Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

RCAF SERVICE DRESS UNIFORM

Date Range From

1939

Date Range To

1945

Materials

WOOL, RAYON, BRASS

No. Pieces

1

Length

76.5

Width

67.1

Description

JACKET, MILITARY, BLUE WOOL WITH EIGHT BRASS BUTTONS. ALL BUTTONS DEPICT FLYING EAGLE AND CROWN, MARKED, "RCAF." EACH SLEEVE HAS TWO BLACK BANDS WITH BABY BLUE STRIPE IN CENTRE OF EACH BAND, SIGNIFYING FLIGHT LIEUTENANT'S RANK. SHOULDER FLASHES MARKED "CANADA." FOUR PATCH POCKETS ON FRONT OF JACKET. ABOVE LEFT BREAST POCKET IS BADGE MARKED "AG, RCAF," DEPICTS WING, CROWN AND WREATH. INSIDE POCKET TAILOR LABEL MARKED, "9645 ISSACSON." BELT WITH TWO PRONGED BRASS BUCKLE SEWN ONTO BACK OF JACKET.

Subjects

PERSONAL SYMBOL

Historical Association

MILITARY

History

MR. LEONARD ISAACSON, 1917-2008, WAS BORN IN CARMANGAY AND RAISED IN A FARM OUTSIDE CHAMPION. HE MOVED TO LETHBRIDGE AFTER MARRYING WANDA JENSEN IN JULY, 1940. ISAACSON JOINED THE ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE IN 1941. HE INITIALLY WORKED AS A SECURITY GUARD AT THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AIR TRAINING SCHOOL IN FORT MACLEOD, BEFORE SIGNING UP TO BECOME AN AIR GUNNER. ISAACSON TRAINED AT THE NO. 3 BOMBING AND GUNNERY SCHOOL IN PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE. ISAACSON THEN TAUGHT AT THE KENYON FIELD BOMBING AND GUNNERY SCHOOL IN LETHBRIDGE FROM OCTOBER 1942 TO SEPTEMBER 1943. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, ISAACSON WAS POSTED TO THE OPERATIONAL SQUADRON 166, BASED IN KIRMINGTON, ENGLAND. FROM MAY 24 TO AUGUST 29, 1944, FLIGHT LIEUTENANT ISAACSON SERVED AS A TAIL GUNNER ON A LANCASTER BOMBER. IN GARY ALLISON'S BOOK, "PRAIRIE BOYS," ISAACSON RECALLED THE POSITION OF TAIL GUNNER AS DIFFICULT. THE SPACE WAS CRAMPED, AND TEMPERATURES SOMETIMES REACHED BELOW 40 DEGREES CENTIGRADE. ISAACSON’S MISSIONS LASTED FROM 3.5 TO 9.5 HOURS. WHILE OVERSEAS, ISAACSON FLEW 31 MISSIONS OVER ENEMY TERRITORY. ISAACSON’S FIRST FLIGHT WAS MAY 19, 1944, IN WHICH HE FILLED IN FOR SOMEONE WHO WAS ILL. DURING THAT FLIGHT OVER AACHEN, GERMANY, THERE WAS HEAVY FLAK. ISAACSON RECALLED BEING SOAKED WITH SWEAT AND ADMITTED TO BEING TERRIFIED. HIS FINAL MISSION WAS AUGUST 30, 1944. ISAACSON ONLY FIRED HIS GUN ONCE DURING HIS 31 MISSIONS. HIS MAIN JOB WAS TO SEARCH THE SKIES FOR ENEMY PLANES AND USE HIS VANTAGE POINT TO INSTRUCT THE PILOT DURING ATTACKS. OF HIS JOB, ISAACSON ONCE SAID, “YOU DIDN’T DARE TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE SKY!” AFTER THE WAR, ISAACSON WORKED FOR STURDIE OIL AND THE WORLD BOOK ENCYCLOPEDIA. ISAACSON KEPT A MUSEUM ROOM IN HIS BASEMENT, WHERE PARAPHERNALIA RELATING TO HIS EXPERIENCE IN THE RCAF WAS DISPLAYED, INCLUDING A LARGE MAP OF EUROPE WITH THE LOCATION OF ALL 31 MISSIONS PINPOINTED. THROUGHOUT HIS MILITARY CAREER, ISAACSON RECEIVED SEVEN SERVICE MEDALS, INCLUDING THE CROIX DE GUERRE AVEC ETOILE D’ARGENT, A RARE MEDAL FOR A CANADIAN. LIKELY, THE RCAF FLYING HELMET WAS DISPLAYED IN THE MUSEUM ROOM. ACCORDING TO THE MILITARY SERVICE RECORDS RELEASED FROM LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA “LEONARD J. ISAACSON ATTESTED TO THE ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE ON NOVEMBER 6, 1941. IN OFFICER ISAACSON’S RECORD OF SERVICE IT IS RECORDED THAT HE SERVED 3 MONTHS WITH THE 20TH BATTERY IN LETHBRIDGE. HE WAS POSTED IN TORONTO, ONTARIO; TRENTON, ONTARIO; MCLEOD, ALBERTA; CALGARY, ALBERTA; PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, MANITOBA; LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA; HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA AND LACHINE, QUEBEC. HE EARNED THE PROMOTIONS: LAC - MAY 6, 1942; PILOT OFFICER – SEPTEMBER 25, 1942; FLYING OFFICER – MARCH 25, 1943 AND FLIGHT LIEUTENANT – SEPTEMBER 25, 1944. HE RECEIVED THE AIR GUNNER’S BADGE, CANADIAN VOLUNTEER SERVICE MEDAL AND MAPLE LEAF, ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE OPERATION WINGS, FRENCH CROIX DE GUERRE, 39-45 STAR, FRANCE AND GERMANY STAR, DEFENSE MEDAL AND GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL. IN FLIGHT LIEUTENANT ISAACSON’S CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE HE COMPLETED HIS VOLUNTARY SERVICE ON APRIL 3, 1945 AFTER SERVING IN CANADA FROM NOVEMBER 6, 1941 – NOVEMBER 1, 1943 AND IN THE UNITED KINGDOM FROM NOVEMBER 2, 1942 – JANUARY 20, 1945 AND IN CANADA AGAIN FROM JANUARY 21 1945 – APRIL 3, 1945. HE WAS DISCHARGED ON APRIL 3, 1945 AT CALGARY, AB.” THE FOLLOWING EXCERPTS ARE FROM THE TRANSCRIPTION OFF LEN ISAACSON’S INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AIR