Flying a Yale
Heroes Remember
Flying a Yale
Transcript
Description
Mr. Smith offers a detailed description of the Yale. aircraft, in which he completed his pilot training in Canada.
Roderick Smith
Roderick Smith was born in Regina, Saskatchewan in March, 1922. He was the second of four children. His father, who had served in the First World War, was a land surveyor. Mr. Smith had been fascinated by propaganda leading up to the Second World War, so he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940 following the completion of his Senior Matriculation. After pilot training in Canada, he was selected for overseas flying duty. His first tour of duty was on Malta and Mr. Smith’s impressive list of enemy aircraft destroyed began here. He was also shot down himself while on this tour. After returning to England, he joined 401 Squadron piloting new generation Spitfire 9's. Mr. Smith was in action on D-Day, and later did strafing runs in German held France. Later at Nijmegen, he destroyed several more enemy aircraft, including the shared kill of a prototypical ME-262 jet fighter. Mr. Smith retired with the rank of Flight-Lieutenant, DFC and Bar, with thirteen destroys, 1 shared and ½ possible to his credit.
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Duration:
- 1:50
- Person Interviewed:
- Roderick Smith
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- Second World War
- Location/Theatre:
- Canada
- Branch:
- Air Force
- Units/Ship:
- 401 Squadron
- Rank:
- Flight Lieutenant
- Occupation:
- Pilot
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Hand in your Flying Gear!
Mr. Smith describes the exhilaration or disappointment of being selected or not for Overseas pilot duty.
Army Co-op and Spitfires
Mr. Smith describes disappointment of being assigned to army co-op duty at Grangemouth, Scotland but later perks up learning that it was a Spitfire base.
I’ll Never Master This
Mr. Smith describes his impressions of the Spitfire, his initial flight in one, and his feeling that he’d never be able to fly one properly.
Dogfight Training and Confidence Building
Mr. Smith discusses learning how to dogfight and his decreased reliance on his instruments, learning instead to trust the “feel” of his Spitfire. This experience renews his confidence as a pilot.
Declared Operational
Mr. Smith describes the process of ‘working up’, wherein the squadron practised formation flying and aerial target shooting. After this training they were declared battle ready.
First mission
Mr. Smith describes several aspects of his first flying mission: seeing a friendly pilot eject over the English Channel, viewing the French landscape, and experiencing German flak along the French coast.
Posted to Malta
Mr. Smith describes taking off from an aircraft carrier and flying over North Africa on his way to the airfields in Malta.
Shooting down a Junkers JU-88
Mr. Smith describes his strategy for successfully shooting down a German JU-88, and then describes his evasive measures.
Protecting the USS Ohio
Mr. Smith describes shooting down an Italian Savoia-Marchetti torpedo bomber as it approached the disabled tanker, USS Ohio.
Shooting down a Macchi
Mr. Smith describes shooting down an Italian Macchi and watching its death dive into the harbour at Valletta, Malta.
Shot Down and Rescued (Part 1 of 3)
Mr. Smith describes being shot up by the wingman of a German fighter he was attacking, fleeing towards Malta, and losing power within sight of Valletta.
Shot Down And Rescued (Part 2 of 3)
Mr. Smith describes his frightening ejection from his Spitfire and the experience of parachuting for the first time.
Shot Down and Rescued (Part 3 of 3 )
Mr. Smith describes nearly drowning before manually blowing up his Mae West ( life jacket ), and being rescued by a Maltese fisherman.
Allied Fighter Superiority
Mr. Smith describes the superiority of Allied aircraft and fighter pilots as attrition decimated the German Luftwaffe.
Prelude to Normandy
Mr. Smith describes the mass of ships and landing craft he saw while flying over Solway Firth and seeing gliders being towed toward France. These events presaged the Normandy invasion.
First D-Day Operation
Mr. Smith describes seeing the Allied naval barrage at Normandy and chasing four ME-109's away from the combat zone.
Killing a Focke-Wulf 190
Mr. Smith describes attacking a Focke-Wulf 190 and seeing its pilot eject, burning, from his flaming cockpit.
Strafing an Enemy Troop Truck
Mr. Smith describes strafing an enemy troop truck and its occupants, and being sickened by the experience
The Deathly Silence I’d Heard About
Mr. Smith describes the explosion of two buzz bombs near the hotel where he was spending his leave in London.
Killing ME-109's at Nijmegen
Mr. Smith describes two air actions over Nijmegen where heavy losses were inflicted on German fighter patrols.
A Marvellous Thing Aerodynamically
Mr. Smith describes his Squadron’s encounter with a new ME-262 jet fighter, and how it was shot down.
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