pilots, and so release the American civilian pilots to help us fly the Atlantic, which again would release many of our Service pilots who were doing this work, for operational duties in other R.A.F. Commands. The President would only do this however, on the distinct understanding that the aircraft were handed over to a Service Command and not to a civil organization. It was, therefore, on July 20th, 1941, that ATFERO ceased to exist and the R.A.F. Ferry Command was formed in Montreal under the command of Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Bowhill."
http://empireclubfoundation.com/details.asp?SpeechID=2788&FT=yes

 
Once again you are correct  :)

Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Bowhill (1880-1960)

And I'm out (gotta work)
 
Following this theme:
Type, amount of A/C and officer commanding that proved the northern ferry route was practical.
 
3rd,

The following quote from 'Behind the Glory' (1992) by Ted Barris provides the answer to your question:

QUOTE:
On November 10,1940, at a makeshift airfield known as Hattie's Camp (later Gander aerodrome) in Newfoundland, Air Vice-Marshal D.C.T. Bennett stepped into the cockpit of a brand-new Lockheed Hudson bomber.  He taxied away from five old railway cars that were functioning as an operations room, radio quarters, weather bureau, offices and barracks, and led six other Hudsons into the night-time sky over Newfoundland.  A little more that ten hours later, Bennett and his group of Atfero ferry pilots landed all seven Hudsons at Aldergrove, Northern Ireland.  The delivery of the Hudsons - from American factory to British warfront - had taken several days, not the usual four to five months.

It was Armistice Day, 1940.
UNQUOTE.

Awaiting your next question.

Dan.
 
Dan,
good answer. As usual you are correct and thank you for the source citing.

Moving forward in history to Korea. What naval vessel held the record for most trains busted and when was the "trainbuster club formed".
 
  I found this:

.

THE TRAINBUSTERS CLUB
Edited by Jerry Proc

Of the various clubs formed by the naval forces during the Korean conflict, the most renowned was that of an group that focused on the destruction of trains which ran the deadly gauntlet in the Taeback Mountain range. The Trainbusters Club (TBC) saw its beginnings in July 1952 when the American destroyer Orleck destroyed two trains during a two week period. The commander of Task Force 95, recognizing a morale booster when he saw one, declared Orleck the trainbusting champion and issued a challenge to the rest of the American task group to beat that score.
The TBC was initially considered to be a United States Navy project. In the spirit of fairness and competition, the challenge to destroy trains was eventually extended to ships from other navies. Had the idea of the TBC been formed sooner, many more ships would have qualified for membership and the official count of 28 trains destroyed would have been much greater. The first rule for admittance to the 'club' and the membership fee, required that the train's engine be destroyed. After that, any damage inflicted to a train would be counted as a kill regardless of the fate of the engine. Rules were so strictly enforced that all kills recorded were legitimate. Membership, however, was difficult because of the engine clause. Trains that were southbound and laden with war material were considered much more valuable targets than northbound trains which were essentially empty. Korean train engineers soon learned what 'hell on earth' meant. They too, were brave men. They found themselves dodging shell explosions just a few feet ahead of their travel. They took their trains across damaged tracks and trestles which swayed precariously. They did their utmost to save the trains by attempting repairs. During daylight, they hid in tunnels hoping that the entrances and exits did not get blocked by the persistent and accurate shelling of the naval guns.
Out of the twenty-eight kills officially tallied by the TBC, the RCN accounted for eight. CRUSADER, HAIDA, and ATHABASKAN were collectively credited with that number. That gave the RCN the proportional record which was a significant feat in itself. The main achievement, however, was the winning of the championship by HMCS CRUSADER, who bagged four trains, three of them in a single twenty four hour period. The business of trainbusting was based on extreme patience, a degree of luck and superb gunnery. Often the Korean weather kept ships far out at sea so the guns were operating at maximum range and had to be able to hit a speeding target. Poor weather also made verification of damage very difficult.

HMCS HAIDA arrived in Korea on November 6, 1952 when action was already waning. Her crew were well aware of their ship's history and they were determined to make Korea a prominent page of that book. It was imperative that HAIDA join the TBC if only to add one more item to her list of accomplishments. The opportunity came at 0300 hours on December 19 near Sonjin but was lost when the engine escaped. Her gunners pounded the rest of the train but their hearts were not in it. They left most of the cars standing as a 'gift' to USS THE SULLIVANS when that ship came on the scene at 0516 hours. HAIDA'S crew reasoned that their chances of joining the TBC had slipped because of the escaped engine and their orders to proceed to Sasebo Japan within a few hours. HAIDA returned the following March for a two week patrol. During that time, only one engine was seen and fired on. The range was too great and once again the ship went away empty handed.