TRAINING PLAN PRESERVATION SOCIETY. [I WAS] JUST PAST 18 [WHEN I LEFT HOME]. KIND OF HARD TO REMEMBER, BUT I WAS PAST 18. I WAS PATRIOTIC REALLY, AND THERE WAS A TIME WHEN THE LAW WAS, THAT IF YOU WERE NOT MARRIED BY A CERTAIN DATE, YOU WERE CONSIDERED SINGLE WHEN THEY STARTED CONSCRIPTION. AND BETWEEN MY WIFE AND A FRIEND, THEY TALKED ME INTO GETTING MARRIED SO THAT I WOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED ELIGIBLE FOR CONSCRIPTION. AND I DIDN’T REALLY FEEL GOOD ABOUT THAT. ONE DAY, ONE GUY, AND I DON’T KNOW HOW SERIOUS HE WAS, BUT HE SAID “I ALWAYS FIGURED YOU HAD A YELLOW STREAK DOWN YOUR BACK” (LAUGHS) AND IT WASN’T ONLY FOR THAT REASON, BUT I FIGURED I’D BETTER SIGN UP AND I SURE DIDN’T WANT TO JOIN THE ARMY. SO I JOINED THE AIR FORCE. I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT I WOULD BECOME, BECAUSE I DIDN’T HAVE THE EDUCATION TO BECOME A PILOT. AND THAT WAS WHEN I FOUND OUT I WAS GOING TO BE A SECURITY GUARD, AND I WAS POSTED TO FORT MACLEOD FOR FOUR MONTHS AND THAT WAS BEFORE I WENT ON TO MY AIR GUNNER TRAINING. A CORPORAL CAME INTO OUR BILLETS AND SAID THEY WERE LOOKING FOR SOME STRAY AIR GUNNERS AND IF YOU WANT TO JOIN UP, SIGN HERE. I HAD HAD ENOUGH OF BEING A STUPID SECURITY GUARD, PACKING A RIFLE AROUND WITH NO BULLETS IN IT. WE MOVED AROUND QUITE A BIT, MIND YOU, BUT THERE WAS THIS THING RIGHT UP ON TOP OF THE HANGAR, AND IT HAD A SEARCHLIGHT AND WE WOULD TURN THIS AROUND AND YOU KNOW, AND SO ON. AND IT WAS BORING, AND YOU WEREN’T CONTRIBUTING VERY MUCH AND I DIDN’T FEEL VERY GOOD ABOUT THAT. SO I JOINED, I DECIDED TO BE AN AIR GUNNER. THEN I WAS POSTED FROM THERE TO PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE. BUT GOING BACK A LITTLE BIT WHEN I FIRST JOINED THE AIR FORCE, I WAS SENT TO MANNING POOL IN TORONTO, AND FROM TORONTO, I WAS SENT FINALLY TO FORT MACLEOD AND THEN TO A LITTLE AERODROME CALLED MCDONALD, MANITOBA, WHICH WAS NOT TOO FAR OUT OF PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE. FORT MACLEOD WAS PRETTY WELL DEVELOPED FAR AS BUILDING WAS CONCERNED, WHEN I GOT THERE. IT WAS A GOOD PLACE; THEY HAD GOOD FOOD, NICE CANTEEN AND GOOD BILLETS. BUT BEING A GUARD, I DIDN’T GET TO SEE MUCH OF THE ACTION. WELL FROM WHERE I WAS, YOU COULD SEE THEM FLYING, COMING IN AND OUT, AND UH…IT WAS BORING. [GUARDS WERE IMPORTANT TO PREVENT] SABOTAGE, YOU KNOW. WE PRETTY WELL KNEW, YOU NEVER KNOW FOR SURE, BUT WE DIDN’T EXPECT ANY ATTACKS FROM THE AIR OR FROM THE GROUND, BUT THERE WAS ALWAYS BE SOME CURIOUS PERSON OR MAYBE JUST A PLAIN IDIOT WOULD COME TO DO HARM, AND WE HAD TO SORT OF GUARD THE PLACE. THERE WAS A PERIMETER, AN AREA THAT WE HAD TO GO OUT AND GO AROUND IT, AND WE WOULD GET OUR TIME UP ON THIS LITTLE THING LIKE A COUNTRY OUTHOUSE, AND WE HAD A SPOTLIGHT, AND WE COULD SPOT AROUND. AND WE HAD COMMUNICATIONS TOO; WE COULD TALK BACK AND FORTH TO OTHER PEOPLE THAT WERE ON THE TOWER. [AFTER I LEFT FORT MACLEOD I WENT TO PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE] BY TRAIN, WE STOPPED IN MEDICINE HAT. WANDA WAS WITH ME AND TO PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE. I FORGET EXACTLY HOW IT WORKED BUT ANYWAY, THEY GAVE ME TIME TO GET AN APARTMENT. CALL IT AN APARTMENT IF YOU WANT BUT IT WAS PRACTICALLY A BIG ONE ROOM, WITH A LITTLE CUBBY HOLE WITH A KITCHEN AND A STOVE. BUT, HOW I GOT OUT TO THE BASE, I DON’T KNOW. PROBABLY THEY GAVE ME SOME TIME IN PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE TO FIND A PLACE TO STAY, BUT I JUST DON’T REMEMBER. BUT EVERY WEEKEND, I’D GO INTO PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE TO SPEND WITH MY WIFE. IT WAS A NICE PLACE. I LIKED IT. THERE WERE QUITE A FEW INDIANS IN THAT AREA. THE FLYING WAS ALL MAINLY TRAINING AIRCRAFT, YOU DIDN’T SEE MUCH OTHER THAN TRAINING AIRCRAFT. [AT THE LETHBRIDGE BASE] THE AIR GUNNERS WERE ROOKIES AND THEIR MACHINE GUNS WOULD SOMETIMES JAM AND THEY, THROUGH PANIC AND SO ON, WOULDN’T GET THEM CLEARED AND OPERATIONAL AGAIN- UNJAMMED WAS WHAT I SHOULD SAY. AND SO QUITE OFTEN, THAT AIRCRAFT WOULD GO AND COME BACK WITH NOTHING DONE BECAUSE THE MACHINE GUN HAD PLUGGED. OR MAYBE JUST GOT HALF IT DONE AND COME BACK, INCOMPLETE, INCOMPLETE, OR PART COMPLETE. SO I WAS IN CHARGE OF THAT GUNNERY FLIGHT IN REGARDS TO AIR GUNNERS, BEING AN OFFICER. I STARTED FLYING WITH THEM, AND I HAD A SYSTEM OF GETTING THEM, TIME WAS IMPORTANT. I DON’T KNOW WHY THEY HAD TO COME BACK. IT’S TOO BAD THEY COULDN’T GO DOWN AND TRY IT AGAIN. BUT AS TIME WAS IMPORTANT, I WOULD GET THE GUNNER OUT OF THERE AND UNJAM THE GUN, WHICH WAS USUALLY