121 KU sea island sqn any one still alive from the 1962-65 era?
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oldncold
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121 KU sea island sqn any one still alive from the 1962-65 era?
Evening, my Ole pops is getting up there and his memory is failing, was talking to him and out of the blue he brought up his old airforce days. I remembered some of it from 25 years ago as I organized a small reunion of sorts for dad for 9 of the ole 121ku sqn. I think Chris? here on this site was there. Dad was involved with a bunch of Sar flights he has donated some ole pics that ended up in a few books . If any of them still kickn appreciate letn me know pm if you prefer. Helps stay connected to me pops
Re: 121 KU sea island sqn any one still alive from the 1962-65 era?
I was in Barrhead 526 Squadron Air Cadets in 1961 and we went in a Herc from Namao to summer camp at Sea Island. Stayed in barracks. Saw Stanley Park. Went to the World's Fair in Seattle. Best of all we got to ride in a DC-3 over to the island and each of us got about five or 8 minutes of stick time from the right seat. Unforgettable. Last I drove down that service road, there was still the old base gymnasium just southeast of the Air Canada hanger.oldncold wrote:Evening, my Ole pops is getting up there and his memory is failing, was talking to him and out of the blue he brought up his old airforce days. I remembered some of it from 25 years ago as I organized a small reunion of sorts for dad for 9 of the ole 121ku sqn. I think Chris? here on this site was there. Dad was involved with a bunch of Sar flights he has donated some ole pics that ended up in a few books . If any of them still kickn appreciate letn me know pm if you prefer. Helps stay connected to me pops
Good luck with finding those pics from your Da.
Good judgment comes from experience. Experience often comes from bad judgment.
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Moose47
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Re: 121 KU sea island sqn any one still alive from the 1962-65 era?
G'day oldncold
Here's some information on the unit taken from official R.C.A.F. sources. Hopefully this will bring back a few memories for you father. Sorry but I do not have any Dakota photos from the unit at this time.
Cheers...Chris
No. 121 Composite Flight was formed at R.C.A.F. Station Vancouver, British Columbia on the 1st of April 1947 to provide transport services to No. 12 Group Headquarters. The Flight had been formed when the Western Air Command Composite Flight was disbanded on the 31st of March 1947 and split into two separate units, No. 123 Search and Rescue Flight and No. 121 Composite Flight. On the 1st April 1949, No. 121 (K) Flight was re-designated as No. 121 Communications Flight.
On the 1st of May 1953, No. 121 Comm Flt was amalgamated with No. 123 (S&R) Unit to form No. 121 Communications and Rescue Flight. They were later designated as No. 121 (Composite) Unit on the 1st of January 1959. No. 121 (K) Unit later became No. 121 (Composite) Flight and moved to R.C.A.F. Station Comox, British Columbia as of the 1st of July 1964. The unit was also known as No. 121 (Search & Rescue) Flight. When the unit was redesignated as No. 442 Squadron on 8 July 1968, that unit also assumed control of the Albatross Boat School.
It should be noted that No. 121 (K) Flt and No. 123 (S&R) Flt combined their resources and in fact, all of the Daily Diary entries made no distinction between the two units. The two units also ran the Seaplane Conversion and Refresher School at Sea Island to train crews on Canso operations. The School was formed in early 1948 with the first course starting on the 1st of February 1948. The School was officially designated as the Albatross Boat School in April 1963 and would later be the OTU for the Albatross and would move to Comox with No. 121 (K) Flt on the 1st of July 1964. The Albatross Boat School was also referred to as the Albatross (CSR-110) Triphibious Training Flight in some official correspondence in 1963.