On May 26, at 2215 hours, HAIDA was anchored near Tanch'on. The night was bright under clear skies and the sea was calm. Both 'A' and 'B' guns were closed up to action stations and now it was a case of waiting. At 2320, a train was spotted. Carefully, the guns were swung to lead the engine and fired. Seconds later, the shells found their mark. The engine, hit dead center, exploded and toppled onto its side while the trailing cars spilled along the track. HAIDA had finally joined the 'club'. For the next three hours, her guns hammered the remainder of the train. Three days later, HAIDA was back, this time several kilometers south of Sonjin. At 2200, a train was sighted, heading north. All guns opened fire and forced the train to come to a standstill. Starshell revealed that the engine was yards short of the safety afforded by a tunnel. Scant seconds gave the trainmen the time they needed to uncouple the engine and move it into the tunnel but it was too late for the rest of the train.

During her first tour of duty in Korea, Canada's most celebrated warship ran up a total of six east coast and three west coast patrols. HAIDA spent more than half of her 217 days in Korea on active patrol, was fired on twice by shore batteries and both times destroyed her assailants. Two of her ship's company earned honours for their service. The Distinguished Service Cross went to her Commanding Officer, Cdr. Dunn Lantier, RCN while PO Ralph Smith earned a Mention-in-Dispatches for some superb gun-laying while downing a bridge. Officially, HAIDA was credited for the destruction of 2.5 trains in Korea.



 
HMCS CRUSADER has claim the trainbusting championship,

http://navy.dwan.dnd.ca/english/refs/stories/crus.asp (doesnt come outright and say it)
http://ussjohnrpiercedd753.com/history.htm  scroll to the bottom for the leader board.  Of note, the USN has the most kills.

Much ado is made over the fledling RCN's first two ships, NIOBE and RAINBOW.  While NIOBE arrived in Canada earlier, RAINBOW was commissioned first.  What was the third ship commissioned into the RCN?  Another of the first ships commissioned ended up in Russia shortly after the war started:
What was the sequence of her names (from shipyard to russian ownership)  
what class of ship was she?
 
http://www.gwpda.org/naval/earlgrey.htm

An unusual scene photographed in the Autumn of 1914 is the accompanying picture of the ship's company of HMCS Earl Grey (despite the signboard, she was commissioned in the Royal Canadian Navy) taken around the time she was preparing to sail for for Archangel, Russia, where she was turned over to the Russian Navy who wanted her for ice-breaking capabilities.

The Earl Grey was built by the Canadian government as a freight and passenger steamer for service in Northumerland Strait between Prince Edward Island and the mainland. She was the third ship commissioned in the RCN - after the cruisers Niobe and Rainbow - having served under the White Ensign briefly in 1912 during a cruise by the Governor General, the Duke of Connaught. She was sold to Russia for $493,000.

The Earl Grey is still steaming the White Sea as the Fyodor Litke, according to the current edition of Jane's Fighting Ships. (1964) During her earlier Russian career she was known as the Kanada.

 
Geo, good answer, and correct enough to give you credit for the kill.  The Janes article your source refered to is from the 60s, and no longer current.
A few small details to add to your answer. When she was commissioned by the Russians, she was indeed given the name of Kanada, but in 1920 she was renamed International by the new regime, and in 23 became the Fedor Litke.  She is believed to have been scrapped in 1959, but her fame lives on in Russia: In 1955 the Fedor Litke steamed north of Spitzbergen to reach 83 deg. 11 min. Her wheelhouse and radio shack are now on display at the Maritime Museum in Moscow. 
 
Gentlemen,

Since there has been no activity on this thread for over a month I thought I would pose an easy one to fire it up again.

What was the first Canadian artillery group (either unit or sub-unit) to participate in Operation Snowgoose?

Bonus points for additional details in the answer.

Dan.
 