HARD TO DO, AND GET BACK INTO IT AND GET THE EXERCISE COMPLETED. I ENCOURAGED OTHER INSTRUCTORS TO DO THE SAME AND WE WERE GETTING MORE COMPLETED EXERCISES THAN WE WERE GETTING BEFORE. I STILL HAVE THE LETTER, I GOT A LETTER OF COMMENDATION OF WHAT I ACCOMPLISHED, AND HOW THE NUMBER OF INCOMPLETES WERE REDUCED VERY, VERY MUCH. IT WAS A VERY COMPLIMENTARY LETTER. AND I CARRIED ON THAT WAY. I FLEW A LOT BECAUSE I LIKED TO FLY. SOMETIMES I—WELL IN THAT LETTER THEY PUT OUT FOR ME, OR ABOUT ME, SAID I WENT ON AS MANY AS SEVEN FLIGHTS IN A DAY, WHICH WAS QUITE A BIT. AND A BIT TIRING TOO, I’M TELLING YOU. I CAME HOME TIRED, BACK TO MY APARTMENT. MAYBE ONLY TWICE I WAS CALLED INTO A CLASSROOM TO INSTRUCT ON THE OPERATION OF A MACHINE GUN. [AT THE LETHBRIDGE BASE] THEY HAD INSTRUCTORS, BOMB AIMERS, AIR GUNNERS, AND I THINK AIR GUNNER WIRELESS OPERATORS. AND SO THEY’D HAVE INSTRUCTORS IN EACH DEPARTMENT. AND HOW MANY OF THEM DID THE FLYING AS WELL, I DON’T KNOW. BUT THERE WOULD BE QUITE A BIT OF CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION, ESPECIALLY IF IT WERE NAVIGATORS, WIRELESS OPERATORS. I DIDN’T LIKE CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION, SO THAT’S WHY I FLEW SO MUCH. AFTER I BECAME AN OFFICER THE FOOD GOT BETTER IN THE OFFICERS MESS COMPARED TO THE GENERAL MESS] WE HAD TO PAY SO MUCH, I FORGET HOW MUCH. I FELT LIKE A DUCK OUT OF WATER FOR AWHILE WITH THE COMMISSION. THOUGH I DIDN’T EXPECT IT, IT WAS VERY…THE FIRST GUY THAT SALUTED ME, I DUCKED, I THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO HIT ME-JUST KIDDING. BUT I WAS REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE AND SO WHEN I GOT OUT TO THE STATION OUT HERE, I WAS STILL UNCOMFORTABLE. AND FINALLY, I GOT WORKED INTO WHERE I GOT ACQUAINTED. EVERYBODY, THEY WERE A BUNCH OF GOOD JOES, YOU KNOW. MY NAME BEING ISAACSON, I WAS CALLED IKE. THERE WAS A LOT OF FUN, A LOT OF JOKES, PRACTICAL JOKES AND THAT TYPE OF THING. EVERYBODY HAD A NICKNAME. WE CALLED ONE GUY DOC BECAUSE HE LEFT MEDICAL TRAINING TO JOIN UP. ANOTHER FELLOW WOULD BLINK HIS EYES AN AWFUL LOT WHEN HE TALKED, AND WE CALLED HIM BLINKY BILL. JUST A FEW THINGS LIKE THAT. [AS FAR AS PRACTICAL JOKES GO] I CAN’T THINK OF TOO MANY EXCEPT ONE THAT I HAD THE HABIT OF DOING. I WOULD ASSEMBLE A SHELL, A BULLET, AND IT HAD CORDITE IN IT, AND IT HAD LITTLE TINY SLIPS OF MACARONI, I MEAN SPAGHETTI, INSTEAD OF BLACK POWDER, AND I WOULD PUT THAT DOWN SOMEPLACE, AND WHEN THEY WEREN’T LOOKING, I WOULD SET A MATCH TO IT. SO I SCARED THE PANTS OFF A FEW GUYS WITH THAT THING. SO IT ENDED UP, THEY CALLED ME CORDITE IKE. ANYWAY, I CAN’T THINK…THERE WAS A LOT OF LAUGHTER, I JUST CAN’T THINK OF ANY PARTICULAR THINGS AT THE MOMENT. [I HAD ONLY THREE MONTHS OF CLASSES BEFORE I GRADUATED] AS AN AIR GUNNER. AND THAT WAS SHORT, COMPARED TO WHAT THE NAVIGATORS AND SO ON. . I SPEAK OF NAVIGATORS WITH GREAT RESPECT. [IN LETHBRIDGE I LIVED] ON 644 NINTH STREET. RIGHT ACROSS THE CORNER THERE WAS A BUTCHER SHOP AND A LITTLE STORE. THAT’S WHERE I STAYED AND WANDA STAYED THERE WHILE I WAS OVERSEAS. AND WE STAYED THERE UNTIL WE CAME TO THIS PLACE; IT WAS BUILT THERE FOR VETERANS. WELL I MUST HAVE BEEN INFORMED [THAT I’D BE GOING OVERSEAS] IN OCTOBER OF ’43 OF GOING OVERSEAS, IT MUST HAVE BEEN IN OCTOBER. I REMEMBER WANDA AND I GOING TO CALGARY AND DOING A BIT OF SHOPPING FOR THINGS I WANTED TO TAKE OVER WITH ME AND SO ON. OCTOBER. IT MUST HAVE BEEN IN THAT TIME BECAUSE I WAS IN ENGLAND FOR CHRISTMAS, AT CHRISTMAS TIME I WAS IN ENGLAND AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN IN ’44. ’43?? YES D-DAY WAS IN ’44 WASN’T IT, SO I GOT OVER THERE IN ’43, AND ON TO OPERATIONS IN ’44. I WENT OUT, MY FIRST OPERATION WAS IN THE MONTH OF MAY 1944, AND BY THE END OF AUGUST, THE VERY LAST DAY OF AUGUST, OF THE SAME YEAR, WAS MY 31ST AND LAST OPERATION. I REMEMBER DISTINCTLY TOUCHING THE GROUND, KISSING THE EARTH “IT’S ALL DONE, FINISHED! “ THE NEXT MORNING, I WENT TO THE TELEPHONE, AND I JUST SIMPLY PUT IN A TELEGRAM, I GUESS IT WAS, AND JUST SAID SIMPLY TO MY WIFE WANDA, “TOUR COMPLETED, I LOVE YOU.” THAT WAS IT. SHE KNEW I WAS DONE. I REMEMBER SEEING [TWO PLANE CRASHES IN LETHBRIDGE]FROM THE AIR. AND I REMEMBER THE PILOT, DALGLEISH. I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. THE OTHER ONE I REMEMBER QUITE DISTINCTLY BECAUSE I WAS A FLYING INSTRUCTOR, NOT TEACHING FLYING, BUT I WAS FLYING WITH THE AIR GUNNERS. AND I WAS ABOUT THE ONLY ONE AT THE TIME THAT WAS DOING THIS AND ONE OF THE CHAPS CAME OUT AND SAID, “I WANT TO TAKE THIS FLIGHT, BECAUSE I WANT TO SKIP CHURCH PARADE. “ AND HE SKIPPED CHURCH PARADE, AND IT CRASHED AND HE WAS KILLED. PEOPLE OFF BASE SAID, “HEY. THERE’S A CRASH OUT THERE”, AND THEY SAID THAT THE CREW AND THE STUDENTS WERE KILLED, AND THEY THOUGHT THAT THAT HAD TO BE ME BECAUSE I WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT HAD BEEN DOING IT AT THE TIME. SO QUITE A FEW FELLOWS LOOKED AT ME AND THEIR EYES BUGGED OUT AT WHAT HAPPENED AND HOW COME. BUT ANYWAY, I REMEMBER THAT, AND IT’S FUNNY, I WISH I COULD REMEMBER HIS NAME, BUT IT’S KIND OF A SAD STORY, ALL THAT TRAINING, COME OUT THERE, ON BASE, AND ONE FLIGHT, GONE. IT’S EVEN WORSE WHEN YOU’RE ON OPERATIONS AND THAT HAPPENS. JUST ONE THING KIND OFF FROM SOCIETY NOW…THESE TWO BOYS WERE FROM BELGIUM, AND THEIR UNIFORMS WERE, DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT, THEY WERE BLUE, AND SO. THEY WERE BOTH AIR GUNNERS, MID UPPER AND TAIL GUNNER. AND THEY WERE GUNG HO TO GET IN, FIGHTING, ETCETERA, AND THAT THEIR COFFIN DIDN’T COME BACK THEIR FIRST DARN AIR RAID. [MY PARENTS] HAD…WELL I THINK THEY WERE RATHER PROUD OF ME ACTUALLY. MY BROTHER WAS TWO YEARS OLDER THAN ME AND HE JOINED THE ARMY. BUT MY WIFE AND MY FRIENDS, THEY DISCOURAGED ME. AND I CAN UNDERSTAND YOUR KNOW. BUT I WAS YOUNG OF COURSE TOO, AND THERE IS SOMETHING EXCITING ABOUT GOING TO WAR TOO, BUT I WAS TRULY A PROUD CANADIAN. [AFTER I LEFT LETHBRIDGE WE SHIPPED OUT BY TRAIN TO HALIFAX WHERE WE DEPARTED.] YES, TRAIN, HEY THAT’S QUITE A RIDE ON A TRAIN FROM HERE TO HALIFAX. AND I WAS THERE FOR NOT VERY LONG. I SAW A BIT OF HALIFAX. AND FROM THERE WE GOT THE BOAT, AND I’M NOT JUST SURE WHICH ONE, BUT IT WAS(PAUSE) MAURITANIA WAS ONE OF THEM. NO I CAN’T THINK OF THE NAME OF THE OTHER ONE-IT WAS A DIFFERENT NAME. I DIDN’T [GET SEASICK ON THE WAY OVER], MAYBE JUST A LITTLE BIT UPSET, JUST A BIT WOOZEY ON THE WAY BACK. I REMEMBER I COULD HARDLY UNDERSTAND HOW THAT SHIP COULD STAY AFLOAT. I WOULD LOOK AND THE DARN DECK WAS UP LIKE THIS (RAISES HIS HAND TO SHOW AN UPWARD SLOPE OF A 45 DEGREE ANGLE) AND THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW IT WAS DOWN LIKE THIS( HAND BACK HORIZONTAL OR AT AN OPPOSITE ANGLE) AND I FELT PRETTY GOOD THAT I DID’ GET WHAT YOU’D CALL REALLY SEASICK. AND THEN WE LANDED AT LIVERPOOL, AND FROM THERE THEY TOOK US TO BOURNEMOUTH, A SEA RESORT. FROM THERE, POSTED OUT TO OTU’S, OR OPERATIONAL TRAINING UNIT. [I WAS IN ENGLAND FOR ABOUT FIVE MONTHS BEFORE MY FIRST MISSION] WHEN THEY POSTED US TO THE SQUADRON, THEN WE KNEW WE WERE IN TROUBLE. AND THEN WE GOT ACQUAINTED WITH THE SQUADRON, AND THE PILOT AND NAVIGATOR MAINLY IN THE TRAINING AND OF COURSE THE WIRELESS OPERATOR. WE WERE ALL NEEDED, BUT OF COURSE THE PILOT AND NAVIGATOR. BUT WHEN WE GOT ON THE SQUADRON AND WERE GETTING USED TO THE SQUADRON, THE RUNWAYS AND THE CIRCUITS AND BUMPS, THE CIRCUITS AND LANDINGS, THEY CALLED THEM - NAMES I HAVEN’T THOUGHT OF FOR A LONG TIME. AND THEN WE WERE ASSIGNED AN AIRCRAFT AND WE WERE READY TO GO ON OPS. AND MUCH TO MY SURPRISE, I WAS CALLED OUT BECAUSE AN AIR GUNNER, A REAR GUNNER WAS SICK AND I REPLACED HIM. THAT WAS MY FIRST OPERATION. AND IT WAS A GERMAN TARGET AT NIGHT, AACHEN, GERMANY, AND I WAS TERRIFIED. I WAS TERRIFIED! OVER THE TARGET, FLAK BURSTING IN THE AIR, YOU COULD SEE THE SMOKE, SEARCH LIGHTS, FIRES BURNING BELOW, AND SO ON. AND YOU LOOK AROUND AND ON THE WAY THERE YOU HARDLY SAW ANYTHING ELSE, BUT YOU GET THERE AND YOU FIND LANCASTERS ABOVE YOU, BELOW YOU AND ALL AROUND YOU BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T FLY IN FORMATION, YOU KNOW. AND I WAS TERRIFIED, AND I ACTUALLY THOUGHT TO MYSELF “AH IS THIS…I CAN’T TAKE THIS” AND WHEN I GOT BACK HOME, I FELT KIND OF PROUD OF MYSELF AND I DID THIRTY MORE OF THEM. I WAS ALWAYS SORT OF TERRIFIED OVER TIME, BUT YOU GET A LITTLE MORE USED TO IT. IN DAYLIGHT, TARGETS WERE COMPARATIVELY EASY, SOME OF THEM WERE A PIECE OF CAKE, AS A MATTER OF FACT, ON FRANCE, BUT I WAS NEVER TO GERMANY ON A DAYLIGHT TRIP. BUT YOU KNOW YOU’RE BEING HUNTED BY THE LUFTWAFFE, BUT WHEN YOU FINALLY HEAR THE NAVIGATOR OR THE BOMBARDIER INSTRUCT THE PILOT TO….”LEFT LEFT..STEADY RIGHT..STEADY” AND AT THE SAME TIME FLAK BURSTING AROUND , AND THE CONCUSSION BOUNCES YOU AROUND, YOU KNOW, AND FINALLY “BOMBS AWAY!” . THE AIRCRAFT WOULD JUST LIFT (LEN SHOWING HAND GESTURES OF AN OBJECT LIFTING FROM THE RELEASE OF HEAVY WEIGHT) BECAUSE THE LOAD WAS DISCHARGED. AND YOU SIGHED A OF RELIEF THERE, BUT YOU WEREN’T THROUGH IT YET BECAUSE YOU HAD TO GET HOME, AND THAT’S WHEN WE KNEW THE FIGHTERS WERE GONNA DO THEIR BEST TO FOLLOW US AS FAR AS THEY COULD. BUT ANYBODY THAT