Volume 49 | Number 2 November 2014

CAHS Chapter Meeting Saturday November 1, 2014 1:00 PM

CANADIAN FORCES COLLEGE 215 Yonge Blvd. at Wilson Avenue, Toronto

Speaker: Ted Barris, Author / Historian Topic: “The Great Escape” A Canadian Story

Illustration by Les Waller Flypast V. 49 No. 2 October Meeting Topic: Air Power in UN Operations: Wings for Peace Speaker: Dr. Walter Dorn Reporter: Greg Winson

CAHS Toronto Chapter President Sheldon Benner introduced our speaker, Dr. Walter Dorn. Dr. Dorn is a Professor of Defence Studies at the Royal Military College of (RMC) and the Canadian Forces College (CFC). Dr. Dorn previously spoke to the Chapter on April 14, 2012. Dr. Dorn serves as the Chair of the Masters of Defence Studies at CFC. Previously, he served as chair of the Department of Security and International Affairs. He is also Vice-Chair of Canadian Pugwash, an organization of physical, life and social scientists seeking to reduce the threats to global security.

He is a graduate of Scarborough College () in Physics and Chemistry. Dr. Dorn received his Doctorate in Speaker Dr. Walter Dorn Chemistry at the University of Toronto in 1995. While Dr. Dorn Photo Credit - Neil McGavock is a scientist by training his doctoral research was aimed at chemical sensing for arms control. His basic research on the methods of detecting chemicals can also be applied to many different areas, including biological arms control. He is continuing his work on the technology for and arms control. His passion for the combining of lab research to the technical aspects of peace-keeping began at Scarborough College in 1982. He had the opportunity to attend the (UN) in New York with one of his professors for the Special Session on Disarmament. He became fascinated with the United Nations and started to attend about every two months. By chance he became aware that the organization named “Science for Peace”, a Canadian NGO, had applied for membership in the UN, but that process seemed stalled. On his next visit to New York he inquired about it. The application had been misplaced, but because of his inquiry, it was put on track again. After reporting back to Toronto, he became somewhat of a “hero” and was appointed the group’s official representative to the UN. He dove into the job with such enthusiasm that by 1988 at the Second Special Session on Disarmament, he was given the privilege of addressing the UN General Assembly.

Dr. Dorn spent 5 years observing the UN before he felt competent enough to write about it. One of his first articles was for Peace Magazine. He also wrote a book titled, “Peacekeeping Satellites: The Case for International Surveillance and Verification”. This led him to reviewing a proposal for establishing a UN reconnaissance capability. As a scientist, he took a special interest in the verification of biological and chemical weapons disarmament treaties. He began to work at Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), an organization based near the UN that enables parliamentarians of many different countries to work together. As the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) was nearing the final stages of negotiation, the PGA wanted to promote the process and inform parliamentarians about their responsibilities under the treaty. Dr. Dorn was expected to attend some of the meetings and make suggestions. He subsequently assisted with the negotiation, ratification and implementation of the CWC. He addressed parliamentary bodies on several continents and drafted a parliamentary declaration that was signed by more than one

2 Flypast V. 49 No. 2 thousand parliamentarians. In Canada, he testified before the Foreign Affairs Committee, which produced an acceptable law. About 150 countries have signed the Chemical Weapons Convention, but only about 50 have ratified it.

In 2011, he finished writing a book titled, “Keeping Watch: Monitoring, Technology, and Innovation in UN Peacekeeping Operations”. In September of this year, he published his latest book “Air Power in UN Operations: Wings for Peace”. He is also hoping to finally complete a related book on a broader theme, tentatively titled “The Emerging Global Watch: UN Monitoring for International Peace and Human Security”. At the Canadian Forces College, Toronto he teaches officers of rank, Major to Brigadier from Canada and over twenty other countries in the areas of arms control, Canadian foreign / defence policy, peace operations and international security. His interests are broad, covering both international and human security, especially the operations in the field to help secure them through peacekeeping and peace enforcement by the United Nations. More than just believing in the UN, Dr. Dorn is devoted to making it work.

