As references he gave W.R. "Wop" May and A.D. Kennedy (Chief Instructor, Edmonton Flying Club). He described his sports as hockey, baseball, some swimming & track. Enlisted in Vancouver, 9 September 1939 and trained at Vancouver Flying Club (posted there 27 September 1939) Station Trenton (posted there 5 November 1939) and Camp Borden (posted there 10 December 1939; wings on 20 March 1940 (A fellow student was G.U. Hill). To No.112 Squadron, Ottawa, 22 April 1940. To No.1 Wireless School, 10 July 1940. To Central Flying School, Trenton, 10 August 1940. Retained in Canada as instructor until October 1943. (Trenton to 17 June 1942 & No.3 Flying Instructor School, 28 August 1942 to 11 October 1943). Further trained at No.36 OTU, Greenwood (posted there 12 November 1943). Sent overseas in January 1944 & arrived in the UK, 24 February 1944. Attended No.60 OTU (11 April 1944 to June 1944). With No.418 Squadron, 10 June 1944 until posted to No.406 Squadron, 20 November 1944. Returned to Canada, 10 August 1945. Later attended RAF Staff College, 1945-46, but chose to be released from RCAF, 10 May 1946. Joined de Havilland (Canada) as Chief Test Pilot in 1946. Later promoted Operations Manager and then Military Sales Manager. Years of practical experience enabled him to contribute to the engineering of short field aircraft. Appointed to the Board of Directors, 1950 as Director of Operations. He was the pilot who put the Beaver through its hurdles at Fort Bragg (1951) to win its acceptance by the U.S. Army. In March 1964 he was made responsible for civil sales with the title of Vice-President. According to Wikipedia he married Norah Quinn and they sprouted four children - Paul, Anne-Jo, Michael & John. For more details see H.A. Halliday, The Tumbling Sky & CAHS Journal, Volume XX, No.3 (Fall '82) for a personal account. |
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CANADA'S YOUNG EAGLES WIN THEIR WINGS AT CAMP BORDEN
Dominion's Air Power Evident as Roar of Engines Breaks Out After Ceremonies - Pilots Show Resourcefulness
Camp Borden, Ont. March 23, 1940 — Thirty-five young eagles of the Royal Canadian Air Force stood proudly and without greatcoats in the bitter cold here on Thursday, and paraded one by one before the commander of the air force advanced training school, Wing Commander Frank S. McGill, to receive a prize which every one of them will treasure beyond price — their wings.
The Hallmark
The wings, which Wing Commander McGill pinned to the breast of each of the officers, are the hallmark of the Empire's flyers; they are an indication that their wearer has passed from the provisional pilot officer stage to be a fully-fledged flying officer of the R.C.A.F., ready to fly the swift and majestic craft which will help to win the war for freedom.
A new gleam of pride flashed in 35 pairs of eyes as each man marched forward then marched back with the wings above his left breast pocket. It was a symbolic act; and to each man the kindly commanding officer — in many senses as proud of the occasion as the men he was honoring — spoke a few words of encouragement: "It is with pride that I present you with your wings . . . May you always be worthy to wear them . . ."
The wings represented many months of tense, almost fierce training, for the men in this particular group are the first batch of flying officers to have received the whole of their training since the outbreak of war. They stood for the high degree of flying skill which the R.C.A.F. demands of the men who pilot its machines, for the progressive stages of training from prosaic Tiger Moths to the swift, screaming Harvard trainers, the sleek and deadly Fairey Battles, the huge, twin-engined Avro Ansons with which the advanced training is carried out.
The whole personnel of the training camp was paraded around three sides of a square in front of the control tower for the ceremony. Behind them stood rows of machines, forming a perfect background for an impressive occasion.
Back To Work Again
As long as the ceremony lasted, the powerful motors were silent, but as soon as the parade had dispersed, it was time to get on with the job again, and dozens of propellers leaped into shrieking life. The air was torn by the sound of screaming exhausts as plane after plane took off across the hard-rolled snow of the runways and sped into the sky.
