From: Ron (rojoha@adelphia.net)
Date: Thu Aug 18 2005 - 13:11:45 PDT
As usual, the Yanks try to make sport of the Canadians and just can not get
it right. This remarkable picture is the only known photo the very early
prototype attempt by Canadair to create the CL-28 ARGUS Maritime Patrol
Aircraft. The CL-28 was a Canadian license built version of the DC-4.
This prototype was an attempt to make a 'Home Grown Canadian' version of
the P-3 'Orion' US Maritime Patrol Aircraft.
This Canadians prototype was novel in that the prototype was to be both
amphibious and snow capable, using the license built French 'Float-a-uni
Frog-eh Sink-non' (FUFSN). The Montreal office of Canadair, who was
responsible for the detection electronics gear selection and installation,
read several Popular Mechanics articles on modern US Destroyers. Thus up to
speed on sub hunting, they put the 'Sonar Shack' on the stern of the FUFSN,
thereby keeping the aircraft's weight down, providing a larger crew sleeping
area away from the engines, keeping the wood stove remoted from fuel tank
vapors, and allowing additional ground crew to be carried to manually deice
the aircraft during flight in the hostile northern maritimes climate. An
unexpected, but very welcome byproduct of the 'Shack' was that it caused a
huge boost to the crews morale by providing a warm, secure location for ice
fishing while the plane was not conducting Maritime Patrols in the air. This
turned out to be always, since the aero dynamics of the FUFSN had a
detrimental effect on the engines ability to get the hull up on the 'step',
necessary for an amphibian to break contact with the water and become
airborne. After 2 years of attempted test flights, the prototype program was
scrapped in favor of a conventional land based operation design.
But that was not the end of this novel idea.
Approximately 10 years later, this very same prototype was the center of
an international debate after it was purchased as surplus by Pierre Triovain
of Saint-Eustache-sur-le-Lac, Quebec. He showed up at an Ice fishing
tournament on Lake Ontario at Oswego, NY after sailing/taxing(?) down the
Saint Lawrence Seaway. Tournament
participants were required to haul their huts across the ice from the pier
to the fishing area, about 15 miles away, catch at least 10 fish and then
return the hut to the pier, for weigh in and length check (of the fish).
Points were awarded for total fish weight, length, total time elapsed from
departure to return, horse power of hut's 'motive' unit and 'panache'.
Pierre's hands down winning point total was challenged by Mert Thomas of
Jonestown WI. Mert claimed that Pierre had willfully and with malicious
intent 'jazzed' his throttle several times when the starting gun was fired,
blowing all the other contestants shanties 3/4 of a mile up Main St until
they came to rest in front of the Finest Kind Fish Market and Medical Clinic
of Oswego.
It was also claimed Pierre had used 'depth charges' to break up the ice
at the fishing area and he and his buddies had 'scooped' the fish onto the
FUFSN instead of 'hooking' them like a proper ice fisherman. Since no one
ever made it out to observe Pierre at work (he was out and back in 27
minutes with 971 fish totaling 3100 lbs) these claims could not be
substantiated. In the spirit of international good will the trophy was
awarded to Pierre and he donated the fish to the FKFM&MCoO. He kept the
$1000 cash prize for gas and the 137 cases of Genesee beer.
The story takes a tragic turn, when the next day, Pierre's 'hut' was
confiscated after being stopped and boarded by the HMCS Huron (DDE 216).
Seems that Pierre had miscalculated the speed of the prototype CL-28 at 1/3
throttle setting with a twenty knot following wind and the number of cans of
beer his 16 man crew could consume per hour. He was headed acrooss Lake
Ontario to Saint Catharines, ONT to show his 'hut' to his cousin, Francois,
and due to the miscalculated speed of advance, entered Canadian waters 3
hours too early. And 167 cans of Genesee beer over the amount allowed to be
brought back per man after a 3 day US stay. After a clumsy attempt at trying
to stash the excess cans in the sonabouy launcher racks to escape detection
and accidentally launching a smoke float, he and his crew were arrested for
attempted smuggling and violation of the Canadian 'Good Times Law'.
The seized 'hut' was auctioned off in mid winter two years later by the
Canadian Customs service but was lost when the new owner attempted to take
his ice bound 'hut' away from it's moorings. Again, tragedy struck. Seems
Pierre and his minions had taken to relieving themselves on the attaching
bolts between the landing gear struts and the FUFSN. The stainless steel
hardware proved to be no match for the passage of time and exposure to
partially processed Genesee. The bolts let go while the new owner was
attempting to 'rock' his 'hut' free of the ice. At full throttle, the
prototype finally became airborne, for approximately 30 seconds. The owner
was not a pilot, and had immediately pulled the throttles back to idle. The
plane settled onto the ice and slid to a stop after side swiping the
Canadian Coast Guard Icebreaker 'Labrador'. It then burst into flames and
melted through the ice. The owner escaped unhurt.
What a bitch, eh?
And now you know the rest of the story,
Bonjour!
Ronzo
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stu" <stuinnh@mvnut.us>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: 18 August, 2005 07:47
Subject: [MV] First Canadian Aircraft Carrier
> Here is the original picture. Not pretty, but it works.
>
> http://www.nickscipio.com/funstuff/archive9/2005-07-06_canadiancarrier.html
>
>
>
> "Stu"
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Fri Oct 28 2005 - 23:25:29 PDT