Dr. Dorn began by saying that he wanted to get into aviation from a very early age. “My first profession that I ever wanted to be was a pilot, and this fascination with the air has stayed with me my whole life.” He first pursued interests in physical and political science, and then applied interest in aircraft with his professional background to his current passion for international peace and security with UN operations. He then read excerpts from his latest book “Air Power in UN Operations,” to explain the important role of aircraft in UN peacekeeping operations. The book has 17 chapters written by 12 authors, with Dr. Dorn having written five of the chapters. The book begins with a forward by retired Lieutenant – General Romeo Dallaire. Dr. Dorn read several passages from Dallaire’s forward, beginning with a defence of UN operations. “The operations of the United Nations, no matter how flawed, understaffed, or ill equipped, are a vital expression of human concern,” wrote Dallaire. “All nations should have a strong interest in using peace operations to prevent conflict, minimize human suffering, preserve human dignity, and reduce radicalization and extremism in many forms. Yet these peace operations remain poorly equipped to do the job.”

Dallaire then argued air power is a vital capability for UN forces. “Aircraft often serve as a lifeline for survival and sanity,” Dallaire wrote. “In Rwanda in 1994, it is hard to describe the joy and relief we felt from the sound of incoming aircraft landing with essential supplies, new personnel and packages from home. “The aircrew risked their lives to save ours.” Canadian Forces Hercules were the only aircraft that flew regularly to Kigali during the Rwandan Genocide. The planes took fire from the ground, and had to land on unsecured hazardous airfields. “The courage and skills of the aircrews made our work possible so that we in turn could save thousands who would have otherwise perished,” wrote Dallaire. He continued with “No nation can be completely unaffected. Illegally exported natural resources are exchanged for weapons, contraband that creates a vicious cycle that has to be stopped in partnership with international forces on the ground. Thus there is a strong humanitarian imperative to support the UN operations. It is ethically impossible to stand by as people are slaughtered. The UN peace operations, with their 21st century mandates to protect civilians and support human rights, are an expression of this humanitarian imperative.”

Flypast V. 49 No. 2 3 CC-130H Hercules Transport Photo Credit - DND

Map showing the location of the Congo and Rwanda in Central Africa - Map Courtesy - WTS

The United Nations Operation in the Congo from 1960 to 1964 shaped the role of aircrews in peacekeeping missions. The Congo is a huge territory, the size of Western Europe, which was part of a larger decolonization process in the mid-20th century. There was little preparation for the decolonization when the Belgians very reluctantly gave it up in late June 1960. There was a mutiny of Congolese soldiers against their Belgian officers, leading to widespread chaos. To make things worse, the eastern province of Katanga, the richest part of the Congo, declared independence. Republic of 4 Flypast V. 49 No. 2 the Congo Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba turned to the United States for help to suppress the mutiny, which in turn referred them to the UN. A major peacekeeping mission was proposed, with 20,000 troops to bring order to the Congo. It also became a proxy war with the Soviet Union, as Lumumba also sought Soviet aid after the UN refused to suppress the Katangan uprising as Lumumba had hoped. In the Congo, the UN had to deal with coup d’etats, secessionist provinces, tribal wars, ethnic massacres, and very real threats to its own personnel. In October 1960, a Russian TU104 military jet transport landed in Leopoldville, likely with the purpose of lifting Patrice Lumumba out of the country. Looking for a way to delay the departure, the tires on the high performance jet were slyly flattened by UN forces. The plane departed late and without Lumumba.