SAYS THEY WEREN’T TERRIFIED OR SCARED OVER A GERMAN TARGET AT NIGHT WERE THE FLAK WAS TREMENDOUS, IS LYING OR CRAZY. I FOUND OUT THAT MY OWN NERVES AND SO ON, I CAME OUT PRACTICALLY WRINGING WET FROM PERSPIRATION AND FROM THERE ON I DIDN’T WEAR THE KIND OF PROTECTION THAT THEY..THERE WAS A SUIT THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HELP YOU KIND GUIDE OFF LIGHT FLAK WITH LITTLE PIECES. AND IT WAS SO HOT THAT I COULDN’T STAND IT, SO I USED TO GO, AND I WOULD HEAR THEM TALKING ABOUT THE TARGET I WOULD REACH UP LIKE THIS (LEN PUTS HIS HAND IN THE AIR, AS IF TO TURN A SWITCH OFF) AND TURN THE SWITCH OFF FOR THE ELECTRIC POWER SO IT WOULDN’T BE HEATING MY UNIFORM, OR MY FLYING SUIT, AND I WENT AND TURNED GOING OUT OF THE TARGET WITHOUT COOLING OFF, AND I DON’T’ KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE EXPERIENCE THE SAME THING, BUT DO YOU EVER DO THAT? THE FLAK, YOU KNOW, THEY DON’T SHOOT AT YOU DIRECTLY, DID YOU KNOW THAT? YEAH, IT’S A BARRAGE, YEAH, AND YOU HAD TO FLY THROUGH IT. AT NIGHT WHEN THE FIGHTERS ATTACKED US, WELL, DIRECT FLAK OF COURSE, BUT THERE ARE SOME TARGETS WHERE THEY PICKED YOU OUT SINGLY AND FIRE DIRECTLY AT YOU AND THAT WAS MOSTLY AT DAY TIME. IT WAS HARD FOR THEM TO FIND YOU [DURING THE DAY] BUT I THINK THE GREATEST LOSSES WERE AT NIGHT AND THE GREATEST LOSSES WERE MORE FROM THE FIGHTERS THAN THE FLAK. FLAK DIDN’T ACCOUNT FOR AS MANY BUT IT WAS TERRIFYING. AND YOU SEE..I REMEMBER ONE IN PARTICULAR, ONE OF THEM, I COULD SEE ONE AIRCRAFT GOING DOWN AND AS IT HIT THE GROUND, YOU COULD JUST SEE A STRING OF FIRE GOING THROUGH THE VILLAGE OR CITY OR WHATEVER IT WAS YOU KNOW. I SAW BOMBERS, A FEW, BLOW RIGHT UP AND GO DOWN IN FLAMES AND SO ON. I NEVER SAW ONE DEAD PERSON IN ALL MY OPERATIONS, SO YOU ARE EITHER DEAD OR CLINGING TO LIFE. ON DAYLIGHTS, [WE WERE ESCORTED BY ALLIED FIGHTERS]. NOT THE FIRST FEW, BUT EVENTUALLY IT WAS, THEY SENT OUT SOME SPITFIRES. AND I DIDN’T SEE TOO MANY OF THEM, BUT THEY WERE AROUND. AND I ONLY SAW ONE ATTACK. I LOOKED UP, DURING MY SEARCH OF COURSE, I LOOKED UP AND SAW A MESSERSCHMITT 110 DIVING DOWN LIKE THIS (LEN SHOWS A DIRECTION WITH HIS HAND 45 DEGREES DOWNWARD) AND I SAW A SPITFIRE RIGHT BEHIND IT, AND I SAW EXCHANGE OF FIRE, BUT I DIDN’T DARE WATCH THE PROCEDURE BECAUSE SOMEBODY MIGHT BE COMING ON THIS SIDE OF ME, SO I DIDN’T SEE THE FINAL, BUT I IMAGINE THE LUFTWAFFE GOT THE CHOP THAT DAY. A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT WE WERE FIRING, BLAZING AWAY OUR GUNS, SOMETHING LIKE YOU SEE IN AMERICAN MOVIES. OF COURSE THEY FLEW DIFFERENTLY, THEY HAD, THEY WERE BRISTLING WITH GUNS, AND SO ON, BUT THERE WERE SOME GUNNERS THAT DID A WHOLE COMPLETE TOUR AND NEVER FIRED THEIR GUN. THE REAR GUNNER’S MAIN JOB WAS TO WATCH AND GUIDE THEIR PILOT IN CASE OF AN ATTACK AND YOU WEREN’T ACHING TO FIRE YOUR GUNS BUT THERE WEREN’T TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY GOT INTO A COMBAT TO WHERE THEY WOULD FIRE, AND I KNOW ONE FELLOW SHOT DOWN A…ON OUR SQUADRON, I KNOW HE CAME BACK AND THEY GAVE HIM CREDIT FOR SHOOTING DOWN AN ENEMY, AND I ONLY FIRED MY GUNS ONCE. TWICE ACTUALLY, ONE WAS ALMOST IN PANIC, AND THE OTHER WAS OVER A TARGET. BUT THAT’S TRUE, A LOT OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE AMERICANS AND THE BRITISH AND THE CANADIANS. WE KNEW WHAT OUR TARGETS WERE[ON D-DAY], AND WE KNEW THAT IT WAS A MARSHALLING YARD, COMMUNICATIONS, RAIL LINES, MOSTLY GROUND. SOME OF THE TARGETS WERE BIG MARSHALLING YARDS WHERE THEY WOULD DROP BOMBS AND THEY’D SIT THERE FOR HALF HOUR OR A DAY BEFORE THEY WOULD GO OFF SO THEY WOULD PUT THEM OUT OF ACTION. AND THE OTHER OPERATIONS I DID ON FRANCE WERE MAINLY THE ONES THAT I SHOWED YOU ON THE MAP, AGAINST THE LAUNCHING RAMPS AGAINST THE FLYING BOMB. WE CALLED THEM DOODLEBUGS. I ONLY SAW ONE OF THEM IN THE AIR AND I KNOW THAT WAS IT BECAUSE YOU COULD SEE IT FLYING, WE WERE GOING OVER SOUTHERN ENGLAND AT NIGHT ON OUR WAY TO A TARGET DEEP INTO FRANCE. BUT I HEARD THEM AT NIGHT WHEN I WAS ON LEAVE ONE TIME. IT WAS SORT OF A BRRRRRRRRRRRR . . . (LEN MAKES A RUMBLING SOUND), AND THEN THEY WOULD SHUT OFF. WE DIDN’T KNOW A THING ABOUT [THE D-DAY INVASION], ALTHOUGH WE KNEW IT WAS CLOSE, EVERYBODY KNEW THAT IT HAD TO COME, AND THEN WHEN IT CAME THERE WAS QUITE A BIT OF EXCITEMENT. ACTUALLY OUR BOMBER CREW FLEW AS A CREW ON THE NIGHT OF D-DAY, AND IT WAS AT A TARGET NEAR PARIS…VERSAILLES? ANYWAY, A LITTLE THOUGHT COMES TO ME ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED THERE. WE HAD THE BRIEFING, WE KNEW WE WERE GOING TO A TARGET NEAR PARIS, AND THESE ARE ALL