It was more than impressive; it was startling and not a little terrifying. It was impossible to carry on any conversation except by shouting above the relentless roar of the motors. Often there were so many machines in the air that it seemed as if some of them must collide; but this reporter was assured that everything was perfectly safe and that there were, in fact, fewer machines flying than on a normal day. It spoke well for the earnestness with which Camp Borden takes its task.
Meanwhile, visiting newspapermen were being shown the works by senior officers of the school. Few of its secrets were hidden; the visitors saw the latest training devices like the "link" and the bombing school.
The link is a complicated machine which records the flight of an imaginary plane on a chart. The pilot under instruction sits in an enclosed cockpit with all the usual instruments, and receives orders through earphones from his instructor. The "course" he is flying is traced on a chart in front of the instructor, who can then see how accurately the pupil is following orders, and how proficient he is likely to become in blind flying.
Bombing Trainer
Far more thrilling is the bombing trainer. The pupil sits on a platform in a darkened room. Directly beneath him is a screen on which is a constantly-moving projected aerial photograph of land. The impression you get is that the photograph is stationary, the platform on the move, so that it is in all respects similar to watching the earth go by from an aeroplane.
The pupil watches the picture through a bomb sight, and is instructed to aim at certain objectives on the scene. He releases "bombs" by pressing a switch which lights a lamp behind the screen, giving indisputable evidence of how good his aim was. This reporter was told that practice with this astounding device turns out accurate bombers just as surely as practice with real bombs on a bombing range would.
These are just two of the more surprising gadgets with which the Empire's young eagles are to be trained for their grim task. Much more important — for these are pieces of apparatus which can be bought with money — is something which no money could buy: the enthusiasm with which every man at the school goes about his job.
Usually, of course, you would expect a flyer to be keen anyway; that is why he joined the air force. But there is just the same spirit among the mechanics and the grease monkeys whose job it is to keep the planes, every one of which is a bundle of super-sensitive machinery, tuned up to top pitch all the time; there is a pride in their craft, a keenness which only the air force seems able to extract from its personnel.
Many Stories
They have many stories around the camp. There is the story of the ex-bush pilot, now a flying officer, who was sent up to the wild lands north of Parry Sound to salvage an $80,000 Fairey Battle bomber which had made a forced landing among the islands of Georgian bay.
The plane was down on the ice; the wind had lashed the free waters of the bay until they had spread all over the ice and made a swamp of slush around the machine. The undercarriage had collapsed, to make things worse, and in another day or two the plane would have gone through the ice for good.
But this was a situation to this particular pilot's liking. With half a dozen men, he rigged up a two-by-four wooden support for the undercarriage, got the motor going again. Then, gritting his teeth, he prepared for the take-off.
As soon as the plane moved, it began to sink through the soggy slush. The pilot's remedy for this was to open the throttle still wider, and finally he got off the ground, clearing by inches the tops of the pine trees on an island near by. This is the kind of stuff of which the Empire's new air force is being made.
Smiles All Round
They say, too, that there were smiles all around in the officers' mess at breakfast the other morning when the news of the great raid on Sylt started coming through. "The Englishmen from the R.A.F. were particularly pleased about it," said one of the officers. "I guess they felt kind of guilty about the amount of activity going on here and at other training schools in Canada by comparison with the apparent inactivity over there."
The flying officers who got their wings at Thursday's ceremony were: M.D. MacBrien, Toronto; S.A. Bushell, Hazel Hill, N.S.; G.U. Hill, Pictou, N.S.; G.M. Cook, New Westminster, B.C.; J. Constabaris, Edmonton, Alta.; J.C. Mulvihill, Ottawa; P.C.E. Lay, Regina, Sask.; B.A. Casey, Windsor, Ont.; D.J. England, Quebec; D.G. Malloy, Halifax, N.S.; J.H. Roberts, Vanderhoof, B.C.; I.L.G. Gillis, Paradise, N.S.; C.R. Knowles, Oshawa, Ont.; M.G. MacLeod, Pictou, N.S.; H.P.M. Furniss, Montreal; A.J. Boyce, Toronto; W.A. Anderson, Winnipeg, Alta.; R.W. Bannock, Edmonton, Alta.; M.E. Tomsett, Regina, Sask. and R.E. Shaw.