The air mission began in 1960, when the UN had to bring over 20,000 troops to the vast Congolese territory. Soon over a dozen nations contributed to the air mission. UN personnel rightly boasted that they had created the UN’s first air force, as this was the first time air support was used for transport, surveillance and combat. A lone fighter jet, flown by a mercenary pilot from Katanga, was able to paralyze UN efforts and embarrass the international community. The UN was obliged to participate in an air arms race to protect itself and to protect the breakup of the newborn country. Air reconnaissance provided by Swedish jets was essential to predict and preempt Katangan attacks on UN forces. Bombers provided by India were able to destroy airfields used by mercenaries. Operation Grand Slam, in late 1962 and early 1963, and air support by Swedish jets assisted ground forces to assert the UN’s freedom of movement and capture key airfields and centres in Katanga, finally winning both the war and the peace. Canadian North Star aircraft became one of the logistical aircraft, providing supplies to the Congo, travelling from Trenton all the way to Leopoldville (now Kinshasa). It was a 70 hour trip, with many stops along the way. Later on the North Stars were replaced with Yukon aircraft.

RCAF North Star - Photo Credit - DND

Flypast V. 49 No. 2 5 RCAF Yukon Transport - Photo Credit - Taylor Empire Airways

Canadian Lieutenant-General Bill Carr was asked to set up the UN’s logistical system. Carr joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1939. He flew Spitfire aircraft in World War II, and later commanded squadrons while accumulating more than 16,000 flying hours in more than 100 aircraft types. He became the first commander of the Air Command before retiring from the RCAF in 1978. Carr contributed Chapter 1 in the book, “Planning, Organizing and Commanding the Air Operation in the Congo, 1960.”

Carr was holidaying near Ottawa when he received a call from Air Commander Carpenter. “You’re going to the Congo tomorrow.” Carr asked why, and for how long. “You’re going to set up and run an air transport operation for UN operations in the Congo,” he was told. He flew to New York, then to Brussels, and then to Leopoldville. Carr was told he would be there for a few weeks, and that he’d been promoted to Group Captain. There was a lot of uncertainty around the mission. “In Brussels, the RCAF military attache’ met me, gave me a bottle of Scotch and wished me luck, and informed me that he had no idea of what I was going to do,” Carr related. The press release from UN headquarters stated that Carr was to command all air forces in the Congo. Carr felt the endorsement demonstrated the reputation of Canada’s air forces. The role of the United Nations Air Transport Force (UNATF) was to control and operate aircraft, air traffic and facilities needed to transport UN command in effective execution of mandate. This had no precedent in UN peacekeeping history. The UN had no aircrews at the time, and instead crews were cobbled together by various nation-states. The UNATF was expected to support the ground crews widely dispersed over an area of nearly one million square miles. There were problems from the start, however. Carr quickly discovered the UN had pilots who had never flown the types of aircraft they had inherited, and mechanics who were not qualified to fix them. Communication was another issue. The contingent of mechanics from Yugoslavia were experts on their Russian version of the DC-3, but they were unable to communicate with the group of Brazilian and Argentine pilots set to fly the aircraft. By mid-September, the UN had aircrews of 11 nationalities flying 78 aircraft of 13 different types. However, eventually the expertise of the Yugoslav mechanics won over the South American pilots, in that they were as good or better than those they worked with at home. 6 Flypast V. 49 No. 2 UN air operations continue to this day in many places of the world. At this moment, the UN operates the largest air fleet in Africa, providing air and ground support. It is also the largest humanitarian air service in the world, providing transport for UN workers and journalists. The peacekeeping department runs its own fleet of aircraft. The Department of Field Support spends one billion dollars per year on its air fleet. The UN is now the largest provider of troops in the world, more than the US government. There are nearly 300 aircraft, all on charter flying 120,000 hours a year, with 500 support staff. In July of 2014, Dr. Dorn was flying in South African helicopters on yet another UN mission. He also examined the Russian Mi-24 armed helicopter in UN service. This is a continuing adventure for UN operations, from wanting to have combat aircraft in the Congo, that were initially unavailable, to the present where so much more progress is to be made.