BIG TOP SECRETS, YOU KNOW, ALL PAY PHONES WERE GUARDED AND SO ON, AND AS I WAS MOVING AROUND WAITING FOR THE TIME OF TAKE OFF, THIS THOUGHT CAME TO ME, (SINGS) “THE LAST TIME I SAW PARIS MY HEART WAS WARM AND GAY”, DO YOU KNOW THAT SONG? AND THE GROUND CREW SAID TO ME “WE’RE GOING TO PARIS” AND I THOUGHT I LET THE SECRET OUT. YOU HAD TO BE QUIET AND CAREFUL YOU KNOW. AT NIGHT 20 THOUSAND WAS THE HIGHEST WE WENT IN THERE; 14 THOUSAND FEET WHEN WE BOMBED, WHEN WE DROPPED THE SEA MINES OVER DANZIG BAY. I REMEMBER THAT PARTICULARLY. BUT 18 THOUSAND FEET, 20 THOUSAND FEET TO GET AS HIGH AS YOU CAN AWAY AS YOU CAN AWAY FROM THE GERMAN FLAK BATTERIES. YOU DIDN’T SEE ACTION BECAUSE IT WAS AT NIGHT, BUT YOU DID SEE A LOT OF LIGHTS FROM THE BOATS GOING ACROSS THE CHANNEL. [WE KNEW THAT SOMETHING WAS GOING ON] ESPECIALLY ON OUR FIRST DAYLIGHT, THE CHANNEL WAS JUST LOADED WITH CRAFT. BUT NIGHT TARGETS WERE, I WOULD SAY ON AVERAGE AT ABOUT 20 THOUSAND FEET, I REMEMBER IT WAS AWFULLY COLD UP THERE, AND I WOULD HAVE TO BREAK THE ICE OFF MY OXYGEN MASK. YOU SEE MY TURRET, FROM THIS PART FROM HERE DOWN LIKE THIS (LEN RAISES HIS HANDS UP IN A BOX LIKE MANNER AND BRINGS THEM DOWN) WAS OPEN, THEY DIDN’T WANT ANYTHING TO SPLATTER ON THERE THAT OBSTRUCTS YOUR VIEW, YOU WOULD GET A BIT OF BACKLASH SOMETIMES. I EXPERIENCED HEADACHES BECAUSE IT WAS COLD ON MY FOREHEAD, THE COLD AIR WAS SORT OF FLAPPING LIKE THIS (LEN WAVES HIS HAND TO MOTION THE FLAPPING OF THE AIR), AND I USED TO PUT A WARM GLOVE OR A SOCK UNDER MY HELMET TO PROTECT MY FOREHEAD. IT WAS DARN COLD. EVERYTHING ELSE WAS WARM, EXCEPT FOR ONE TIME, A LONG TRIP AT NIGHT, TOO, . . . THE EQUIPMENT WENT OUT, AND I HAD NO WARMTH, AND THE PILOT SAYS, “CAN YOU STAND IT, SHALL WE CARRY ON?” AND I SAID, “WELL, LET’S TRY IT”, AND I WAS COLD THERE AND I WAS COLD ALL THE WAY BACK BUT IT WASN’T AS HIGH AS WE USUALLY FLEW, I GUESS. A LOT OF THINGS COME BACK WHEN YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT THESE THINGS. MAYBE THEY WERE ALL CONSIDERED A BIT OF A CLOSE CALL, BUT I DO REMEMBER ONE TIME. YOU SEE WE FLEW “A LEG” AT NIGHT TO FOX THE GERMAN AIR FORCE, EAST WAS CALLED “A LEG” AND YOU WOULD TURN, OF COURSE, AND OTHER AIRCRAFT WOULD TURNING TOO, AND JUST ABOVE US IT LOOKED LIKE THIS ONE LANCASTER, WHOOSH! RIGHT ON TOP OF US! NOT TOO FAR, WELL, JUST ENOUGH TO SHOCK ME. AND THERE WERE COLLISIONS TOO; I HAD A PILOT FRIEND I STILL CORRESPOND WITH IN CANADA, THAT HAD A COLLISION. AS A MATTER OF FACT, I WITNESSED PART OF ONE OF THE COLLISIONS HE HAD. IT WAS A DAYLIGHT TRIP TOO. HE WAS FLYING AND ANOTHER AIRCRAFT WAS FLYING SO MANY FEET ABOVE HIM, THE AIRCRAFT ABOVE RELEASED HIS BOMBS, ONE BOMB CAME DOWN AND KNOCKED OFF HIS INNER MOTOR RIGHT OFF THE WING AND LEFT IT IN FRANCE, AND THE OTHER WENT NEAR THE TURRET AND KNOCKED THE PARACHUTE OFF THE STOLE. I KNOW THIS BECAUSE I DIDN’T SEE IT HAPPEN BUT I SAW STUFF TANDERING THROUGH THE AIR, AND I SAW THIS LITTLE PARACHUTE, AND SO IT WAS WHEN WE GOT BACK THAT I FOUND OUT WHAT HAPPENED. TWO BOMBS WENT RIGHT THROUGH THIS AIRCRAFT. OF COURSE THEY DIDN’T EXPLODE, IT WAS THE ONLY BOMB THEY HAD THEM FUSED WITH A LITTLE PROPELLER AND IT HADN’T SPUN LONG ENOUGH TO BE FUSED. AND THE SAME FELLOW FLEW ON A TRIP WAY DOWN TO SOUTHERN FRANCE IN BORDEAUX, AND WE WERE FLYING ABOUT 300 FEET OFF THE WATER SO WE COULD FOX THE RADAR AND SOME PILOT, THEY DON’T KNOW WHY, CURLED AROUND AND HE CAME UP AND THE TWIN FIN TOOK OFF ABOUT 12 FOOT OF MY FRIEND’S WING AND, OF COURSE, BROKE THE TAIL OFF AND THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO THE WATER AND IT WAS GONE. BUT MY FRIEND PILOTED THE DARN THING BACK TO… THAT WAS HIS SECOND CRASH EXPERIENCE, BACK TO A CRASH LANDING. THERE WAS AN AERODROME PREPARED TO TAKE IN CRIPPLED AIRCRAFT SO YOU DON’T MESS UP YOUR OWN, AND HE MADE IT BACK. WE WERE FORCED INTO A FARMER’S FIELD. LUCKILY THEY PICKED OUT QUITE A LEVEL PLACE WE WENT THROUGH A TELEPHONE TYPE POLE, OBVIOUSLY YOU DON’T KNOW IN CANADA, YOU KNOW, MASHED THE NOSE IN, AND THE AIRCRAFT WOULD NEVER FLY AGAIN. AND AS I LOOKED AROUND I SEE A COUPLE, A MAN AND HIS WIFE LEANING ON THEIR FORKS OR SHOVELS, WHATEVER, WATCHING THE WHOLE THING OFF IN THE DISTANCE, HA-HA. YEAH, ON OUR SQUADRON THERE WERE THREE OF US WERE CANADIANS, THE TWO GUNNERS AND THE BOMB AIMER. AND AS A MATTER OF FACT, THERE WAS ONE AMERICAN ON THE SQUADRON, AND THEY EVENTUALLY ALLOWED HIM TO WEAR HIS AMERICAN UNIFORM. [ON DAYS OFF WE] WENT TO LONDON, AND WENT TO SCOTLAND, TO EDINBURGH, AND I WENT WITH MY NAVIGATOR TO WORCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND, WHERE