Stamp from Canada's "75th Anniversary of the R.C.A.F." Commemorative Issue of September 4, 1999

The original version of the Avro Anson, the Avro 652, was a civilian aircraft that was first flown by Imperial Airways in 1935. A military version was used for coastal defense and was credited with destroying six enemy aircraft in the early years of the war. In 1939 it was selected as the twin engine trainer for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. A new design, the Anson II, with more powerful engines and a powered hydraulic undercarriage, was developed for production in Canada. This model, along with the Anson V with new engines and a molded plywood fuselage (replacing the original fabric-covered one), was used for most twin-engine pilot and navigator training in the BCATP.

While training as a bomb-aimer/air gunner and navigator at Mountainview, Ontario, Chatham, New Brunswick and Summerside, P.E.I., D.F. Grose flew 64 flights in Ansons between October 20, 1943 and June 8, 1944. They ranged in duration from 25 minutes for an incomplete tracer demonstration to 3 hours and 40 minutes on a parallel track search.

Sources

Grose, Douglas Fraser. Flying Log Book for Aircrew other than Pilot. Royal Canadian Air Force. 1943-1945.

Molson, K.M.. Canada's National Aviation Museum. Ottawa: National Museum of Science and Technology, 1988.

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© Derrick Grose, 2024