The Lancaster
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The 2 photos above are pictures of the Lancaster which was the workhorse aircraft servicing Alert in the early to mid '50's and are courtesy of the late WO2 George Dingwall. The 3 photos at right give one an idea of what can happen when an aircraft dives into the ground. RCAF Lancaster KB965 was out of Thule Greenland on a scheduled weather recce mission and was also delivering some bulldozer parts to the JAWS in Alert on 31 July 1950. Since the airstrip had not yet been completed, the parts were to be para dropped. The ensuing air drop resulted in the parachute snagging on the tail of the Lanc and loss of aircraft control. KB965 plunged to the ground. All 9 crews members were killed. The 1st photo is the resulting fireball at impact and was taken by J. Peter Johnson, Calgary AB. The 2nd shows the still smoldering wreckage and the 3rd shows the wreckage from a different angle and after a dusting of snow. |
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