HE LIVED, GOOD FOOD. WE WENT TO LONDON A NUMBER OF TIMES. I WISH I HAD BEEN MORE MINDFUL OF HISTORICAL SITES AND SO ON AND WENT TO SOME PLACES THAT WERE OLD ENGLISH, HISTORICAL PLACES, BUT IN SCOTLAND IT IS QUITE A THING TO WITNESS. THERE WAS ONE BIG RUNWAY AND IT WAS ALWAYS…I DON’T KNOW WHY IT WAS SO, BUT IT WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT I REMEMBER LANDING ON, AND TAKING OFF FROM. BUT THERE WERE OTHER RUNWAYS, AND WHERE WE WERE PARKED WAS VERY NEAR THIS LITTLE HAMLET…KERMINGTON, WE WERE NEAR THE BIG TOWN OF GRIMSBY, THIS WAS KERMINGTON NEAR GRIMSBY, AND WE WENT DOWN TO SEE OUR AIRCRAFT THE NEXT DAY TO CHECK IT OUT, AND THERE WAS A GIRL STANDING AT THE FENCE CRYING, AND WE NOTICED THAT ONE OF THE DISPERSAL UNITS WAS NOT FILLED MEANING THAT THE AIRCRAFT DIDN’T COME BACK. I GUESS SHE MUST HAVE HAD A REAL SWEETHEART BECAUSE SHE WAS SURE CRYING. KIND OF TOUCHING, BUT THAT’S WAR FOR YOU. YOU WERE ALWAYS SO HAPPY TO GET BACK, YOURSELF, THAT YOU DIDN’T BOTHER TOO MUCH ABOUT CRYING ABOUT SOMEBODY ELSE, BUT YOU KNOW YOU DID MISS THE GUYS THAT DIDN’T COME BACK, BUT WE DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT IT IMMEDIATELY THAT OFTEN. SOME OF THEM YOU GOT TO KNOW VERY WELL, SEE THERE WAS A GUNNERY FLIGHT, AND THIS FLIGHT AND THAT FLIGHT, AND THEREFORE THERE WOULD BE PEOPLE THAT YOU NEVER SEE PROBABLY, EXCEPT FOR YOUR OWN AREA, I FORGET WHAT MY FLIGHT WAS CALLED, AND YOU HEARD SO OFTEN ABOUT GOING OUT AND GATHERING UP THE CLOTHES OF THE CREWS THAT DIDN’T COME BACK. SEE, I NEVER HAD THAT EXPERIENCE. IF IT HAPPENED I WASN’T AROUND TO SEE IT. BUT IT’S QUITE A THING TO GET OUT OF AN AIRCRAFT, BECAUSE THE LANDING STRIP WAS QUITE CLOSE AND ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT AND SOMETIMES RAINING, WATCH AS THESE AIRCRAFT COME IN AND I LOOK AT THEM AND SEE THEM COME IN, AND I MARVEL AT THESE PILOTS THAT FLY THESE BIG THINGS AT NIGHT AND YOU SEE THESE THINGS COME IN AND SIT RIGHT DOWN, SO NEAT! THE AIR GUNNER, I WAS THE FIRST ONE UP AND THE LAST ONE DOWN. AND I DIDN’T REALIZE THAT UNTIL SOMEONE REMINDED ME THAT WHEN YOU TAKE OFF THE TAIL ENDS UP FIRST AND THEY LAND, THE TAIL IS LAST. AND I ALWAYS WELCOMED THAT LITTLE BUMP BUMP, OR THAT LITTLE THUMP THUMP OF THAT TAIL, NOW I KNOW I’M DOWN! [THE LAST FILGHT FOR MY FIRST MISSION] WAS AT STETTIN (SZCZECIN ) IN NORTHERN POLAND, IT WAS AN 8 ½ HOUR TRIP AND WE WERE EXPECTING FOR OUR LAST FLIGHT “SEND US SOME PLACE EASY, HOW ABOUT FRANCE?” YOU KNOW, IT WAS THAT, WE GET STETTIN. IT WAS A HARD TARGET, ‘CAUSE WE’D BEEN THERE BEFORE AND KNEW WHAT IT WAS LIKE AND IT WAS ROUGH. I SAW SEVERAL AIRCRAFT GO DOWN, BOMBERS. AND AFTER ALL WAS SAID AND DONE AND I GOT THE STATISTICS, I FORGET WHAT THE PERCENTAGE WAS, BUT IT WAS QUITE A LOSS ON THAT PARTICULAR TARGET. AND INTERESTING ABOUT IT, WE WERE EXPECTING AN EASY TARGET, “GIVE US A BREAK FELLAS; SEND US TO FRANCE!” [THE TARGET WAS] IN THE CITY OF STETTIN, AND IT WAS CROWDED, IT WAS A PLACE WHERE THEY WERE FIGURING THE GERMANS WOULD BE TRYING TO SHIP OUT A LOT OF STUFF INTO SWEDEN, OR SOMEPLACE, OR TO NORWAY, IN THE EVENT OF THEM LOSING THE WAR OR BEING CLOSE TO LOSING THE WAR, I FORGET ALL IT WAS, BUT IT WAS A VERY IMPORTANT TARGET. BUT WE HIT A VERY IMPORTANT AREA ON THAT TARGET. I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER WHAT THE BRIEFING OFFICER SAID “YOU WILL SEE BLOOD IN AIR IN THE SKY TONIGHT.” I DIDN’T PARTICULARLY LIKE THAT, MIND YOU, BUT IT WAS AN IMPORTANT TARGET. WHEN I WAS IN BOURNEMOUTH, WHERE WE WERE FIRST SENT TO. ONE NIGHT I WAS, NO, TWICE, ONCE A GERMAN AIRCRAFT FLEW OVER AND STRAFED FOR A BIT. IT SURPRISED US ALL, BUT NOBODY GOT OUT OF BED AND TRIED TO HEAD FOR SHELTER, AND THE NEXT WAS ON THE LAST STATION I WAS ON BEFORE GOING TO THE OPERATIONAL STATION. IT CAME IN AND I THINK IT TOOK A COUPLE OF CRACKS AT THE STATION, AND THE TANOY, DO YOU KNOW WHAT A TANOY IS, IT’S THE SAME THING AS A BROADCASTING (SYSTEM). I HAVEN’T THOUGHT OF THAT WORD IN A LONG TIME EITHER, AND AIRCRAFT RAIDING IN OPERATION, BUT NOBODY HEADED FOR COVER THAT I KNEW OF ANYWAY. BUT THAT SHOWS THAT THOSE GERMAN PILOTS WORKED THINGS RIGHT, THEY COULD FLY, NOT A BOMBER, JUST A FIGHTER, STRAFING, REALLY STRAFING. I GUESS THAT BOURNEMOUTH GOT THAT SEVERAL TIMES, I GUESS, I FOUND LATER. [ON THE WAY HOME] I SAW NEW YORK FROM THE BOAT, AND FROM THE BOAT WE WERE TRANSFERRED TO A TRAIN AND A LONG, LONG TRIP ACROSS THE COUNTRY, TO LETHBRIDGE. AN INTERESTING TRIP, YOU KNOW. THERE WERE QUITE A FEW CHARACTERS ON THAT TRIP. BUT I HAD ASKED MY LITTLE WIFE TO MEET ME IN REGINA, AND WHEN I GOT OFF THE TRAIN