DND photo.

DND photo.

DND photo.

According to the official accident report both pilots lost sight of each other during the turn to final while doing solo circuit training. The two aircraft became locked together and it was a small miracle that they managed to land this well while still entangled. Both pilots remained uninjured. Both aircraft were operated by 18 SFTS (Service Flying Training School) at the time of th accident. DND photo.

DND photo

DND photo.

DND photo.

A total of 1832 Avro Anson Mk II were built in Canada by five companies including 340 built by Canadian Car & Foundry in Amherst, NS (including No. 7135). Delivered to the RCAF in August 1942, it was assigned to No. 4 Training Command in November 1942, and allocated to No. 15 Service Flying Training School at Claresholm, Alberta in April 1943. Postwar, it was stored at RCAF Vulcan, AB and sold to a farmer and recovered by aviation enthusiasts many decades later. The restoration team spent 5.5 years and a total of 16,528 volunteer man-hours restoring this aircraft which was completed in 2009.

Crashed landed at Julia Creek, Queensland, on January 24, 1948. Written off. Photo from: Townsville City Library

This Anson was constructed from a collection of parts from a variety of incomplete airframes lying in southern Alberta. The wing was manufactured from scratch according to original plans, with the port side left unskinned to illustrate the combined wood and metal construction. The aircraft is beautifully finished as RCAF 7401, which served throughout WWII with 18 SFTS at Vulcan, Alberta. It appears that substantial sections of 12587, a MkV, may have been incorporated.

In the early days of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), the Anson was selected as the primary twin-engine aircraft for the training of pilots, observers, wireless- operators, and bomb aimers. Over 20,000 aircrew received their training on the aircraft. This example was created using fuselage and various assorted pieces obtained from the Reynolds Aviation Museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, in October 2005. The aircraft had been lying unprotected in a field for around 60 years, and its identity is unknown. The impressive restoration was completed in 2017.

First Canadian built Anson. Struck off charge in August 1946. Photo from: Library and Archives Canada

Undercarriage collapsed landing at Julia Creek on January 24, 1948. Used for parts.