Russian Mi-24 Armed Helicopter in UN Service - Photo Credit - UN Photo 200146 - C. Herwig After his presentation, Dr. Dorn gave an impressive flying demonstration of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the form of the AR2 Drone Quadcopter in the Armour Heights Officers Mess. The Quadcopter was equipped with a forward facing high definition camera as well as a downward facing one used for surveillance and landing assistance. He also demonstrated a camera equipped aerostat balloon that was comprised of many separate balloons (ballonets) that gives it survivability in the event that someone wanted to shoot it down. His book, “Air Power in UN Operations : Wings for Peace” is available online at www.ashgate.com . Be sure to enter the 50% discount code (50AFH14N) when ordering from Ashgate. North Star 515 - A veteran of the Congo War is now being restored at the Canada Aviation & Space Museum in Ottawa. - Photo Credit - Pat McGrath - Ottawa Citizen Flypast V. 49 No. 2 7 Chapter News November 2014 Folded Wings: We are sorry to have to report the passing of three fine gentlemen, Walter Henry, Donald Irish and William Swetman. Walter Dixon Henry 1922 – 2014, passed away on July 24, 2014 at Scarborough Grace Hospital. With the passing of Walter Henry the CAHS has lost one of its earliest and most dedicated members. Walter joined the Society in 1971 as member number 1366 and immediately became involved, both at the chapter level and nationally with his contributions to the Journal. As well he edited our national newsletter from March 1979 to March 1993. Walter’s writing style was both readable and informative. He chose topics from our flying history that not only interested him, but were little known and bound to appeal to CAHS readers as a whole. His four Journal articles were: The Valkyrs, (Fall 1973), The Barkley-Grow T8P-1 in Canada, (Fall 1978), Tragedy at Gleichen, (Winter 1979) and The Twin Otter in Review, (Summer 1988). The Valkyrs dealt with a pair of biplanes (CF-AKP, the V2 and CF-AQA, the V3) built by the McVean Co. of Dresden, Ont., between 1929 and 1931, one a two seater and the other seating three. The Barkley-Grow T8P-1 in Canada offered detailed histories of these Lockheed 12 look alikes most of which operated in the Canadian north. Tragedy at Gleichen was a brief account of the crash of the Sambrooke Monoplane, (CF-AIZ), (the “Fizzcat”) another one off homebuilt. Walt’s final article covered the DHC-6 Twin Otter production and operations to that time. Walt had also written a pair of books: Vintage Aircraft in Canada published by the Toronto Chapter of the CAHS and Uncharted Skies - Canadian Bush Pilot Stories published by Reidmore Books. Both are now collector’s items. Born in Orangeville, Walt grew up in Toronto and graduated from Northern collegiate. He joined the RCAF in August of 1942, and was stationed at Pennfield Ridge, New Brunswick, as an engine fitter working on large twins, possibly Lockheed Hudsons or Venturas. He was also a member of the precision marching team. Post war, he worked for Connaught Laboratories in Toronto. Walt was always a keen model railroader as well as a skilled builder of scale model aircraft and ships. This tribute was prepared with much appreciated information provided by Lynn Skilling (Walt’s Daughter), Sheldon Benner and John McCreight. W.J. Wheeler, CAHS Journal Editor Emeritus Due to space considerations, an edited version of Lynn Skilling’s Eulogy to her “Dad” follows. The full version will be posted to the “Membership” Section of www.torontoaviationhistory.com. Walter’s Eulogy – My Dad Walter was born on April 18, 1922 in Orangeville, Ontario and grew up in that part of Toronto known as “North Toronto”. During WWII, Walt joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and was stationed to Pennfield Ridge, Charlotte County, New Brunswick. There are a hundred Pennfield Ridge stories that Walt often told, but one in particular sticks out as a testament to Walt’s character. Christmas, Pennfield Ridge, Walter got leave and was anxious to go home, not so much to visit his family, but to get the heck out of Pennfield Ridge. Walt went back to the barracks to get his kit when he noticed a fellow soldier crying on his bunk. This soldier had a young family at home and didn’t get leave. Walt quietly arranged to have his leave transferred to his fellow soldier. The compassion and deep feelings he had for others ran deep with Walter and greatly affected him but he kept that hidden under a rough, tough exterior leading the family to nickname him “the Grinch.” Lynn Skilling

