57 RESCUE (CANADA)  August 4, 2004

Progress Report  (Number 3)

by KARL KJARSGAARD

Project Manager

This is a special anniversary day for this is the last day of the combat career of RCAF Halifax LW170 sixty years ago today. On August 4, 1944 Halifax LW170 of 424 Squadron RCAF participated in the bombing raid on Bois de Cassan and Trossy-St-Maxim,  V-1 flying bomb sites. There were 291 aircraft on this raid and the majority of heavy bombers involved were Halifaxes, 169 to be exact. Throughout all the major air battles and campaigns where Canadian squadrons and Allied squadrons fought the Halifax was always there.

 

I have just discovered an amazing coincidence which I wish to share with all of you. It is on this very raid that was the last of 28 sorties for Halifax LW170 that another Canadian warrior won a Victoria Cross. Squadron Leader Ian Bazalgette, flying RAF Lancaster F2-T of 635 Squadron, tried to save his wounded crew by crash-landing his stricken aircraft. Tragically his aircraft blew up after touchdown and 3 of the 7 crew were lost, including Ian Bazalgette. For this great act of valour Ian was awarded the Victoria Cross.

 

Here we are setting out on a most historic quest to find and recover RCAF Halifax LW170 thanks to the sponsorship and partnership of the Nanton Lancaster Society. Their most cherished dedication to the Victory and sacrifice of the crews of Bomber Command at Nanton is to Ian Bazalgette V.C., DFC and his crew with Nanton's Lanc in his aircraft F2-T markings to honour their sacrifice.  That these dedicated efforts of all of us over these past several years to honour the veterans of Bomber Command should meet in the coincidence of one day, August 4, 1944 must not be by chance. I take heart and renewed faith in this "coincidence" and will do as our crews did, in such dedicated sacrifice, for final Victory and our Freedom.

 

"Press on Regardless..."

 

 

 

On to business - These are the HALI-FACTS

 

 

To all of our members and supporters of 57 Rescue (Canada) for this special project I can report good progress in certain areas and mediocre progress in others.

 

On the technical side I have received a full evaluation of the search and rescue data from the original LW170 ditching and crew rescue in August, 1945 which is critical to the locating of the Halifax in the deep waters off NW Ireland. This was done by Bob Kutzleb of Syracuse, New York, an expert on undersea location of aircraft. His record recovery of several deep water recoveries is a US Navy F-14 Tomcat from 9500 feet. Bob generously donated his time and energy to construct the best search box to find Halifax LW170 and was pleased with the historical positionings raw data provided to him by yours truly. We have his full report and are ready to utilize his search criteria to find LW170. ( I am glad he is glad because it took about 18 months to find  these documents !)

 

On another positive technical development Dag Ammerud, the mastermind behind the lifting of Halifax NA337 from 750 feet in Lake Mjosa, Norway, has acquired new location technology which could   reduce our number of days searching for LW170. This could greatly reduce our initial costs, of searching the primary box where LW170 lies, by up to 30-50%. (please see Phase 1 - Finding LW170 and Budget) on our Project Website www.57rescuecanada.com for full details.

 

Some of you may have heard the CBC radio interview I did on "As it Happens" last spring. Dr. Allan Ruffman of Halifax did listen in and offered to help with the Halifax project. He is a expert on deep sea exploration and has world-wide connections to all the latest deep sea projects including expeditions to the areas of the deep Atlantic where our Halifax lies. He and I met on August 2nd in Halifax to discuss finding the LW170 and getting the proper financial and technical support needed.

 

I am disappointed with the progress on the financial end with regard to getting a corporate sponsor. There have been several applications by 57 Rescue (Canada) to major corporations in Alberta, Ontario, and Manitoba but all declined to help sponsor this historic project. I am also not pleased with the delays with our charitable status application with CCRA/Revenue Canada. Part of this was due to a paper work delay at my tax lawyers office. I will be sending out proposals to the best foundations which could support our Halifax Project when we have the charitable tax status so you see how important this development is to us. I hope to have good news soon, in this regard.

 

To all of you who have sent in cheques/checks from all over Canada and the USA for membership and donating to our cause please be advised I have NOT cashed your cheques/checks. I am hopeful that soon we will have the charitable status and then tax receipts can be issued at that time. At this time I am paying for travel and promotion of the project out of my own pocket until such time as we get our charitable status I will give you an update at that time, no later that Progress report #4, in 2 months time. We have over 100 members now. (By the way we have had almost 5000 visitors to the 57 Rescue (Canada) website).

 

Our good neighbours and friends in the USA are rallying to our cause. I have had memberships and donations from them with the greatest support from Bob Bluford, a minister and B-24 Liberator pilot with the 8th Air Force. He has pledged $1000 in the name of Mel Compton, the American in the RCAF who flew LW170 in June, 1944 and has challenged all new members and his fellow Americans to donate the same in the name of an American in the RCAF who was killed in action. He is well aware that these "American Patriots-Canadian Warriors" are not remembered as our American volunteers in the RCAF and there are over 700 US citizens killed in the service of the RCAF. Reverend Bluford and I will be meeting soon in Richmond, Virginia to lobby for official political and corporate support for our Halifax LW170 Project in the States.  Will it be easier to find support for an RCAF Halifax Project in the States than in Canada? I hope both nations will answer our calls for help to get our project going.

 

As a supplementary project I have been able to help our friends at Nanton locate a rare Boulton Paul Mid-Upper turret in fairly complete condition and am finalizing the turret trade deal to bring it to Nanton. I will have photos and details of getting this little gem for Nanton soon. I would personally like to thank the Calgary Aircrew Association for their generousity in donating funds for this turret. Equally generous to this cause have been the ex-POW Association and the ex-Air Gunners Association. Gentlemen, thank you all for your contributions when I needed your support.

 

I wish to pass on my congratulations to "Mr. Nose Art", Clarence Simonsen, for his wonderful lecture about the history of nose art in July at the prestigious Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. For 30 years Clarence had researched, collected, and recreated nose art and now he has become the world expert that he should be. I was a witness to his lecture at the Smithsonian Institution and although he was strictly limited to 75 minutes for his subject by the Smithsonian staff his lecture and material was so interesting and unique in it's content, so well received by the large audience, that he was allowed 2 hours in these famous lecture halls. Well done, Clarence, Canada and Alberta should be proud of you.

 

I know that things have been slow in developing but the efforts on your behalf have continued  to realize our goal to find and recover the most famous combat veteran aircraft of the RCAF,  Halifax LW170.

 

"The only thing new in this world is the history you do not know."

 

 

 

We Will Remember Them.

 

 

Karl Kjarsgaard

Project Manager

57 RESCUE (Canada)

 

phone   613-835-1748

 

EMAIL 57rescuecanada@rogers.com