Aviation incidents in Canada

In May 1986, as part of the 75th anniversary celebration by the United States navy, two PBYs (flying boats), also known as Cansos, from the second World War, arrived in Halifax as they retraced the steps of the Spirit of U.S. Naval aviation. On June 14, 1919, pilot John Alcock and his navigator, Vernon Brown set out from Ireland in a Vickers Vimy to cross the Atlantic. A fuel shortage convinced them to land at St. John’s, Newfoundland after a trip of 16 hours, 28 minutes. Both were knighted for their achievement. It still was not counted as a solo flight. It was left to a quiet, unassuming young mail pilot named Charles Lindbergh to set the record. In Paris, an estimated 25,000 greeted him and gave him a roaring welcome.

Other daredevil pilots flew the Atlantic Ocean, some losing their lives in the process, conquered the Atlantic Ocean and left a trail for others to follow. Seconds separated Beryl Markham from a watery grave in the Atlantic off Cape Breton when she made the record books in 1936, as the first woman pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

In early July 1936, Halifax residents got a rare glimpse of the 245-foot long Hindenburg as it flew over Halifax. The photo shows it passing over the old Clock Tower located on Citadel Hill.

This story is a true one. I was walking down the old railroad track in 1936 to my first day at the Mersey Mill, in Brooklyn, when just beyond the edge of the old station, I noticed this massive balloon less that 100 feet in the air coming down Liverpool Harbour, slowly making its way towards the town. It was the German Dirigible Hindenburg, which had appeared earlier over Halifax. The huge balloon looked like it was “snooping” (and probably our Harbour found a place on the ship charts) for possible future use. Anyway, that incident stuck in my mind and possibly her trip was responsible for the sinking of some Canadian ships, as the war progressed.

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