AND THERE SHE WAS. AND WE STAYED OVERNIGHT, AND SOME TIME LATER IN THE DAY WE TOOK THE TRAIN BACK TO LETHBRIDGE, AND QUITE A FEW PEOPLE KNEW I WAS COMING, AND MET THE TRAIN AND CHEERED AND CLAPPED FOR ME COMING BACK. [THEY WERE] FRIENDS THAT KNEW I WAS COMING. AND THEN MY FRIEND TOOK ME IN HIS CAR AROUND THE CITY TO SEE SOME PLACES. IT WAS GREAT TO BE BACK, SUCH A GREAT CHANGE. IT WASN’T TOO LONG [AFTER I RETURNED] UNTIL…WELL; I REMEMBER WHEN THEY CELEBRATED DOWNTOWN THAT THE WAR WAS REALLY OVER. ACTUALLY, I WAS EMPLOYED, I WAS OUT OF THE AIR FORCE AND EMPLOYED BEFORE THE WAR WAS COMPLETELY OVER. I CAME HOME FROM A GOOD LONG YEAR, I FORGET HOW LONG, THEN I WENT UP TO CALGARY TO FINALLY GET THE….WHAT PROCESS TO GO THROUGH I’M NOT SURE, BUT ANYWAY I ENDED UP IN WINNIPEG, YEAH, WINNIPEG WOULD HAVE BEEN MY LAST STATION BEFORE THEY SENT ME ON AND RELEASED ME.” THE FOLLOWING WAS WRITTEN BY LEN ISAACSON IN JUNE 2001: “WE HAD DROPPED OUR BOMBS ON A SYNTHETIC-OIL PLANT IN GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY THE NIGHT OF JUNE 12/13, 1944 AND WERE HEADED FOR BASE. IN THE TAIL FUN TURRET I WAS SEARCHING IN THE DARK FOR ANY ENEMY FIGHTERS WHO MIGHT BE FOLLOWING US OUT OF THE TARGET AREA. SUDDENLY I HEARD CANNONS BARKING LOUDLY AND SAW LIGHTS FLASHING DIRECTLY BELOW. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? I DIDN’T SEE THE FIGHTER – JUST THE FLASHING. WE TOOK EVASIVE ACTION AND THAT WAS IT. AT BASE THE PILOT TOLD ME HE SAW TRACERS STREAKING UP IN FRONT OF HIM AT A STEEP ANGLE. I WONDERED HOW A FIGHTER COULD BE SO VERY CLOSE UNDER OUR LANC AND YET BE ABLE TO FIRE UPWARDS AT ABOUT A 70 DEGREE ANGLE. AT THAT TIME WE DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT ‘SCHRAGE MUSIK’ – TWO UPWARD FIRING CANNONS FITTED IN THE REAR COCKPIT OF A MESSERSCHMITT 110. LUCK FOR US THE GERMAN PILOT SNEAKED A BIT TOO FAR FORWARD AND MISSED. ACCORDING TO ‘BOMBER COMMAND WAR DIARIES’ THE FIRST TIME THE LUFTWAFFE USED ‘SCHRAGE MUSIK’ WAS DURING THE BOMBING OF PEENUMUNDE, AUGUST 30, 1944 STILL WONDERING – ‘WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?’ IN THE AIRMAIL SECTION OF THE WINTER 2000 ISSUE OF ‘AIRFORCE’ I SEE THAT J. MCLEAN AND A GROUP OF 36 AIR-GUNNERS, ARRIVED IN ENGLAND IN JUNE 1944 AND WERE SENT DIRECTLY INTO TRAINING AND ON TO A SQUADRON THE FIRST WEEK IN AUGUST 1944. MCLEANS STATES: “THIS QUICK TRIP TO SQUADRON WAS NECESSITATED SO WE COULD MAN THE NEWLY INSTALLED VENTRAL GUN POSITION ON THE HALLIES TO COMBAT SCHRAGE MUSIK…”. SINCE BOMBER COMMAND KNEW ABOUT THE WEAPON IN JUNE, AND PERHAPS EARLIER, I WONDER WHY ALL SQUADRONS WERE NOT ALERTED AND WHEN THEY WERE ALERTED. I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM ANYONE WHO HAD ANY EXPERIENCES WITH THOSE CANNONS, OR ANY INFORMATION YOU CAN GIVE ME. – LEONARD J. ISAACSON, 228 CORVETTE CRESCENT, LETHBRIDGE, AB T1J 3X8 MAY I ADD, AS A POSTSCRIPT, THAT EVEN WITH THE NOISES OF THE LANCASTERS, MOTORS AND WIND, AND WITH MY HELMET ON AND EARPHONES OVER MY EARS, I VERY CLEARLY HEARD THE VERY LOUD BARKING OF THE CANNONS. THERE IS NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT IT WAS S.M. SO – I DECIDED TO DIG DEEP INTO THE QUESTIONS ABOUT S.M. AND PASS THE INFO ON TO MY EX-BOMBER COMMAND FRIENDS WHO HAVE NOT HEARD, EVEN YET, ABOUT S.M. AND TO SOME WHO DOUBT THAT IT WAS EVER IN ACTION. I CAN UNDERSTAND THIS, SINCE IT SEEMED TO BE SUCH A SECRET. IN ALL MY SEARCHING I HAVE FOUND NO ONE WHO HAD HEARD ABOUT THE S.M. WHILE ON SQUADRON. I HAVE A LOT OF INFO ABOUT S.M. THAT MY BROTHER FOUND ON THE INTERNET. HOWEVER, WHAT I HAVE REVEALED SHOULD BE EVIDENCE ENOUGH. WHY WERE NOT ALL SQUADRONS ALERTED? PERHAPS THE BEST ANSWER I’VE HAD IS FROM AN EX-NAVIGATOR FROM 429 SQUADRON WHO COMPLETED 32 OPERATIONS IN HALIFAX III. IN A LETTER TO ME HE SAID, “I’M SURE THAT NO HISTORIAN WILL EVER UNEARTH ANY DOCUMENT WHICH STATES THE REASON FOR NOT TELLING US, NOR EVEN ONE WHICH STATES THAT WE SHOULD NOT BE TOLD. THE SECRET REASON FOR THIS LACK OF INFORMATION WILL PROBABLY DIE WITH THE MAN WHO MADE THE DECISION.” IF YOU ARE ON THE INTERNET JUST ENTER ‘SCHRAGE MUSIK’ AND SEE WHAT IT COMES UP WITH.” FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING SERVICE RECORDS AND A TRANSCRIBED INTERVIEW, SEE THIS DONATION'S PERMANENT FILE, ASSOCIATED RECORD P20100025001, THE EARLIER DONATION OF ISAACSON’S FLIGHT HELMET BY GREEN ACRES’ PEMMICAN LODGE – P20090012000, THE LATER DONATIONS OF: HIS MEDAL GROUPING – P20100043001 AND HIS PENDANT AND AMUNTION – P20110017001.

Catalogue Number

P20100025001

Acquisition Date

2010-07

Collection

Museum

Less detail