The story of Lancaster KB-976 is an interesting one since it was both the beginning and, sadly, the end of the first real flying aviation museum in Canada.

I was a pilot in the RCAF over a 10 year period, Regular and Reserve, extending from 1954 – 1964. During that time I witnessed, and actually participated in the departure of several famous types from Canada’s inventory. I was last to check out on the P-51 Mustang with 403 City of Calgary Squadron RCAF and last to fly the Hawker Sea Fury. And then, I was the last to pilot the Avro Lancaster in RCAF service, but that is getting ahead of the story.

The museum story started when I was 25 and ended when I was 29.

As the Mustangs were retired from the RCAF I obtained a contract to fly something like 70 surplus aircraft to their new owners in the States. Milt Harradence, an ex-403 Squadron pilot would accompany me. While visiting the old RCAF Station Macleod, in southern Alberta to inspect Mustangs stored there, we saw a large number of Lancasters being prepared for the melting pot. I decided to save one as a memorial to the many who trained under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, during World War Two. Nearly 140,000 students graduated from this program.

F/O Lynn Garrison, 1958 aged 20

After some negotiation, I purchased Lancaster FM-136 without engines. Four Merlins for the ferry flight to Calgary were borrowed from the RCAF and FM-136 was serviced by volunteers from local 886 International Association of Machinists, working with Canadian Pacific Airlines Repair. It would be mounted on a pedestal at McCall Field, Calgary’s international airport during the spring of 1962. (In 1993 I would return to Calgary to block its sale, by the City of Calgary,  to the Confederate Air Force. As a result of this, it remains on display there.)

Lancaster FM-136 in February, 1962 immediately after being painted for memorial.

As a result of the Mustang ferry project, James DeFuria, the American purchaser, gave Milt Harradence, and me, a pair of Mustangs that were registered as CF-LOR and CF-LOQ. Milt flew his for a while until he just had to have a Dehavilland Vampire. I found one for him and he sold the Mustang which now flies as Checkertail Clan, N-1451D.

At this point I decided to collect aircraft for a museum and started the Alberta Aviation Museum with a box of letterhead and portable electric typewriter.  There were hundreds and hundreds of War Two aircraft scattered across the prairies, sitting in farmyards since being towed from local airfields by purchasers interested in gasoline in their tanks and other small things. The basic aircraft remained.

Farmers were pleased to help, and made their surplus equipment available to me. A local trucking company supplied a vehicle to haul the display items to the Shell oil pipe yard in north eastern Calgary. Shell was kind enough to let me store my aircraft there and use their rail siding.

In no time I had 2 Mustangs, Bollinbrokes (3), a Lysander, Fleet Finch, Tiger Moth, Fairey Battle (2), Avro Ansons Mark 11 and V, Stinson Reliant, Fairchild Cornell, Airspeed Oxford, Cessna Crane, North American B-25, Nordyn Norseman, Harvard, Yale, 2 Hawker Hurricanes, all accumulated locally plus a Supermarine Spitfire AR-614 from the United Kingdom, an F4U-7 Corsair 133693 from France, a B-24 (HE-771) Liberator from India, a Dehavilland Mosquito (RS700 – CF-HMS) from Spartan Air Services, a TBM Avenger, Seafire, and a few aircraft purchased from the Canadian government. A T-33 Silver Star serial 21001, the first acquired by the RCAF with 210 hours on the airframe: (My son Tony, a lifetime later, would purchase the last RCAF T-33 133648) a CF-100, Sikorsky S-51, a Vought Kingfisher, salvaged from a British Columbia mountain top, and -  unfortunately – two F-86 Canadair Sabers in Golden Hawk colours.  In all, I would have 57 aircraft, plus a lot of bits and pieces, plus others promised.

My then wife, Evelyn, did without most things a young woman would expect from life, in order to find the funds needed to acquire another piece of history. She should be remembered for this.

In 1963 I founded the Calgary International Air Show as an annual event to fund and publicize the project. It was to be held each July.  As we were working up to the 1964 show, and final exams at university, I was offered a Lancaster for $1,500.00. There was a scramble for money, and $1,500.00 was real money in ’64, especially to someone in school with a wife and family. I had just purchased a new house for $12,200.00 and, in 2013, it is worth something close to $400,000.00 on today’s market.

A few weeks later Lancaster KB-976 was flown into Calgary and parked in front of 403 Squadron’s hangar. The crew climbed out and left everything but their headsets in place, handing over the log books before taking another flight back to 408 Squadron.

The aircraft arrived sometime in April, 1964 as we were planning that year’s air show. As soon as I saw KB-976 I decided I would fly it, one last time, but didn’t tell anyone. I would walk around the aircraft. I would climb in the starboard rear door, immediately in front of the horizontal stabilizer, and make my way up to the cockpit, climbing over the massive main spar, en route. Without any Pilot Handling Notes, I managed to start the engines using experience from the Mustang. Sitting there, I would listen to the rumbling of 4 Merlins and watch reactions on various system indicators.

I gradually became confident in my plan.

I stopped this, pointing at the Brake Air Pressure Accumulator gage which was sitting near zero, while those that indicated the individual brake pressures sat at a couple of hundred pounds.

Unlike American aircraft, many British types had air brakes with a squeeze handle on the control wheel. Pressure to left and right brakes was controlled by the rudder pedals with equal pressure, to both, with the pedals centralized.

A few more minutes passed.

Impatient, Bill again waved the chocks away. I pointed to the accumulator pressure, still near zero, and he snorted something to the effect that he knew what he was doing.

Chocks away!

Bill opened up the 4 Merlins, to overcome inertia. The 4 spluttering engines surged to a cutting roar! The bomber moved forward, accelerating. Bill reduced the throttles, engines spluttering to idle, and applied right rudder, squeezing the brake handle to swing us down the taxiway.

