The following story
appeared recently in the Lubec Herald and doubtless will be read with much
interest by Charlotte County folk, including airmen at Pennfield.
"Few finer pieces of salvage of stranded aircraft have been
done outside the superman stories than the takeoff of the grounded Canadian
scout plane which has been marooned in Trescott for a week under guard of flyers
of the R.C.A.F. at Pennfield, N.B.
Flight Lieutenant Gilbert was the test pilot sent to do the
work.
After the town plow has cleared some of the snow off the
rough field, Lieut. Gilbert found the runway to be 900 feet long faced by a
fringe of timber.
" 'Tough Spot' " he said, " 'but we'll try it.'
"
"All but twenty gallons of gas were drained from the tank. Two
men held back the wings until the motors began to warm and when they settled to
a drone, the tail lifting a bit, the pilot signaled them to jump clear. Two
others with extinguishers stood at the edge of the woods.
"Well down the field there was a little rise. As the plane at
a sixty mile clip, topped it, her nose shot upward and cleared the tree tops by
a bare nine or ten inches, and soared east by north for home, keeping down low
enough to rattle windows in the houses. In less than ten minutes she dropped in
front of her hangar.
"The crew remained to clean up a bit and next day left for
Pennfield, That they were well taken care of here is shown by the following
letter:
Royal Canadian Air Force
R.A.F. Schools
Pennfield Ridge, N.B.
Dear Mr. Batson:
I would like to express
my thanks for the extremely generous way in which you looked after myself and my
crew.
Such generosity and kindness warms the cockles of the heart
and does really help the war effort because it leaves a feeling a mutual
friendship between both those who give and those who receive.
I hope you will convey my thanks and those of my fellow crew
to your wife.
In deep appreciation
Your sincerely
A.C. Evans-Evans
Group Captain
Commanding R.A.F. Station
Mr. Ray Batson
Lubec, Me.
"Other hosts to
the fliers were Mr. and Mrs. Lester Archer of Trescott who entertained them
after they grounded their plane.
"Lieut. Gilbert is said to have had considerable
experience in salvaging planes and without a doubt this experience enabled him
to this ticklish job with perfect results.".
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