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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 1680.PDF
834 FLIGHT CANADA IN EUROPE The Dominion s Minister of Defence Tours R.C.A.F. Stations AS briefly reported last week, the Canadian Minister of Defence, Mr. Brooke Claxton, recently completed a tour of inspection of R.C.A.F. and Canadian Army bases in Britain and on the Continent. A representative of Flight was invited to accompany him in his Canadair North Star, and the offer was gladly accepted. Bad weather per sistently dogged the tour, but the major portion of Mr. Claxton's programme was completed. Leaving London by car early on December 7th, the Minister had as his first duty the laying of a wreath on the Stone of Remembrance in the cloisters of the Runnymede Memorial. This ceremony performed, he drove to London Airport and emplaned in the Canadair North Star which had brought him and his party across the Atlantic via Greenland and Iceland. The intention had been to proceed direct to the R.C.A.F. base at Langar, Notts, and from there to visit No. 1 Fighter Wing, R.C.A.F. at North Luffenham, Rutland. Fog and industrial haze, however, prevented these calls, so, instead, the party flew direct to Dusseldorf. Here the haze was almost as bad. In other circumstances a landing would have been made at Gutersloh in the British Zone of Germany, but the runways there are under repair and the airfield out of use. From Dusseldorf a two-hour car journey was made to Soest, where the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade Group, commanded by Brigadier W. A. B. Anderson, is now stationed in one of the new semi-permanent camps built by German contractors. The Brigade has only recently moved in from Hanover. On arrival Mr. Claxton was received by a guard of honour drawn from the Royal Canadian Regiment, some 80 per cent of whom are quali fied paratroops who have served in Korea. He spent the remainder of that day and the whole of the next making a very thorough tour of the establishments and opening two clubs. These latter, by the way, are on the banks of the Mohnesee, very close to the famous Mohne Dam which Guy Gibson and his gallant band breached in May 1943. Mr. Brooke Claxton tries his hand at a few bursts from the six O.Sin demonstration with, on his left, A.V-M. H. L.Campbell, R.C.A.F., The Minister takes morning coffee with his P.A. in the Canadair North Star while flying to Zweibriicken. While Mr. Claxton visited the army camps at Werl, we seized the opportunity to see the dam—and were fortunate enough to be given a first-hand account of the attack by Frau Nolle, the landlady of a guest-house just below the great structure. The alarm, she recalled, was sounded just before midnight and the first thing that impressed her was the exceptional lowness of the attacking aircraft. The family went down to the cellar and Herr Nolle looked out to see whether it was an incendiary attack, but quickly came back. Amid the din of anti-aircraft fire and the noise of the Lancasters nobody heard any of the special mines explode. In a matter of a few minutes the water burst into the cellar, which the family hastily evacuated in order to take refuge in the loft. While they were there half the house was washed away, but none lost their lives. They were rescued by firemen at 5 a.m. Here are some German figures of the damage done and of the rebuilding, which has been executed so well that there are now no signs of any damage: Forty kilometres downstream from the dam the farmers at Schwerte were warned at 3 a.m. to expect an 18ft wave at 4 a.m. One lump of concrete weighing over 60 tons, from the main structure of the dam, was moved 1,400 yards by the rush of water. The Todt organization brought in 1,500 workers and effected a permanent repair in three months. Rebuilding the power house was started in 1949 and just recently completed. There is still some trouble with cracks where the new work joins the old and cement is being poured in under pressure. On to Zweibriicken Weather again interfered with the Minister's third day's pro gramme. Good conditions had been forecast for Zweibriicken, ns of a No. 413 Squadron Sabre. (Right) Watching a ground-defence d GjC. A. C. Hull, R.C.A.F., who commands No. 3 Fighter Wing. "Flight" photographs
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