8 Flypast V. 49 No. 2 Donald E.G. Irish, CD (CAHS #1133) passed away on July 16, 2014 in his 86th year after a courageous battle with cancer. He was both a member of CAHS National and the Toronto Chapter. He was a graduate of McMaster University and was employed by Stelco, before joining the staff of McMaster as an administrator. Lieutenant Colonel Donald Edward George Irish CD (Ret’d) had a long and outstanding career with the Royal Canadian Air Cadet organization beginning in 1959 when he first joined 62 Squadron as a navigation instructor. In 1961, he was commissioned in the RCAF Primary Reserve and became the Squadron Training Officer. During his career, Don served as Commanding Officer of 194, 62, 150, and 826 Squadrons. In 1990 he was promoted to the rank of LCol and served as Regional Cadet Advisor until retirement in 1994. He then became a Director of the Air Cadet League of Canada (Ontario) serving with distinction until his demise. In 1990, Don moved to Belleville where he was active with the Navy League and Sea Cadets. Awards include the Canadian Forces Decoration (CD) with two bars and the Canada 125 Medal in recognition of his outstanding service to Canada’s youth. Don dedicated his life to the young men and women of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets and touched the lives of thousands of young Canadians. He will be sorely missed. Files from www.lifenews.ca

William Herbert Swetman, G/C, DSO, DFC (CAHS #3377) passed away in London, Ontario on August 30, 2014 in his 95th year. After graduating from Kapukasing High School, William attended Sir George Williams College in Montreal for a year and was studying for a degree in Commerce. In September 1940, he joined the RCAF at the recruiting station in Ottawa. Initial training took place at No. 1 ITS Toronto and then on to elementary flying training at No. 3 EFTS Crumlin (London), Ontario. He received his “Wings” at No. 6 SFTS at Dunnville on Course #20. He went overseas as a Sergeant and following OTU he was posted to the first Canadian Bomber No. 405 “Vancouver” (B) Squadron in August 1941. This squadron flew Wellingtons and after 13 missions as a Sergeant-Pilot, he was commissioned in January 1942. Halfway through his first tour of 33 missions, the squadron converted to Halifax bombers. After 14 months he left 405 in October 1942. By that time he was a Squadron Leader and had been awarded the DFC. At age 23 William became the CO of the famous 426 Thunderbird Squadron based at Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire and served from August 18, 1943 to April 4, 1944. At that time the squadron flew the Bristol – Hercules engined Lancaster Mk II. By the end of WWII he was a survivor of 53 bombing missions and later continued with a career in the RCAF retiring in 1967 with the rank of Group Captain and a final posting to NORAD Headquarters. He ended his professional career as the Business Administrator for Havergal College in Toronto. He received his long overdue Bomber Command Bar in London, Ontario on October 1, 2013. Files from Westview Funeral Chapel, CTV London, June 20, 1944 Fingal Observer, AVCanada- RCAF Hist

Bomber Command Bar Photo Courtesy Veterans Affairs

LCol Donald E.G. Irish, CD William Herbert Swetman, G/C, DSO, DFC Flypast V. 49 No. 2 9 An 11-Harvard mass flypast celebrates the iconic trainer at the CHAA Harvards and Heroes gathering 22 June, 2014 – Photo Credit - Gord McNulty

CAHS Toronto Chapter Executive 2014-2015 President & Membership Secretary: Sheldon Benner Flypast Reporter: Gord McNulty 1st Vice-President: Dr. George Topple Flypast Graphics, Editing & Email Services: Lisa Ruck 2nd Vice-President, Secretary, & Archivist, Historian: Flypast Printing & Mail Distribution: Neil McGavock Minuteman Press – [email protected] Treasurer: Brigadier – General Paul A. Hayes OMM, CD (Ret’d) Volunteers: Bob Winson – Website Support Directors: John Bertram Ken Churm – Liaison Scott Maclagan

Contacts President: [email protected] Mailing Address: Canadian Aviation Historical Society, Tel: (416) 923-3414 Toronto Chapter 65 Sussex Avenue Websites: www.cahs.ca/chapters/toronto Toronto, Ontario www.torontoaviationhistory.com M5S 1J8

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