framed rudder fabric
Item
Title
framed rudder fabric
Description
yellow rudder fabric of a Fleet Finch Mark II No. 4557 This fabric was taken from the aircraft after a crash in which Ralph Schenck was involved in during training at #13 EFTS, St. Eugene, Ontario on December 15, 1942
Identifier
009.057.014
Format
Provenance
Schenck was a native of Ontario and fell in love with airplanes at 5 years old when a barnstormer landed an old Jenny near the town of Guelph were his father was a teacher. Schenck was 16 in 1939 when WWII began. When he was finally old enough to enlist, he failed his physical because he was underweight. After bulking up for a month, he went back and was enlisted. At age 19 he became a sergeant pilot for the RCAF and was soon sent overseas. Originally he was sent to be a bomber pilot, but because of his short stature, he was redirected to fighters. he had been forced to stuff seat cushions underneath and behind him, plus mount wooden blocks on the rudder pedals so his feet would reach them. He was soon flying single engine aircaft, towing gunnery targets through the air and was eventually moved to his choice of aircraft-Spitfires. He flew Spitifres with a photo reconnaissance squadron- his aircraft armed only with cameras.Soon he was commissioned as a pilot officer, bringing him better food and better quarters. Schenk's final posting as an RCAF pilot attached tot he RAF was in Norhtern Ireland, where the misions his squadron flew included general reconnaissance and anti submarine patrols. After the war, Schenck moved to the USA and became a surgeon.
Abstract
Fair
Date Created
1942