North American Harvard Mk. II - 2895
North American Harvard Mk. IIB - 3332
Noorduyn Norseman Mk. IV - 790 QT*790
Noorduyn Norseman Mk. IVM - 2487 CJ*H
Noorduyn Norseman Mk. VI - 368 QT*368, 371 QT*371, 787 QT*787 (N.B. Carried the legend ‘121 C&R Flight’, on the nose at one point)
Avro Lancaster Mk. 10 MR - KB974 QT*974
Douglas Dakota Mk. 3C - 657 CG*D later *657, KG354
Douglas Dakota Mk. 3CSR - 971, FZ692 QT*692, KG587
Douglas Dakota Mk. 3F - 663
Douglas Dakota Mk. 3FP - 660, 661, 10910, TS425
Douglas Dakota Mk. 3SR - 971, KG580
Douglas Dakota Mk. 3TT – serial number not recorded in Daily Diary
Douglas Dakota Mk. 4 - KK143 QT*143 (Entered a steep diving turn to port immediately after take off while on the search for Dakota 985, see below, from Williams Lake, British Columbia on the 29th of January 1953. A partially recovery was made and the aircraft was able to land straight ahead after the port wingtip suffered minor damage. After landing it was discovered that the wing was covered in a thin sheet of ice. The aircraft was repaired), KN676 CG*G,
Douglas Dakota Mk. 4SC - KN485 QT*485 (N.B. This aircraft had the legend 5 Air Division on the nose. Also had a tail band around the fin and rudder with the legend ‘12 A D Group’)
Douglas Dakota Mk. 4FP - 988, KN200, KN256, KN278, KN511
Douglas Dakota Mk. 4M - 981, KN427, KN666
Douglas Dakota Mk. 4MFP - 10916
Douglas Dakota Mk. 4MST - KN427 QT*427 (The starboard engine caught fire after returning from a test flight while taxiing at Sea Island on the 12th of March 1953. The engine, engine mount, wing and firewall were damaged. The aircraft was repaired),
Douglas Dakota Mk. 4SR - KP224
Douglas Dakota Mk. 4ST - 977
Douglas Dakota Mk. 4T - 985 (Crashed near Sasquati Island, British Columbia on the 28th of January 1953 while on a flight to the R.C.A.F. Pinetree radar station at Puntzi Mountain, B.C. The aircraft was destroyed. N.B1. While the cause was definitively determined, it was believed that severe icing was the primary cause of the crash. N.B2. The aircraft was on strength of No. 123 (S&R) Flt but was piloted at the time by a member of No. 121 (K) Flt, therefore included in this unit‘s entry as well as No. 123 Flt‘s.
Consolidated Canso A - 11058, 11073 QT*073 (Made a forced landing at Knox Bay, Vancouver Island on the 24th of November 1955 due to bad weather. The aircraft water looped and sank),
Consolidated Canso Mk. 2F - 11005 QT*005, 11033, 11040 QT*040, 11060 QT*060 (The nose wheel collapsed on landing at Port Hardy, British Columbia on the 25th of October 1956. The aircraft was repaired. N.B. On several occasions the RCAF Station Vancouver Daily Diary incorrectly listed the serial as 11050), 11079, 11089 QT*089 (The nose wheel collapsed on landing at Sea Island on the 21st of March 1958. The aircraft was repaired), 11093, 11099, 11100 (Bounced hard on landing in swells off Galiano Island, British Columbia on the 28th of June 1956 and slightly damaged the hull. Further bouncing occurred on the take off which further damaged the hull. The aircraft was repaired),
Consolidated Canso Mk. 2SR - 11015 QT*015 later RCAF*015, 11024 QT*024, 11041 QT*041 (Water looped to port after landing in Seal Cove at Prince Rupert, British Columbia on the 30th of June 1959. The aircraft nosed under and sank), 11067 QT*067, 11075, 11079, 11087 QT*087, 11095 QT*095 (The port engine was retarded to simulate a dead engine while practicing single engine landings at Sea Island on 19 July 1955. The aircraft began to swing when the starboard engine failed and impacted the runway damaging the starboard wing and nose. Additionally, a small fire broke out and the aircraft was written off), N.B. One Canso, serial unknown, confirmed to have worn the code CJ*Z
Sikorsky H-5 - 9606 QT*606 (Destroyed in a hangar fire at Sea Island on the 4th of May 1954. The aircraft was written off.
