111 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca in the North Atlantic or Arctic Oceans and surveillance around convoys en route across the Atlantic. They escorted the troopship Normandy bound for Europe. These hours and hours of flying time had their moments of excitement and anxiety. On one occasion they almost literally ‘came in on a wing and a prayer’. They had to fly four and one-half hours to get back to base after one engine stopped. That is a long time waiting to see if the remaining engine will hang in there. They were told that a crew may survive only an hour or so if ditched in the cold and angry North Atlantic Ocean. Then it would be a miracle if they could all get into the emergency dinghies. One dark and stormy night they listened to their companion A/C sending out an SOS. They had probably lost their directions and there was nothing Evert’s crew could do to help in such a situation. They were found the next day crashed up in the mountains one hour from base. It was a sad occasion when the Army and Air Force went up for the burial service. There were no survivors. Another hair-raiser for Evert was when their brakes failed after landing on Reykjavik Airfield runway. The pilot revved one engine to get the A/C away from 50 or so other A/C on the taxi strip and off the runway. They went through a high-wire fence, a ditch, crossed a highway, another ditch, a second wire fence and ended up in an Icelander’s residence. That A/C was taken off the flight schedule. Evert was promoted to rank of Flying Officer in March 1945. In approximately the middle of March 1945, their crew were detailed to fly a “Canso A” A/C from Reykjavik to Scoudouc for a major overhaul. As Evert’s Flight Log Book was left in Iceland, this flight was not entered into it. His last entry was on March 11, 1945 when they escorted some ships on the ocean. However, he remembered that it took seventeen hours flying time from Reykjavik to Goose Bay, Labrador. Their “Canso” was supposed to fly eighteen hours at cruising speed (165 knots per hour) before running out of fuel. They fueled up and flew the aircraft from Goose Bay to Scoudouc the next day. The crew was then given leave to visit their families while the A/C was undergoing a major overhaul. Evert’s wife, Drew, was staying with her sister, Connie, in Lingle, Wyoming, USA so that is where he spent his leave. When Evert got back to Scoudouc they still had to wait around for a plane. They spent most of this time exploring and sightseeing in the Moncton area. The following are entries from his diary as written at the time with recent comments in parentheses: April 19, 1945 - Canso #11076’s crew: F/O Bert Lahey, F/O Albert Smith; F/O Loyd Monroe, F/O Evert Lambert, F/O Warren Taillefer, F/O Raymond Joy, F/O Bob Sugden, F/O Bill Bagget. Departed from Moncton, NB Time 0845 hrs. Destination: Reykjavik, Iceland via Goose Bay, Lab. Starboard engine missing due to iced carburetor or blocked gas line. Emergency landing at Mingan, P.Q. Time 1200 hrs. Drained gas lines, checked radios. Dinner at Mingan, good. Departed for Goose Bay, time 1515 hrs. poor communications on wireless equipment due to atmospheric conditions. Starboard engine stopped. Icing bad. Losing altitude with only one engine. Prepare for crash landing. Pilot stopped engine. Wireless operator turned off main electrical switch on panel. All crew members took crash positions on A/C. position 6203W - 5143N - time 1630 hrs. (Crashed). After some time drew straws to decide who should first enter A/C to throw out emergency rations and gear. The gas tanks had split while landing in spruce bush. These tanks had been filled to capacity of 1100 imperial gallons of high-octane fuel at Mingan. Forward personnel had to push through this stream while evacuating A/C and escape through back blister. I was one of those and got gas in my eyes and could see nothing as I felt my way to the escape blister and jumped out. It must have been ten feet down before I hit ground and landed on something that caught me in the groin and pushed my hip back a little. Outside of this injury we all survived as far as I know, with minor cuts and sprains. However, Bert (continued) LAMBERT, Evert Walter(continued)
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