Evening star., 1942-07-08
u. 5. Flyers Still Help
Canada, but Many Left
After Pearl Harbor
Ferry Squadron Lists
Members From Raw
Youth to Nearly 50
BY BILL BONI,
Wide World Military Editor,

OTTAWA.-The day of December
7. 194l, meant different things to
different people. To Squadron
Leader H. o. Madden of the Royal
Canadian Air Force it meant, among
others, the loss of some of the best
pilots in his ferry squadron-United
States flyers who felt that now they
had job to do back home.
I'VE said goodbye to them with
regrets; but with understanding"
says this lean, amiable former trans
port pilot.
But fortunately we didn't lose
them all. We still have at least half
a dozen-fine chaps who felt that,
since they weren't qualified for COM
bat duty in any case, they could
make their contribution to the war
effort as we'll here as in the States
In ferry squadron headquarters at
the R. c. A. F. station at nearby
Rockliffe, there is master board
showing where each man is at the
moment-on sick leave, available
for duty, returning by train from
his latest flight, or ferrying bomber
somewhere along the ,coast-to-coast
network whose task Madden him
self describes as moving aircraft
from one point in Canada to an
other in minimum of time and
with maximum of safety"
Veterans Among Them.
Madden looked at the board,
picked out the names of some of
the United States pilots still in r.
c. A. F.. blue:
Spence Punnett, a veteran Of more
than 20 years of flying, whose home
Is in Penfield, N. Y;
Another seasoned pilot, Carl w.
Hickerson, a school principal back
In Arizona:
Ogden Brewer, native of New
York. Yale graduate, and last out
Of Dallas, Tex;
Freddy Cain from Oklahoma. who
got most of his experience barn
storming in light planes, but now Is
doing very keen job of plotting
anything that comes along;
G. Myron Matteson, who halls
from Arkansas, and Harold Hessen-
flow, out of Iowa.
Ages From 20 to 50.
With the former Canadian bush
pilots" commercial flyers and barn
stormers who make up the bulk OF
the squadron, these men average
1900 hours in the air. Some of them
are in their early 20s, like Canadian
Johnny Bison, who in April flew
IL of the Is types of aircraft the
squadron handled. Others are push
ing so, but would hate to see it in
print.
Several Canadians, among them
J. E. Roberts, Carl Crosley and F.
v. (Turk) Robinson. saw distin-
guished service as flyers in the first
World War.
Ernie Hall, in charge of the
squadron's mountain division, made
the first fight over the Rockies and
still is remembered for successful
forced landing on the main street
of Chillawack, British Columbia.
He brought down practically all the
telephone wires in town-but he
managed to take off from the main
street, too.
For the bush pilots" of whom
Madden was one, their present work
is almost tame by comparison.
These were the men who, flying
supplies into Canada's vast-and
aarren-northern reaches, gave the
Dominion probably the worlds most
extensive air freight service.
Unused to Customary Gear.
Many of them, taught to fly in the
"bush," never had flown plane
rith ordinary landing gear until
they came into the ferry squadron.
All they knew we're pontoon land
fngs on the rivers and lakes in sum-
nfer and ski landings on the snow
m winter. There were no such
fhings as airports.
I'VE carried anything you could
get into a plane" says Madden,
"and some. things you couldn't, such
as canoes, which were lashed to the
vertical struts on the pontoons.
They few livestock owe finally
had to dope the horses, they get too
restIess'D, dynamite CT didn't mind
that. but I didn't like toting percus-
sion caps'J, even half-wild huskies
.or sled teams ("they were mean
eritters-I had to build a packing