Sikorsky H-19A - 9620, 9621, 9622, 9623
Piasecki H-21A - 9610, 9611 QT*611, 9613 QT*613 (The helicopter was on a ferry flight and flew into Santa Rosa Mountain, British Columbia on the 21st of April 1955 in bad weather and burned out), 9614 QT*614,
Sikorsky H-34 - Serial number not recorded
Grumman CSR-110 Albatross - 9301, 9302 (Flew into a mountain at Hope Slide, British Columbia on the 23rd of April 1966 during overcast conditions. The aircraft was destroyed), 9303, 9305 RCAF*305 (Swung violently to port while demonstrating a J.A.T.O. take off at an air show at Abbotsford, British Columbia on the 13th of August 1962 when the lower J.A.T.O. bottle fired. The aircraft continued to port and the upper J.A.T.O. bottles were fired in an attempt to get the aircraft airborne as the take off could not be aborted. As the Albatross rotated, the hull struck a runway light ripping the hull. The aircraft was repaired. N.B. Even though the upper and lower J.A.T.O. bottles on both sides of the aircraft were ignited independently, both port bottles failed to fire forcing the aircraft into the swing), 9306, 9309, 9310,
Canadair Silver Star Mk. 3 - 21092, 21167, 21304, 21308, 21491, 21499 QT*499, 21507 (Rolled to starboard while on a test flight on the 11th of September 1957 near Sea Island and began a steep dive. The aircraft was recovered but was overstressed. The aircraft was written off), 21591 RCAF*591, 21625,
De Havilland CSR-123 Otter - 3668, 3676 QT*676 (Destroyed in a hangar fire at Sea Island on the 4th of May 1954. The aircraft was written off. 3670 QT*670 (Destroyed in a hangar fire at Sea Island on the 4th of May 1954. The aircraft was written off. 3680 QT*680 (Damaged by high winds at Squamish, BC on 16 May 1957), 3682 QT*682 (A glassy water approach was made at Alice Lake on the 10th of May 1957. Just before touch-down the starboard wing dipped and as corrective action was taken, the aircraft stalled and landed heavily damaging the starboard float. The aircraft was repaired), 3686 QT*686 (Made a hard landing at Howe Sound at Vancouver on the 12th of July 1961 while practicing a simulated engine failure. The lower fuselage skin, ribs and stringers were buckled. The aircraft was repaired), 9410 (Forced landed in the water 10 miles West of Nanaimo, British Columbia on the 12th of December 1962. Recovered and repaired), 9420,
Beechcraft Expeditor Mk. 3NM - 2355 QT*355, 2380 (Crashed into Arrowsmith Mountain near Vancouver on the 11th of October 1954 while on an IFR flight in bad weather),
Beechcraft Expeditor Mk. 3NMT - 2316
Beechcraft Expeditor Mk. 3T - 1409, 1413, 1414 (‘121 C&R Flight’ on the nose), 1416, 1421, HB105 CG*A (Settled to the runway when the landing gear was inadvertently selected up instead of the flaps while taxiing at Sea Island on 24 February 1953. The aircraft was repaired), HB141 CG*B (While landing at a small emergency field at Kitchener, British Columbia on the 4th of May 1952, a downwind landing was made due to an unexpected wind
shift. The aircraft was unable to stop and ran off the runway striking a drainage ditch and nosed over. The aircraft was repaired), HB143 (The port oleo collapsed on landing due to mechanical failure and swung off the runway at Abbotsford, British Columbia on 13 July 1951. The aircraft was repaired), HB148
Expeditor Mk. 3TM - 1566 QT*566 (Struck a bump in the runway and became airborne while attempting a flapless landing at Vancouver on 16 February 1953. After returning to the runway, the brakes proved ineffective. Despite repeated attempts, the landing gear would not raise to stop the aircraft and it ran off the end of the runway damaging the landing gear, engine mounts and nose section. The aircraft was repaired), 1568 (Destroyed in a hangar fire at Sea Island on 4 May 1954. The aircraft was written off. N.B. There is no Crash Card for this accident), 1573, 1574
Avro Lancaster Mk.10 MR - KB97
Lockheed-Vega Ventura G.R. Mk. V - 2222
Vertol CH-113 Labrador - 10402, 10403
Here's some information on the unit taken from official R.C.A.F. sources. Hopefully this will bring back a few memories for you father. Sorry but I do not have any Dakota photos from the unit at this time.
Cheers...Chris
No. 121 Composite Flight was formed at R.C.A.F. Station Vancouver, British Columbia on the 1st of April 1947 to provide transport services to No. 12 Group Headquarters. The Flight had been formed when the Western Air Command Composite Flight was disbanded on the 31st of March 1947 and split into two separate units, No. 123 Search and Rescue Flight and No. 121 Composite Flight. On the 1st April 1949, No. 121 (K) Flight was re-designated as No. 121 Communications Flight.
On the 1st of May 1953, No. 121 Comm Flt was amalgamated with No. 123 (S&R) Unit to form No. 121 Communications and Rescue Flight. They were later designated as No. 121 (Composite) Unit on the 1st of January 1959. No. 121 (K) Unit later became No. 121 (Composite) Flight and moved to R.C.A.F. Station Comox, British Columbia as of the 1st of July 1964. The unit was also known as No. 121 (Search & Rescue) Flight. When the unit was redesignated as No. 442 Squadron on 8 July 1968, that unit also assumed control of the Albatross Boat School.
