Double parked Ansons

cletrac (RIP) · #1 03-02-06, 19:29

With all the Saskatchewan prairies to park on, you'd think they wouldn't have to stack 'em up! I just had to post this photo that I came across the other day.
BCATC Davidson, Sk., training accident. The bottom one was aborting a landing and the top one crashed into him. Crew bailed out of the lower one, pilot of the upper one brought them both down safely. Read about it many years ago in an RAF Flying Review. This is a heretofore unknown pic taken some time after the fact, note engine covers in place. My neighbor's uncle was at the base and took this photo.

Keith Webb · #2 03-02-06, 20:02

A similar accident happened in Australia near Brocklesby NSW in 1940, where two Ansons collided and became locked together.

Source:

Info on that webpage:

Quote:

No one was seriously injured and the crew of the bottom aircraft L9162, LAC Jack Hewson and LAC Hugh Fraser bailed out along with the observer from the top aircraft (N4876) LAC Ian Sinclair. The pilot of N4876, LAC Leonard Fuller, managed to fly both aircraft about 8 kms, using the power from his starboard engine. He belly landed the two aircraft safely in a paddock belonging to Mr T. Murphy, approximately 7 miles south of Brocklesbury.

Ponysoldier · #3 03-02-06, 20:19

Was anyone taking odds that this would happen again?
Patrick

Hanno Spoelstra · #4 03-02-06, 20:43

Quote:

Originally posted by cletrac
BCATC Davidson, Sk., training accident. The bottom one was aborting a landing and the top one crashed into him. Crew bailed out of the lower one, pilot of the upper one brought them both down safely.

I can't believe these aircraft collided in mid air perfectly on top of each other and were landed undamaged. And how could it land with the landing gear down with the crew having bailed out of the lower aircraft?

I say it's a myth and I vote for calling in the Mythbusters!

H.

cletrac (RIP) · #5 03-02-06, 23:27

The gear on both planes was down when they collided. Strange how both collisions involve Annies, though different Marks. Even the positions in both cases are similar, with the top one slightly behind the lower.
As for the myth theory, I don't think Flying Review got together with my neighbor's uncle to make it all up!

#6 04-02-06, 04:30

Hanno the standard answer is "with great difficulty".

Garry Shipton (RIP) · #7 04-02-06, 18:13

Cletrac's right.There's a copy of this traiming accident in the book "The Lancaster at War" that I have.An older friend named Charlie Chartrand originally from Ottawa told me a couple of stories when he was training wireless radio operators in Ansons out in Saskatchewan.When using radio,they'd trail a wire out of the aircraft.His pilot liked to fly low.Many times they'd return to base still trailing the wire with tree branches intertwined on the aerial wire.Also when they'd be up training crews on Fridays,they'd suddenly have engine trouble wherein they'd wire the base,then make emergency landings across the US border,then spend the weekend boozing it up and chasing women in the local town while groundcrews looked for the mysterious engine problems

sapper740 · #8 05-02-06, 22:57

Quote:

Originally posted by cletrac
This is a heretofore unknown pic taken some time after the fact, note engine covers in place. My neighbor's uncle was at the base and took this photo.

I believe this picture has been published previously. I'm looking at a pic of the same incident right now on pg. 101 of "SIXTY YEARS The RCAF and CF Air Command 1924-1984" The picture is credited to the K.M. Molson collection, L.B. Best, Joe Reed, via W.J. Wheeler, Bert Phillips. According to the caption, this happened at Macleod, Alberta which was home to No.7 SFTS. I also believe I may have also seen this pic in a book titled, "The Yellow Peril" which was a book about the BCATP.

CHIMO!

Hanno Spoelstra · #9 05-02-06, 23:06

Quote:

Originally posted by Art Johnson
Hanno the standard answer is "with great difficulty".

O.K., it is with "with great difficulty" I will accept this really happened.

I think the Aussies did a more credible job, though!

H.

Keith Webb · #10 05-02-06, 23:08

Quote:

This picture has been published several times previously.

I wonder whether there were a number of prints made at the time - this sort of thing often happened with interesting pictures, unofficially of course.

sapper740 · #11 05-02-06, 23:24

Quote:

Originally posted by Keith Webb
I wonder whether there were a number of prints made at the time - this sort of thing often happened with interesting pictures, unofficially of course.

Quite likely true. I have seen the pictures of the Ansons in Australia before also. They are Mark 1's, Most of Canada's Mark 1's came from England although some were made in Canada by Canadian Car and Foundry. The aircraft in the first picture of this thread were Anson II's. Canada took on strength a total of 4413 Ansons of all marks and they weren't struck off strength until 1954. Canada also purchased a total of 826 Cessna T-50 Cranes to supplement the heavier, more expensive Ansons for the SFTS's multi engine students.