With a decreasing hissss, what little pressure had built up was rapidly depleted, having little effect on the aircraft heading. Throttles yanked back against their stops, the Lancaster rolled sedately forward to become wedged in the poplar trees surrounding the squadron hangar.

Mixtures into Idle-Cut-Off and props spun into silence.

Bill climbed out and departed. “He had an appointment to take his wife shopping.” I was left to hook a chain around the tail wheel strut and tow the Lanc back to its starting point.

I was now committed to a do-it-yourself approach. I would captain the aircraft.  We needed a Department of Transport approval for one flight. The Mustang ferry project had seen us have the individual aircraft serviced, and then signed out by a qualified engineer. I would use this procedure.

It was so simple.

Wrong!

The Lancaster type had once received a full Certificate of Airworthiness. In order to be flown for a single flight, it would have to go through the entire process. By this time the DOT knew what was on my mind and threw this roadblock in my path, sure that it could not be overcome, without many thousands of dollars in mechanical work.

We had invited Paul Hellyer, Canada’s Minister of National Defence, as our Guest of Honor for the 1964 Calgary International Air Show. He was a close friend of Art Smith, a War Two Lancaster pilot, DFC,  and recent Member of Parliament for Calgary, South. Art was on my air show committee. I asked Art, and Art asked Paul Hellyer, and the Minister said we could fly it in RCAF colors, as an RCAF aircraft for one last flight, sending a letter to this effect.

I forwarded the letter to our DOT office in Edmonton with the question as to qualification for the pilot. Dick Beatty, the Regional Director of Air Services phoned me to say…”Multi-Engine Commercial so you can fly it…” He had known all along what my plan was.

Brian B. McKay had helped find the cash, so he said he would go along. Ralph Langemann decided he would go, as did Joe McGolrick. Jimmy Sutherland was proposed by Tony McCarten, whose company had serviced the Lanc for me,  since Jimmy had been a Lancaster Flight engineer during World War Two. People thought I was crazy but the insanity must be found in my crew, since they knew I had never flown a Lancaster, and had to carry me out to the aircraft, due to my broken ankle.

Photo courtesy of Lynn Garrison

Over the past 12 months I had acquired a CF-100, T-33, Sikorsky S-51 and now scrambled to come up with cash required to purchase a pair of freshly overhauled Canadair F-86 Sabres in Golden Hawk colors.

I borrowed $1500.00 and gave a Lien against the Lancaster’s Title.

Milt Harradence saw the Sabers and had to have one. I explained that we had acquired them under a ‘mutilation agreement’ requiring cut main spars, if we disposed of them. He just couldn’t take this as an adequate answer and continued to press. After all, we had flown together, he was my best friend and had stood as my Best Man when I was married.

Yet another year passed, and the 1966 show was sure to be a winner. The Americans had promised 10 different acts, including the USAF Thunderbird aerobatic team.

Milt was still pressuring and asked if he could have one, provided he got government approval. I agreed and said this must be in writing. Charlie Drury, the Minister of Commerce soon called to say I could let Milt have a Sabre. I asked for confirmation in writing and – obviously – the minister discovered what was involved, and never wrote the letter.

Milt insisted that I sign the aircraft over to him, in trade for two Dehavilland Vampires.

I refused, saying I had an agreement with the government and had explained this to him at the very start. He offered to defend me in an action that might result. Now, Milt was one of the top trial attorneys in Canada, and had exceptional political connections. I countered with a comment to the effect that there would probably be no action, but the government would never sell me another display.

The fat was in the fire!

Milt sued me! Calgary’s leading attorney against a poor university student, who happened, up to that point,  to be his best friend! Unfortunately, Milt was a person who would not be thwarted, no matter what, by friends, family – anyone!!

He also set out to derail my application for the annual air show by forming The Calgary City Police Flying Club with one member, a tame sergeant.  He tried to get approval for his show, on our dates.

He went to the guy who had the Lien on the Lancaster and bought the note. He then demanded payment – immediately!! Ernie Johnson stepped in and took over the Lien and the war went on.

I can remember the last appearance at the City of Calgary Aviation Commission as Milt fought for control. It was a frustrating situation that saw me finally react, with the comment: “You must understand that the displays are committed to the Air Museum of Canada, and not the City of Calgary…”  This drew a raucous chorus of laughter, from the committee members, and the meeting was adjourned for another week.

I walked out of the City Hall and stood on its steps as my supporters. All  wished me the best of luck, but they couldn’t go forward to Red Deer. We shook hands and I got in my car for the drive to RCAF Station Namao, outside Edmonton, Alberta, for an agreement to stage my American acts from their facility. I then drove to Red Deer for final talks with aviation enthusiasts there, having started talks two weeks before. We agreed to transfer the air show to Red Deer. Calgary never had another air show.

I had something like 3 weeks to build an organization to support the project. Even as I was doing this, Milt Harradence flew to Nellis Air Force Base in an attempt to have the THUNDERBIRDs cancel their show. Team leader, Lieutenant Colonel Ralph  Maglione refused and, when they flew over Calgary, on their way to Edmonton, they circled the city with their smoke on as a demonstration of support for me. The 1966 team members have remained friends, over the years, and Mag retired as a Major General.

The show was a success.

The Canadian government finally agree to let Milt have the Sabre and this was registered as CF-AMH

Photo credit Harradence family.

     

KB976 at St Albert  showing the fire tanker conversion

Colour photos courtesy of Hap J. Phillips and the Bomber Command Museum of Canada;
B&W photos of water tanks following 1974 removal are courtesy of Dick Richardson.

August 1973 Photograph courtesy of Dave Welch at Edmonton Villeneuve airstrip, Alberta, Canada.

KB839 dressed as KB976