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Two shots of "Hairless Joe" - On the left is an early one showing the original design but no victories yet. On the right is a later one showing the new design with 6 kills plus 2 On The Ground & 19 V-1s. The photo at the top of the page shows "Joe" with kill markings representing a/c & V-1 kills taken a few months before the one here on the right where they distinguish between V-1s and a/c |
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Eight Ontario Fliers In Latest Honor List
Ottawa, 5 Oct. 1944 - (CP) - The RCAF tonight announced the award of 26 decorations, including a Distinguished Service Order and a Bar to the Distinguished Flying Cross, to RCAF Personnel serving overseas.
The DSO was awarded W/C B.D. Russel, DFC, of Westmount, Que., after his squadrons obtained outstanding success under his leadership, said the RCAF. The Bar to the DFC went to S/L H.C. Trainor, Bedford, P.E.I., reported missing Sept. 19, for outstanding leadership and fighting qualities.
The recipients:
DSO
W/C B.D. Russel, Westmount, Que.
Bar to DFC
S/L H.C. Trainor, Bedford, P.E.I. (POW)
DFC
S/L G.F. Arbuckle, 930 Queen St. E., Toronto
S/L R. Bannock, Edmonton, Alta.
F/L H.E. Bridges, 222 Hillsdale E., Toronto
F/L N.F. Brown, Fort Qu'Appelle, Sask.
F/L J.W. Keller, Newton, Mass.
F/O R.L. Beattie, Londesboro, Ont.
F/O J.M. Colder, Edmonton, Alta.
F/O A.J. Carter, Regina, Bask.
F/O P.J. Roy, Moncton, N.B.
F/O J.C. Hall, Winnipeg
F/O J.C. Hoy, 35 Dinnick Cres., Toronto
F/O L.E.J. Murphy, Britannia Heights, Ont.
P/O W. Goodhue, Portland, Me.
P/O J.J.C.U. Massey, Battleford, Sask.
P/O M.N. McLean, Stonewall, Man.
P/O S.E.M. Milliken,.39 White Birch Rd., Toronto
P/O W.R. Stewart, North Bay
P/O W.H. Wardell, Calgary, Alta.
W/O D.C. Campbell, Montreal
W/O F.A. Harrison, Vancouver
DFM
Sgt. P. Burton, Beloit, Wis.
Sgt. J.E. Fitzgerald, New Westminster, B.C.
Sgt. T. Jerry, Beaton, Ont. (Reported missing April 24, 1944)
Sgt. W.F. Mann, Brantford, Ont.
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BANNOCK, S/L Russell (C1086) - Distinguished Flying Cross - No.418 Squadron
Award effective 3 October (supplement of 29 Sept) 1944 as per London Gazette of that date &
AFRO 2637/44 dated 8 December 1944.
This officer has completed numerous sorties including several attacks on enemy airfields on which he has caused much disruption. He is a highly efficient flight commander and has showed much skill and initiative in the planning and execution of his missions. His successes include the destruction of many flying bombs, three of which he destroyed in one patrol.
NOTE: Public Record Office Air 2/9159 has original recommendation by W/C A. Barker on 31 July 1944 when he had flown 12 sorties (54 hours ten minutes), although the statistics given below do not agree with those elsewhere in the document.
