Wreckage of WWII training flight that vanished in 1942 found on Vancouver Island
Posted May 30, 2014 9:41 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER ISLAND (NEWS1130) – More than 70 years after it vanished with four souls on board, the wreckage of a World War II training flight has been found on Vancouver Island.
On board were Sergeant William Baird from the Royal Canadian Air Force, as well as Pilot Officers Charles Fox and Anthony William Lawrence, and Sergeant Robert Ernest Luckock with the British Royal Air Force.
Matt Brown with the BC Coroners Service says the wreckage was found last October by a logging crew near Port Renfrew.
“[It] appeared to be an airplane, in their mind. They contacted the Department of National Defence because it had some military markings,” he tells us.
It turns out it was a training flight that took off from what’s now Victoria’s airport in late 1942.
“It was out with several other planes at the time. What occurred… is there was some fog and all the planes were radioed to come back in. This one didn’t return. This one had lost some radio contact not long after takeoff.”
Terrain, weather, and the age of the plane made the recovery very challenging.
