Kanngeiser, Robert: my Air Force recollections (March 16, 2012)

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An interview/narrative of Flying Officer Robert Kanngeiser's experiences whilst serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Interview took place on March 16, 2012.

Interviewer: Schade, Dan

Interviewee: Kanngeiser, Robert

ABSTRACT: This interview centered around Flying Officer Kanngeiser’s operations with 102 KU (Composite Unit), and specifically those that reached the Arctic in the early 1960s. His main area of deployment was Resolute Bay, and for some two weeks, he and his DC-3 Dakota aircraft completed various resupply missions to smaller outposts on Baffin Island. This would have been around the time of the Army Land Survey, and not the Shoradetic survey, which was completed in the fall 1957. Nevertheless, F/O Kanngeiser discusses life in the north for R.C.A.F. aircrew, his own experiences as a navigator, and the general sentiment within the military during the Cold War era. An overwhelming narrative that emerges throughout this discussion is the presence of the threat of the war with the Soviet Union. 0:00 Introduction 1:00 Joining the Royal Canadian Air Force 5:10 Posting to 102 KU (Composite Jump School) 6:00 First logistics trip into the arctic. 8:10 Life at Rivers Air Force Base 10:20 Introduction to 437 Squadron and round-the-world OTU trip 12:40 The role of a Radio Officer aboard a Yukon aircraft 13:40 The Culture of the R.C.A.F. 16:40 Discusses his official role in the Arctic in 1961 23:30 The DEW Line and Americans 26:40 The National Research Council and the R.C.A.F. 31:00 The Cuban Missile Crisis and 102KU 33:30 Life alongside the Army at Rivers 36:10 The ME-163 38:30 Other irregular flights on the C-119 43:30 The Army Survey supply paradrops, 1961. 47:30 Ground crews in the Arctic 50:20 An incident involving a Dakota and Herman Nelson heater 53:00 A navigator in the Arctic 55:50 The work of an HF radio officer in a Dakota above the Arctic 57:00 Flying DC-3 Dakota; crew compliment and cabin layout 61:00 Flying the C-119 Boxcar; crew compliment, cabin layout, and paratroopers. 62:40 Paratroopers in Churchill 63:30 Long flights in the Dakota 64:30 Crewing on 437 (permanent crewing did not happen in 437) 65:10 Working alongside the Inuit 73:20 Remembering the nature in the Arctic 73:47 Family thoughts about working in the Arctic 76:00 Winter bush survival school. 78:30 Flying around the world, and an extension of his short service commission 79:14 CUSO Volunteers to Africa 81:00 Being asked to come in and serve summers with the Reserve Force 86:30 Unification in the Canadian Forces; perception of affects on the R.C.A.F 88:45 Outside perception of the recce phase. “we know nothing” 90:00 Thule Airbase, Greenland and Weather Stations 96:45 Mercy Flight into Resolute Bay 98:10 Reflection on crews who had spent a long periods in the North 100:00 Mercy flights into the United States 102:00 Reflections on the history of Arctic flying 103:00 What made him the proudest 105:00 The effects of Korea, and the Cold War on the history if this time 107:45 The first flight into Cyprus. 110:10 Beirut, 1967 and the rapid withdrawal of Canadian troops from Egypt (the Air Force perspective) 115:00 A recap on the length of Arctic flights, while looking through large scale maps of the Arctic. 124:00 Long range training flights 132:10 Conclusion

Rank: Flying Officer.

In Collection:
Contributor Subject Language Keyword Date created Relation
  • Title of paper: "Mapping the North: 408 Squadron and the Shoradetic Survey".
  • Part of the Military Oral History Class collection of interviews.
Resource type Rights statement Extent
  • 1 sound recording (MP3)
Geographic coverage Coordinates
  • 60.10867, -113.64258
  • 39.76, -98.5
Additional physical characteristics
  • Original sound recording (MP3) also available.
Physical repository Collection
  • Canadian Military Oral History Collection
Provider Genre Archival item identifier
  • KR_729
Fonds title Fonds identifier Is referenced by Date digitized
  • March 16, 2012
Technical note
  • Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 192 kbps and 44 kHz. Recorded in digital format by interviewer, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2012. Migration metadata by KD and MT.
Rights
  • This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca
DOI

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