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Description
Mr. Yarnell continues to discuss flying top cover for General Mark Clark into Copenhagen, and the reception he received.
Cyrill St. Clair (Cy) Yarnell
M. Yarnell est né le 9 août 1920 à Carlow, en Irlande. Il a déménagé au Canada à l'âge de 8 ans. Il s'est enrôlé dans l'Aviation royale du Canada (ARC) en 1940 à l'âge de 20 ans. Il a suivi la formation initiale de pilote à Victoriaville (Québec), où il a appris à piloter le Fleet Finch pour enfin maîtriser le Harvard. Il a suivi la formation d'instructeur de vol à Trenton et formé des pilotes d'un grand nombre de pays. Après avoir été instructeur pendant un an, M. Yarnell a été envoyé outre-mer. Il a effectué des missions aériennes au-dessus de l'Afrique du Nord, de l'Italie et de l'Allemagne et participé aux batailles de la vallée du Liri et de Monte Cassino. Après la guerre, il est demeuré dans l'Aviation royale du Canada (ARC). Lorsqu'il a pris sa retraite de l'ARC en 1975, M. Yarnell avait le grade de colonel. Il est membre de l'Association des Forces aériennes du Canada et participe activement aux activités du musée de l'Aviation de Trenton. M. Yarnell et son épouse, Phyllis, ont trois enfants, sept petits-enfants et un arrière-petit-enfant.
Transcription
I decided that I was going to land at Copenhagen. The Germans are still there but they were accepting these aircraft. So, when I took off I didn’t close my door up tight so that the track for my canopy couldn’t, wouldn’t allow me to close the canopy, and I took off that way. I couldn’t close the canopy and it was cold. So when we got over Copenhagen, it was only a 20 minute flight or something, I said, I told the other two guys to go back because I couldn’t get my canopy closed and I have to go in to land to fix this. That was, my number 2 came with me. We landed, the Luftwaffe were still there in their uniforms and can you imagine two Spitfires driving up to the line with the German Air Force fellows there, still with their guns, but the Danish underground were there too and they had come in and immediately surrounded our aircraft while I was taking care of this repair work. But that wasn’t good enough for the Danish underground, they immediately took us into town and got us “half in the bag” and we stayed overnight with folks there and we had a great time. Took off the next day with the German Air Force still there, took off. We buzzed the field of course because it was okay and then went back. That was exciting.Interviewer: It must have been. Walking by these Luftwaffe guys and they were just like us. Amazing. Interviewer: It is amazing. Very few people get a chance to do something like that. And I got it.