Since joining this squadron in June, Squadron Leader Bannock has completed four Intruder sorties, one Day Ranger and 14 Anti-Diver patrols and has been outstanding in his keenness for any form of operational flying. On his second operational sortie on the night of 14th June, Squadron Leader Bannock attacked and destroyed a Messerschmitt 110 at Avord airfield. Then, using the burning enemy aircraft as a target indicator, he bombed the airfield with two 500-pound bombs. On July 17th, this officer carried out a long Night Ranger to Leipzig, and in spite of doubtful weather conditions, reached his target area, destroyed an unidentified enemy aircraft at Altenburg and probably destroyed a second. In addition to destroying enemy aircraft, Squadron Leader Bannock has been particularly enthusiastic and successful in shooting down flying bombs at night. Since June 19th this pilot has shot down a total of 16 flying bombs, 15 over the sea and one over land; of these three were destroyed on one patrol on the night of July 3rd and four on July 6th.
Squadron Leader Bannock is an excellent officer and has shown much initiative in the planning and execution of his sorties. His personal example and devotion to duty together with his willingness to pass on to crews less experienced than himself the lessons learnt from his sorties against flying bombs, have done much to increase and maintain the high standard of morale not only of the aircrew but of all with whom he has come in contact.
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Bannock & Bruce (PL-33041)
CANUCK AIRMEN HAVE BAGGED SCORES OF GERMAN ROBOMBS
City of Edmonton Squadron Alone Has 79 1/2 to Credit — Bannock Leads
Ottawa, Oct. 5 - (CP) - The R.C.A.F. City of Edmonton Mosquito Intruder Squadron helped defend Britain against robot bomb attacks and had a score of 79 1/2, an air force release said last night. They got the "half" for a bomb they, shattered but didn't stop, and it crashed in open country. Top scorer in the squadron is Sqdn-Ldr. Russel Bannock, D.F.C., of 490 Strathmore Boulevard, Toronto, who has "killed" 18 1/2.
Wonder Shooting
Before the squadron took up its "doodle-bug hunting," Bannock had destroyed four enemy aircraft and scored a "probable" during intruder patrols.
Fellow-pilots told of Bannock's wonder shooting. He got four in one night, which is the record for an individual member of the squadron.
A number of crews of the squadron are credited with flying-bomb kills since they were put on the work the night of June 14, when the Nazis first began to use their secret weapon.
Flt. Lt. S.H.R. Cotterill, D.F.C., of 5 Claxton Boulevard, Toronto, has shot down four bombs.
Like Great half-Moon
"We used to stooge around," he said, "just out from the launching area in France. We were the first-line night fighter patrol. Sometimes we could see the actual launchings—a launching looks like a great half-moon of brilliant explosion. Then, when the thing came up, and it could be spotted by the steady glow from the rear end, we dived down vertically on them at full throttle.
Several kites would line up on one bomb, and if the first one missed, then the others would go down for a try. After our dive on the thing we would level out and let go with a quick burst, and then if you were too close you'd be thrown all over the sky by the explosion, or flying debris would damage the machine. Sometimes, from a distance, we weren't always sure whether there was a doodlebug or not, so we used to line up the light with a star, and then, if it moved, in we went."
Sqdn. Ldr. R.G. Gray, of Edmonton has "killed" two flying bombs.
New Technique
"We had to develop an entirely new technique to fight them," he said. "There was certainly nothing in our flying training to give us a hint. For the first couple of nights the most we knew was that Jerry had a new secret weapon, and we had to go get it. We didn't know if the things would blow up in the air and whip us. Some did blow up, of course, and we had to fly through the debris.
"The flash of the explosion blinded us, and afterward we had to grope our way, guiding the crate by the feel of the controls. As the days went by we began to know what the flying bombs would do, and we began to develop a habit of closing one eye as we shot for a 'kill,' so that when the flash had disappeared - if we were lucky enough to hit the thing - we had one eye serviceable for the darkness. Knocking down the doodlebugs was harder work than going after enemy aircraft."
He said that some of the flying-bombs showed signs of having been tampered with by French underground agents. One he was attacking suddenly wobbled, veered around, then came flying toward him. He let it go by to crash on the German fortified coast.
