Touch down at Megantic

Photo: 439 Sqn archives 

Bright and early on the 11th the air party again checked out and, probably much to their surprise, actually got away from St. Hubert.  The first three, Pinsent, Prendergast and Vachon, got as far as Millinocket before their "bete noire", the weather, again intervened and they had to turn back to Megantic, The pilots said they did not have enough fuel to return to St. Hubert, but one wonders if they lacked rather sufficient nerve to face that hotel clerk again.  Prendergast was the first to touch down at Megantic where his Lysander hit a soft spot in the snow and went up on its nose. Jumping out, the, pilot ran over to a hanger where he roused a scared looking airman who with brilliant presence of mind said "You can't land here; the field is unserviceable. Go away." Finally convinced that this was an emergency, the airman assisted Prendergast to mark the most suitable spot on the field and Pinsent came in safely on the marker. He was unable though to taxi out of the way in time for the third aircraft (Vachon) which plopped down in soft snow and went over on its back.

The second trio of Lysanders, Rankin, Hays and Saville, had meanwhile flown to Megantic where they got on the wrong leg of the beam with the result that they became lost.  Rankin made a successful forced landing on the E.F.T.S. at Windsor Hills.  Hays put down at Bishopton in three feet of snow, finishing on his back at the front door of a building, which he discovered was the local casket factory! While trying to locate himself, Saville became separated from his two companions and, discovering that he was not far from Megantic, he headed for the airfield where he was surprised to see three other Lysanders "scattered on the field in various undignified attitudes". Despite this melancholy prospect he managed to land right side up. After getting off the necessary wires and phone calls, the foursome at Megantic righted their Lysanders, towed them into a hangar, installed themselves again in a hotel - and held a post mortem, So ended the second stage of the Rockcliffe - Debert flight.  No one had been injured, but two of the aircraft were in need of repair

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The Squadron diary is silent about F/L Rankin's subsequent moves; presumably he flew his Lysander from Windsor Mills to Debert.  F/Os (Flying Officer – equivalent to an Army Lieutenant) Hays and Vachon completed the journey by rail, leaving their aircraft for the attention of salvage parties.  A crew was soon on the scene at Megantic, dismantling Vachon's 426 “with more regard for haste than consideration for its parts" to the horror of the pilots and airmen who almost wept at the violence done to equipment they had so carefully preserved for so long.  When the Lizzie had been safely loaded on a flat car (by 123's airmen with the salvage crew held at a safe distance), the pilots took the train back to Montreal and again checked in at the Mount Royal "where they are used to us by now."  Two days were spent making out reports on "the case of the lawless Lysanders". Then, for the umpteenth time, they checked out of the hotel, somewhat surprised that there was no farewell party in the manager's suite, and returned to Megantic.  A new propeller was received and installed on Prendergast's machine, and on the morning of 21 March the three Lysanders finally departed from Megantic, refuelled at Millinocket while the whole town watched, and landed at Debert that afternoon. 

The Megantic trio joined up with a Harvard and a Lysander from Windsor Hills; although the diary is not specific, it is probably that the fourth Lysander was F/L Rankin's. The long flight was ended. While the air party was making its way slowly eastward, the Squadron had been settling in at Debert East Camp.  One attractive feature of life there was the presence of nursing sisters at No. 8 Field General Hospital.  At the first Sunday afternoon tea, several were invited as guests and they arrived "carefully chaperoned by an A.P.M. (Matron) with a schoolmistressy eye". A borrowed piano, however, helped to dispel some of the formality and when the nurses returned the following Sunday they were escorted “by much less formidable matron"; all had a very pleasant time.