RCAF, Tunisia, 1943.



A pilot of No 417 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force climbing into the cockpit of his Supermarine Spitfire fighter at Goubrine. 1943.


#Tunisia1943

https://amzn.to/4eCysKT

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

John Shiwak: A Hero's Journey from Labrador to the Battlefields of World War I

Image
    John Shiwak: A Hero's Journey from Labrador to the Battlefields of World War I Canada's Military History 2.0 February 6, 2026 ∙   Image: Lance Corporal John Shiwak during the First World War.   John Shiwak was born in 1889 in Cul-de-Sac, a small settlement near Rigolet, Labrador. Growing up in the harsh northern wilderness, Shiwak learned to hunt, fish, and trap from a young age. His skills as a hunter and trapper would later serve him well on the battlefields of Europe. Shiwak's life took a dramatic turn when he joined the Royal Newfoundland Regiment on July 24, 1915, driven to see the world and serve his country. At the time, he stood only five feet, five inches tall and weighed 132 pounds. William Lacey Amy, a writer and journalist, played a significant part in documenting and shaping the public's understanding of John Shiwak's life. Amy first met Shiwak in 1911 during a trip from St. John's to Rigolet, Labrador. The two became fast friends, and Shiwak...
Read more

The Battle of Hill 355, October 1952, during the Korean War.

Image
  The Battle of Hill 355, October 1952, during the Korean War. Image: The painting “Incoming” by Edward Zuber depicting Canadian action at Hill 355 in October 1952. This painting shows soldiers of B Company, the Royal Canadian Regiment, reacting to a communist artillery attack on their section of the line on October 23, 1952. The 45-minute bombardment was one of the heaviest that Canadians endured in Korea. The Battle of Hill 355, October 1952. Hill 355 was a dominant feature in the landscape, located about 40 kilometres north of Seoul. Its elevation provided a commanding view of the surrounding terrain, making it a highly contested position throughout the war. The Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) was stationed on the hill from early September 1952, enduring frequent bombardments from Chinese forces throughout October. These attacks weakened defensive positions, setting the stage for a major assault. The Battle of Hill 355 was made up of three separate and distinct battles. The first ...
Read more

A Bed in the Mud: Canadian Soldiers and the Quiet Symbols of Trench Life, December 1917.

Image
A Bed in the Mud: Canadian Soldiers and the Quiet Symbols of Trench Life, December 1917. .  Two Canadian soldiers are seen standing in a trench, inspecting the skeletal remains of a bed frame in December 1917. One soldier wears a jerkin — a sleeveless leather vest well-suited to the bitter cold of winter — and which bears two wound stripes on his sleeve, silent markers of past injuries. The scene is serene, almost domestic, yet framed by two dreaded items symbolic of the First World War: barbed wire and mud. We need to ask ourselves what exactly this moment tells us about the lived experience of war. Trench Warfare and the Persistence of Routine By late 1917, Canadian forces were entrenched in the brutal Passchendaele and Ypres Salient campaigns. The use of trenches had turned into semi-permanent dwellings, where soldiers created an environment using whatever furniture, storage, and sleeping arrangements they could salvage. A bed frame in this context was not a luxury — it’s a symb...
Read more

C-119 Flying Boxcar. September 22, 1952.

Image
 C-119 Flying Boxcar. September 22, 1952. The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet. It was designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechanized equipment and to drop cargo and troops by parachute. The first C-119 made its initial flight in November 1947, and by the time production ceased in 1955, more than 1,100 had been built. The Royal Canadian Air Force received 35 new C-119Fs delivered in 1952. They were in service until 1967 for transport operations, air resupply, paratroop ops, and medical evacuation. The aircraft was also used in the Arctic regions to resupply military bases, weather stations, and radar sites and to support survey and scientific expeditions. The RCAF used the airplane as a part of the UN peacekeeping force in effect during the 1956 Israel and Egypt hostilities. The RCAF provided 16 C119s and their crews. #C119FlyingBoxCar https://amzn.to/4gCL9Hd
Read more

HMCS Rainbow

Image
 HMCS RAINBOW near Vancouver, British Columbia, 1912. HMCS Rainbow enters Esquimalt Harbour on November 7, 1910. One of two old British cruisers obtained by the government in 1910 for the new Canadian navy, Rainbow was assigned to the west coast, where it spent most of the war as a training ship. HMCS Rainbow holds a singular place in Canadian naval history as the first commissioned ship of the newly created Royal Canadian Navy, entering service on 4 August 1910. Initially built for the Royal Navy in 1891 as an Apollo‑class protected cruiser, she had already served for years abroad—particularly in Asian waters—before being transferred to Canada. After arriving at Esquimalt later that same year, HMCS Rainbow became the main vessel in Canada’s fledgling Pacific Station. She performed training cruises, ceremonial duties, and fishery patrols. Even though she was past her prime and of very modest capability, she symbolized Canada’s early naval ambitions and provided the West Coast with ...
Read more