CHIMO!

sapper740 · #12 05-02-06, 23:43

Quote:

Originally posted by Hanno Spoelstra
O.K., it is with "with great difficulty" I will accept this really happened.

I think the Aussies did a more credible job, though!

Hanno, truth is sometimes stranger than fiction! The incident in Canada did indeed happen and has been well documented. There is a very good book out about the experiences of the British Commonwealth Airman Training Plan called the "Yellow Peril" The BCATP was one of Canada's greatest, contributions to the war effort in terms of manpower supplied and money expended. Unfortunately the BCATP has been largely unheralded and ignored by authors of WW II stories. The BCATP ultimately employed over 104,000 personnel and was graduating over 5,000 aircrew a month at its peak. No mean feat for a small country, population wise, such as Canada who also supplied several Infantry Divisions, a Navy, and kept the factories running to supply the materiel of war.

CHIMO!

Snowtractor · #13 06-02-06, 07:56

... at creating a FOUR engine bomber. From reports they flew okay, it was landing that was the problem.

Sean

cmperry4 · #14 12-02-06, 02:45

Almost 3,000 Ansons of various marks were made in Canada during WWII by various contractors to Federal Aircraft, a company formed by the government. There were four other final assembly contractors as well as Canadian Car (Amherst), including MacDonald Bros. Aircraft here in Winnnipeg.

Hanno Spoelstra · #15 26-10-08, 22:01

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp478Tgm5gg

"The mid-air collision of two Avro Anson aircraft, on a training flight from No. 2 Service Flying Training School (2SFTS) based at Wagga Wagga, resulted in this dramatic and successful crash landing. On 29 September 1940, the two Ansons of 2 Service Flying Training School were flying at near 1,000 ft in the Brocklesbury area. N4876 (piloted by L. Fuller, observer I. Sinclair) and L9162 (J. Hewson, observer L. Fraser) lost sight of each other. The first aircraft descended onto the other. The lower aircraft's turret became lodged in the wing root of N4876, and much of L9162's cabin was crushed. Both port engines were making strange noises. The occupants of the lower aircraft bailed out, Hewson being obstructed by the damage and slightly injured. In the upper aircraft, Fuller decided a forced landing was possible, and ordered his observer out. Southwest of Brocklesbury he brought the two aircraft down, locked together. He was uninjured. N4876 was surprisingly undamaged and continued in use after repairs, but L9162 was only fit to continue as an instructional airframe.
Fuller went on to fly with the RAAF in Europe and won the DFM. Unfortunately he was killed at East Sale on 18 March 1944 when he was hit by a bus while riding a bike."

Cammy · #16 27-10-08, 19:45

I just interviewed a Commonwealth Training officer yesterday in High River Alberta, who told me about this happening while he was an instructor in Alberta. Apparently,it happened fairly often,and he told me of when during one training flight he looked up and saw two wheels of an Anson not ten feet above him. He quickly down powered and dropped away from the other aircraft...
The same fellow now owns and flies the exact same Tiger Moth that he flew back in 1943!
Cheers !

Alex Blair (RIP) · #17 27-10-08, 21:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cammy

I just interviewed a Commonwealth Training officer yesterday in High River Alberta, who told me about this happening while he was an instructor in Alberta. Apparently,it happened fairly often,and he told me of when during one training flight he looked up and saw two wheels of an Anson not ten feet above him. He quickly down powered and dropped away from the other aircraft...
The same fellow now owns and flies the exact same Tiger Moth that he flew back in 1943!
Cheers !

I believe him..
I saw a picture once of an Anson that safely landed with another Anson piggy backed in mid air on top of it..Both crews survived and they didn't look damaged in the pix I saw..
It happened.

Darrell Brown · #18 28-10-08, 04:29

Back in WW2 at the height of the BCATP the sky was full of aircraft. The BCATP employed 10,000 "yellow perils" over 800 cadets killed and 2500 in total including instructors, WAGs,AGs,Os,Ns Bs and unfortunately some joyriders. That must have been a well printed picture as I have a copy somewhere. Also my good friend and veteran WAG Mike Hickie took this picture at Claresholm, Alta. Cessna Crane poor landing, no one killed amazingly.

Hanno Spoelstra · #19 01-11-08, 20:49

Talking about a hairy flight!!

http://s0006.photobucket.com/albums/...eloseswing.flv