It should be noted that No. 121 (K) Flt and No. 123 (S&R) Flt combined their resources and in fact, all of the Daily Diary entries made no distinction between the two units. The two units also ran the Seaplane Conversion and Refresher School at Sea Island to train crews on Canso operations. The School was formed in early 1948 with the first course starting on the 1st of February 1948. The School was officially designated as the Albatross Boat School in April 1963 and would later be the OTU for the Albatross and would move to Comox with No. 121 (K) Flt on the 1st of July 1964. The Albatross Boat School was also referred to as the Albatross (CSR-110) Triphibious Training Flight in some official correspondence in 1963.
North American Harvard Mk. II - 2895
North American Harvard Mk. IIB - 3332
Noorduyn Norseman Mk. IV - 790 QT*790
Noorduyn Norseman Mk. IVM - 2487 CJ*H
Noorduyn Norseman Mk. VI - 368 QT*368, 371 QT*371, 787 QT*787 (N.B. Carried the legend ‘121 C&R Flight’, on the nose at one point)
Avro Lancaster Mk. 10 MR - KB974 QT*974
Douglas Dakota Mk. 3C - 657 CG*D later *657, KG354
Douglas Dakota Mk. 3CSR - 971, FZ692 QT*692, KG587
Douglas Dakota Mk. 3F - 663
Douglas Dakota Mk. 3FP - 660, 661, 10910, TS425
Douglas Dakota Mk. 3SR - 971, KG580
Douglas Dakota Mk. 3TT – serial number not recorded in Daily Diary
Douglas Dakota Mk. 4 - KK143 QT*143 (Entered a steep diving turn to port immediately after take off while on the search for Dakota 985, see below, from Williams Lake, British Columbia on the 29th of January 1953. A partially recovery was made and the aircraft was able to land straight ahead after the port wingtip suffered minor damage. After landing it was discovered that the wing was covered in a thin sheet of ice. The aircraft was repaired), KN676 CG*G,
Douglas Dakota Mk. 4SC - KN485 QT*485 (N.B. This aircraft had the legend 5 Air Division on the nose. Also had a tail band around the fin and rudder with the legend ‘12 A D Group’)
Douglas Dakota Mk. 4FP - 988, KN200, KN256, KN278, KN511
Douglas Dakota Mk. 4M - 981, KN427, KN666
Douglas Dakota Mk. 4MFP - 10916
Douglas Dakota Mk. 4MST - KN427 QT*427 (The starboard engine caught fire after returning from a test flight while taxiing at Sea Island on the 12th of March 1953. The engine, engine mount, wing and firewall were damaged. The aircraft was repaired),
Douglas Dakota Mk. 4SR - KP224
Douglas Dakota Mk. 4ST - 977
Douglas Dakota Mk. 4T - 985 (Crashed near Sasquati Island, British Columbia on the 28th of January 1953 while on a flight to the R.C.A.F. Pinetree radar station at Puntzi Mountain, B.C. The aircraft was destroyed. N.B1. While the cause was definitively determined, it was believed that severe icing was the primary cause of the crash. N.B2. The aircraft was on strength of No. 123 (S&R) Flt but was piloted at the time by a member of No. 121 (K) Flt, therefore included in this unit‘s entry as well as No. 123 Flt‘s.
Consolidated Canso A - 11058, 11073 QT*073 (Made a forced landing at Knox Bay, Vancouver Island on the 24th of November 1955 due to bad weather. The aircraft water looped and sank),
Consolidated Canso Mk. 2F - 11005 QT*005, 11033, 11040 QT*040, 11060 QT*060 (The nose wheel collapsed on landing at Port Hardy, British Columbia on the 25th of October 1956. The aircraft was repaired. N.B. On several occasions the RCAF Station Vancouver Daily Diary incorrectly listed the serial as 11050), 11079, 11089 QT*089 (The nose wheel collapsed on landing at Sea Island on the 21st of March 1958. The aircraft was repaired), 11093, 11099, 11100 (Bounced hard on landing in swells off Galiano Island, British Columbia on the 28th of June 1956 and slightly damaged the hull. Further bouncing occurred on the take off which further damaged the hull. The aircraft was repaired),
Consolidated Canso Mk. 2SR - 11015 QT*015 later RCAF*015, 11024 QT*024, 11041 QT*041 (Water looped to port after landing in Seal Cove at Prince Rupert, British Columbia on the 30th of June 1959. The aircraft nosed under and sank), 11067 QT*067, 11075, 11079, 11087 QT*087, 11095 QT*095 (The port engine was retarded to simulate a dead engine while practicing single engine landings at Sea Island on 19 July 1955. The aircraft began to swing when the starboard engine failed and impacted the runway damaging the starboard wing and nose. Additionally, a small fire broke out and the aircraft was written off), N.B. One Canso, serial unknown, confirmed to have worn the code CJ*Z
Sikorsky H-5 - 9606 QT*606 (Destroyed in a hangar fire at Sea Island on the 4th of May 1954. The aircraft was written off.