Flt. Lt C. J. Evans, of Brantford, got three bombs on the night of June 24. After shooting one down he tackled another in mid-Channel. He ran in close and fired and the bomb blew up, blinding him by the blast and debris, knocking out one of his engines. Then, soon after he had regained control of his stricken machine and his sight, he spotted a third bomb and swung in to shoot it down.
Best Feat of All
His squadron comrades reckoned it to be the best feat of any night, for they said it was a difficult enough business shooting down a doodlebug with two good engines. They figured getting a "kill" with only one engine was almost an impossibility.
The squadron only lost one aircraft during the battle. Several machines returned severely damaged by blast or flying debris and some came back with their paint work entirely stripped off by the blast.
It has not been possible yet to total all the kills for which Canadian airmen have been responsible. Many Canadian airmen were flying during the battle with R.A.F. squadrons, and it is likely that a high proportion of the 1,000 and more flying-bombs brought down from the air fell to the guns of men from the Dominion.
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Canadian Takes Over Crack Air SquadronLondon, 28 Oct. 1944 - (CP Cable) - Wing Cmdr. Russell Bannock, DFC., Toronto and Edmonton Mosquito fighter pilot, who was top-scorer in his squadron's fight against robot bombs, has been appointed commanding officer of the City of Edmonton squadron, the R.C.A.F. announced today. W/C Russell Bannock |
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BANNOCK, S/L Russell, DFC (C1086) - Bar to Distinguished Flying Cross - No.418 Squadron
Award effective 9 January 1945 as per London Gazette of that date &
AFRO 471/45 dated 16 March 1945.
This officer has displayed outstanding ability, great determination and devotion to duty. Within recent months he has completed a number of sorties against airfields, some of them far into enemy territory. His sterling qualities were well evidenced one night in September 1944 during an attack on an enemy airfield. Over the target Squadron Leader Bannock shot down two enemy aircraft. In the second of the fights his own aircraft was damaged by flying debris. One engine failed but he flew his aircraft several hundred miles back to base where he effected a safe landing.
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Air Force Awards
Ottawa, 25 Aug. 1945 - (BUP) - The award of the Distinguished Service Order to one member of the R.C.A.F. serving overseas, and the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross to nine members of the R.C.A.F. serving overseas were announced by air force headquarters today. Those honoured are:
Distinguished Service Order:
Wing-Cmdr. R. Bannock, D.F.C. (and bar), Edmonton.
Distinguished Flying Cross:
Squadron-Ldr. D.F. Freeman, Calgary.
Squadron-Ldr. S.E. Murray, Warren, Man.
Squadron-Ldr. W.H. Nickel, Middleton, N.S.
Flight-Lieut. D.E. Bockus, Toronto.
Flight-Lieut. Exel, Vancouver Island.
Flight-Lieut. M. Mazakoff, Wadena, Sask.
Flight-Lieut. A.A. Smith, Vancouver.
Flight-Lieut. D.J. McConnell, Sault Ste. Marie.
Flying Officer W.L. Black, Bracebridge.
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BANNOCK, W/C Russell, DFC (C1086) - Distinguished Service Order - No.406 Squadron
Award effective 8 August 1945 as per London Gazette of 17 August 1945 &
AFRO 1507/45 dated 28 September 1945.
As squadron commander, Wing Commander Bannock has proved to be an outstanding success. Since the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross he has destroyed a further seven enemy aircraft bringing his total victories to at least eleven enemy aircraft destroyed and others damaged. He has also destroyed nineteen flying bombs by night. In addition he has caused considerable disruption to the enemy's lines of communication. Under this officer's inspiring leadership his squadron has obtained a fine record of successes and reached a high standard of operational efficiency.
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Victories Include :
9 / 0 / 4 plus 2 / 0 / 0 OTG & 19 V-1s) |
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Thanks go out to
On these pages I use Hugh Halliday's extensive research which includes info from numerous sources; newspaper articles via the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (CMCC); the Google News Archives; the London Gazette Archives and other sources both published and private.
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