Cyprus
When the advance party for the R22eR and the RCD landed at Nicosia for OP Snowgoose on 15 March 1964, it was thought that the mission in Cyprus would last three months. By the time it ended with Snowgoose 59 in 1993, virtually every Regular Force soldier in Armor, Artillery and Infantry units had served with the United Nations Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/lf/English/6_1_1.asp?id=265

Well... would venture to say that the initial troops deployed to Cyprus in 1964 were pulled from West Germany.
If gunners were deployed along with the R22R and the RCDs they would have come from 2RCHA.
 
Would it be Aug 87, 5e RALC?  Or was there an arty unit (or subunit) prior to that?
 
geo,

You're close, in a way, but for the wrong reason.  The first troops to Cyprus (March, 1964) were from Valcartier and Gagetown.  1 R22eR was the UN Standby battalion and waiting for just such an event to take place.  A reconnaissance squadron from the RCD in Gagetown was sent with them.  The Vandoos and a troop of Ferrets from the RCD were flown to the island (remember the pictures of Governor-General Vanier shaking the hands of the men at Ancienne-Lorette as they boarded the aircraft?) while the bulk of the supplies were shipped over on HMCS Bonaventure.

Mortarman,

You're way too far in the future.  Come back a couple of decades and try again.

Dan.
 
exspy said:
Gentlemen,

Since there has been no activity on this thread for over a month I thought I would pose an easy one to fire it up again.

What was the first Canadian artillery group (either unit or sub-unit) to participate in Operation Snowgoose?

Bonus points for additional details in the answer.

Dan.

"along with a Battery of 2 RCHA"

UNFICYP - United Nations Forces in Cyprus 1964 http://www.army.dnd.ca/RCD/rcd/history/unficyp_e.htm

or

W Bty (Med) was attached to 4 RCHA for training and went to Cyprus for Peace Keeping duties under command of 2 Cdn Guards from Sep. 65 to Apr. 66. http://arlloyd2.tripod.com/4rcha.html



 
3rd,

Correctamundo!!!!!    It was Whiskey Battery, the red-headed step child of the RCHA.

W Battery was the medium battery (155mm C1 towed howitzers) of 4 RCHA (Petawawa) up until 1965.  That year 4 RCHA was converted into a light regiment equipped with M30 4.2" mortars and assigned to support the Special Service Force (the 1964 version, not the 1977 one).  W Battery was put under the command of 2 RCHA in Germany but remained stationed in Petawawa.  It was administratively attached fap (for all purposes) to 4 RCHA.  Ergo the red-headed step child reference.  Too far away from Hemer to be of concern to 2 RCHA, and too heavy a unit for the lightfooted 4 RCHA.

When 2 Cdn Gds (Petawawa) was assigned the fall 1965 rotation for Op Snowgoose it was short of personnel.  1 Cdn Gds (Picton) was now the UN Standby battalion and had priority on the bodies coming out of the Depot.  W Battery organized a rifle company from its ranks which served in Cyprus under command of the second battalion.  2 Cdn Gds and W Battery were relieved by 2 RHC in the spring of 1966.

Okay 3rd, over to you.
Dan.
 
Okay, here goes.

Who in the Canadian Army was 'The Officer Commanding the Inlying Picquet'?  With whom was he serving?  Where would he have served?

Hint: I don't think this will be found by googling.

Dan.

 
That would be the Orderly Officer or Duty Officer of a Guards Regiment.

I arrived at the Second Battalion, The Canadian Guards at Camp Petawawa, was met by The Officer Commanding the Inlying Picquet or Picquet Officer -- Guardese for what is known everywhere else as the Orderly Officer

Google, First hit.  ;)

http://thercr.ca/history/20questions_young_officer/1961_ditter.htm
 
In addition to the above-mentioned picquets, I always had an inlying picquet of 20 men who slept in front of the guns. This picquet did not go to its post until after their evening meal, and was probably not there on the night of the attack owing to the early hour at which it was made. The total strength of the force was 342 officers, N.C.O.s and men.
 
Strength of the picquets: A - N.C.O. and 12 men B - 1 N.C.O. and 6 men C - 1 N.C.O. and 6 men D - 1 Officer and 20 men Inlying picquet
http://users.westconnect.com.au/~ianmac/readroom.htm

Inlying picquet =  body of soldiers held in readiness for military or police duties within the limits of a camp or barracks is also called a picquet or " inlying picquet."
 
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