Sikorsky H-19A - 9620, 9621, 9622, 9623
Piasecki H-21A - 9610, 9611 QT*611, 9613 QT*613 (The helicopter was on a ferry flight and flew into Santa Rosa Mountain, British Columbia on the 21st of April 1955 in bad weather and burned out), 9614 QT*614,
Sikorsky H-34 - Serial number not recorded
Grumman CSR-110 Albatross - 9301, 9302 (Flew into a mountain at Hope Slide, British Columbia on the 23rd of April 1966 during overcast conditions. The aircraft was destroyed), 9303, 9305 RCAF*305 (Swung violently to port while demonstrating a J.A.T.O. take off at an air show at Abbotsford, British Columbia on the 13th of August 1962 when the lower J.A.T.O. bottle fired. The aircraft continued to port and the upper J.A.T.O. bottles were fired in an attempt to get the aircraft airborne as the take off could not be aborted. As the Albatross rotated, the hull struck a runway light ripping the hull. The aircraft was repaired. N.B. Even though the upper and lower J.A.T.O. bottles on both sides of the aircraft were ignited independently, both port bottles failed to fire forcing the aircraft into the swing), 9306, 9309, 9310,
Canadair Silver Star Mk. 3 - 21092, 21167, 21304, 21308, 21491, 21499 QT*499, 21507 (Rolled to starboard while on a test flight on the 11th of September 1957 near Sea Island and began a steep dive. The aircraft was recovered but was overstressed. The aircraft was written off), 21591 RCAF*591, 21625,
De Havilland CSR-123 Otter - 3668, 3676 QT*676 (Destroyed in a hangar fire at Sea Island on the 4th of May 1954. The aircraft was written off. 3670 QT*670 (Destroyed in a hangar fire at Sea Island on the 4th of May 1954. The aircraft was written off. 3680 QT*680 (Damaged by high winds at Squamish, BC on 16 May 1957), 3682 QT*682 (A glassy water approach was made at Alice Lake on the 10th of May 1957. Just before touch-down the starboard wing dipped and as corrective action was taken, the aircraft stalled and landed heavily damaging the starboard float. The aircraft was repaired), 3686 QT*686 (Made a hard landing at Howe Sound at Vancouver on the 12th of July 1961 while practicing a simulated engine failure. The lower fuselage skin, ribs and stringers were buckled. The aircraft was repaired), 9410 (Forced landed in the water 10 miles West of Nanaimo, British Columbia on the 12th of December 1962. Recovered and repaired), 9420,
Beechcraft Expeditor Mk. 3NM - 2355 QT*355, 2380 (Crashed into Arrowsmith Mountain near Vancouver on the 11th of October 1954 while on an IFR flight in bad weather),
Beechcraft Expeditor Mk. 3NMT - 2316
Beechcraft Expeditor Mk. 3T - 1409, 1413, 1414 (‘121 C&R Flight’ on the nose), 1416, 1421, HB105 CG*A (Settled to the runway when the landing gear was inadvertently selected up instead of the flaps while taxiing at Sea Island on 24 February 1953. The aircraft was repaired), HB141 CG*B (While landing at a small emergency field at Kitchener, British Columbia on the 4th of May 1952, a downwind landing was made due to an unexpected wind
shift. The aircraft was unable to stop and ran off the runway striking a drainage ditch and nosed over. The aircraft was repaired), HB143 (The port oleo collapsed on landing due to mechanical failure and swung off the runway at Abbotsford, British Columbia on 13 July 1951. The aircraft was repaired), HB148
Expeditor Mk. 3TM - 1566 QT*566 (Struck a bump in the runway and became airborne while attempting a flapless landing at Vancouver on 16 February 1953. After returning to the runway, the brakes proved ineffective. Despite repeated attempts, the landing gear would not raise to stop the aircraft and it ran off the end of the runway damaging the landing gear, engine mounts and nose section. The aircraft was repaired), 1568 (Destroyed in a hangar fire at Sea Island on 4 May 1954. The aircraft was written off. N.B. There is no Crash Card for this accident), 1573, 1574
Avro Lancaster Mk.10 MR - KB97
Lockheed-Vega Ventura G.R. Mk. V - 2222
Vertol CH-113 Labrador - 10402, 10403
