Compiled by
Morris D. Gates, Clifton Kinney, Ron Cleminson, Alex Saunders, Noel Funge, Paul Nyznik, Wally Kasper, Grant Pennington
Publisher
408 (Goose) Squadron Ottawa Group, 2014
ISBN
0981270824, 9780981270821
The story of the 408 Squadron, RCAF during its time in Ottawa at RCAF Station Rockcliffe has never been told in its entirety. Such an omission, perhaps understandable given the other events that took place at the same time, has denied the public a knowledge of the great achievements this Squadron accomplished for Canada, namely completion of the photography used for the first complete and accurate maps of the country; maps that in some of Canada’s remote regions replaced those originating in the Mid-1840s with the Franklin Expedition or the expeditions that searched for him. Adding to the accomplishment was the Shoran radar survey that provided the control that ensured the land’s features were correctly placed on the world’s grid of latitude and longitude. Then beginning in 1950 during the “Cold war”, the Lancaster aircraft of 408 took up the task of Arctic Reconnaissance that by year-round patrols checked that enemy lodgements were not being intruded into Canada’s Arctic regions. Concurrently, the squadron was also providing tactical air support to the Canadian Army formations of the Mobile Strike Force. Other squadron tasks inlcuded ice reconnaissance for shipping, highly accurate mapping data for Mid-Canada radar line, transport support for the same, special Meteorological Flights to detect Soviet nuclear weapons testing, wildlife surveys, forest fire reporting and air searches for downed aircraft or lost ships, transport of sick aboriginals from remote communities and providing aircrew to monitor overflights by Soviet aircraft. Much of the squadron’s flying took them to the Arctic regions where flying was carried out lacking accurate local weather forecasts, where only widespread airfields offered an alternative haven in the event of bad weather or aircraft unserviceabilities. Navigation aids were often limited to astro fixing and in the area of the North Magnetic Pole the aircraft compasses wandered about and required a complicated navigation……more
I was in 408 sqdn 1954-1959. Trying to track down copy of book.
My father was stationed at RCAF Rockliffe Marien section in the early 1950’s and I remember it well. I started school there at Viscount Alexander School. We lived in PMQ’s on McLeod Cres. I am trying to find maps or pictures of the PMQ’s.