"somewhere in England" … part of a RCAF Halifax Squadron

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by Dennis Cardy

Another RCAF Halifax Crew Bus from the McCaw album.

This one is 36410. TYFC 1300 on the door. Can anyone shed light on what those numbers mean..?

I assume from what Cliff…Keith...and Grant have contributed..It's also a Bedford QL. Troop Carrier.

Can you tell me if that loading door and entry step just behind the cab was an Airforce mod..or standard Troop Carrier..?

Hi,
As Grant says, this is a normal troop carrier body on the QLT, same as the ones used by the army. The lettering on the door is TYPE 1300 which means it is designated as a "3 ton Standard Tender".

[Dennis Cardy]

Richard…and others..

These photographs are from the Canadian Museum of Flight collection at Langley B.C.

Have been working with the archivist trying to figure out how it fits in with 6 Group.

W.O. McCaw also took shots of this unknown car during some sort of Airforce outing.

Was it a staff car…or privately owned ..?

The album provides a fascinating glimpse into daily Sqn life.

For a "Fly Boy" he sure liked his vehicles…

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by Dennis Cardy

Richard…and others..

These photographs are from the Canadian Museum of Flight collection at Langley B.C.

Have been working with the archivist trying to figure out how it fits in with 6 Group.

W.O. McCaw also took shots of this unknown car during some sort of Airforce outing.

Was it a staff car…or privately owned ..?

The album provides a fascinating glimpse into daily Sqn life.

For a "Fly Boy" he sure liked his vehicles…

Dennis,
it is either an Impressed car ( no RAF serials on it) or one belonging to one of the servicemen. I see it does not have blackout masks on the headlamps, is it post end of War?

[Dennis Cardy]

You raise valid points.
He de-mobbed July of 45..so the photo could well be just as the war ended..

Agreed…No RAF Serials.
Understand Officers were sometimes allowed private vehicles .

Will have to delve deeper into his album..

[Mike K]

Similar to this , a friend of mine , his father

http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread...hepard-s-Grove

[David Dunlop]

Dennis. As Keith mentioned, the three RCAF Halifax Squadrons were, 408, 419 and 420. If the photos you have posted are of the Mk III Halifax, then we can rule out 419 Squadron. They apparently only ever flew the Halifax Mk II out of Middleton St. George, Durham, from November 1942 until April 1944 when they switched to the Lancaster X.

408 Squadron flew the Halifax Mk III from September 1944 through May 1945 from a base at Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire.

420 Squadron flew the Halifax Mk III from December 1943 through May 1945 from a base at Tholthorpe, Yorkshire.

Might be worth looking for any wartime photos from the two Yorkshire bases. The buildings in the background of the two Bedford photos might ID which base these photos came from. Note the odd tower behind a number of single story buildings with angled strapping on their roofs. I thought at first the tower was the control building but it seems to lack windows, so now I am thinking radar or perhaps a water tower.

David

[David Dunlop]

Just to be clear. The three RCAF Squadrons I mentioned in my previous post are by no means the only ones to ever fly the Halifax Mk III. Several were equipped with the Mk III prior to transferring to other theatres and at least one was a training unit somewhere in Yorkshire. It is interesting, however, that most Canadian Halifax Squadrons spent some time at bases in Yorkshire.

On that note, I looked into the licence plate on the photo Dennis posted. In the pre-1951 British Registration system, the 'BV' Plates were issued in Preston, Lancashire, just North of Manchester and not far from the Yorkshire border. Tholthorpe, Yorkshire was a common RCAF Halifax Base and underwent a large rebuild in the early 1940's which the RCAF was involved in. Also, if you look the base up on Wikipedia, there is a photo there of some of the abandoned buildings. One is a long, low brick structure that is a good fit for the ones in the Bedford photos. And Tholthorpe is not that far from Manchester.

David