ABSTRACT: Lieutenant Colonel Ed Mitchell, spent his career conducting maintenance for the Canadian Forces as an aerospace engineer. Not only did he command the maintenance detachment at CFB Shearwater in the 1990s, but he also spent time in the civilian sector as the General Manager of Coulson Aeronautics. Our discussions focused largely on base organization and maintenance practices regarding the Sea King. Part 1 0.00-5.55 Biographical Information 5.55-14.06 AMMIS (Initial Digitization of Maintenance Records) Part 2 0.00-13.05 Organization of Maintenance Personnel (AERE) 4.17 Description of Base (423/443 at Shearwater) 7.08 Composition of HELAIRDET Maintenance 9.41 Responsibilities at Sea 11.48 Gulf War Maintenance Detachment 13.05-33.26 1st Line, 2nd Line, 3rd Line Maintenance 24.32 Different Periodicities of Equipment 30.5 Importance of Pre-Deployment Check of Helicopters 33.26-1.00.05 Issues in Sea King Maintenance 37.31 Bogus Parts 41.09 Lack of Money for the Sea King 48.28 Issues of Maintenance in the Gulf 56.21 Short Tail Rotor Blades in the 1980s 1.00.05 Anecdote of Ocean Ranger (1982) 1.04.30 3rd Line Maintenance – Numbers 1.06.01 Painting Shop (Political Angle) 1.08.38-1:18:10 Civilian Sea Kings vs. Military Sea King 1.18.10-126:21 NSA Requirements Part 3 0 Description of 12 AMS 3.55 Complication with Maintenance across Canada 11.28 Operations with HOTEF 13:43 Recovering from the NSA

Interviewer: Ayers, Caylan

An interview/narrative of Lieutenant-Colonel Ed Mitchell's experiences whilst serving with the Canadian Forces. Interview took place on March 17, 2012.

Rank: Lieutenant-Colonel. Medals and Honours: Commander's Commendation Award; Canadian Forces Decoration; Order of Military Merit

Interviewee: Mitchell, Edward Gerard, b. 1951

In Collection:

• Canadian Military Oral Histories

Contributor

• Ayers, Caylan
• Mitchell, Edward Gerard, b. 1951

Subject

• Persian Gulf War (1991)
• Canada. Canadian Armed Forces
• Military history

Language

• eng

Keyword

• Canada--Canadian Armed Forces--Maritime Helicopter Squadron, 443
• Canada--Canadian Armed Forces--Maritime Helicopter Squadron, 423
• Anti-submarine warfare--Equipment and supplies
• Canada--Canadian Forces Base (Shearwater, N.S.)--History
• Canada--Canadian Armed Forces--Finance
• Oil well drilling rigs
• Canada--Canadian Armed Forces--Anti-Submarine Warfare Helicopter Squadron, 423
• Canada--Canadian Armed Forces--Weapons systems
• Canada--Canadian Armed Forces--Equipment--Testing
• Aviation mechanics (Persons)
• Sea King (Helicopter)--Maintenance and repair
• Sea King (Helicopter)--Modification
• Canada--Canadian Armed Forces--Military life
• Sikorsky H-92 (Helicopter)
• Sea King (Helicopter)
• Sea King (Helicopter)--Parts
• Canada--Canadian Forces Base (Shearwater, N.S.)--Organization
• Canada--Dept. of National Defence--New Shipboard Aircraft Project
• Canada--Canadian Armed Forces--Equipment and supplies
• Mitchell, Edward Gerard, 1951- --Interviews
• Canada--Canadian Armed Forces--Personal narratives
• Canada--Canadian Armed Forces--Wing, 12
• Ocean Ranger (Drilling rig)
• Canada--Canadian Forces Base (Shearwater, N.S.)--Helicopter Operational Test and Evaluation Facility (HOTEF)
• Sikorsky helicopters
• Antisubmarine warfare
• Canada--Canadian Armed Forces--Organization
• Canada--Canadian Armed Forces--Procurement
• Canada--Canadian Armed Forces--Sea King Omnibus Modification Program (SKOMP)
• Canada--Canadian Armed Forces--Air Maintenance Squadron, 12
• Antisubmarine aircraft
• Aerospace engineers

Date created

• March 17, 2012

Relation

• Title of paper: "The Sea King: A Story of Adaptability". Link:  http://rusiviccda.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/The_Sea_King-A_Narrative_of_Adaptability.pdf
• Part of the Military Oral History Class collection of interviews.

Resource type

• Sound

Rights statement

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Extent

• 3 sound recordings (MP3)

Geographic coverage

• Middle East
• Canada

Coordinates

• 60.10867, -113.64258
• 33.13906, 35.85869

Additional physical characteristics

• Original sound recordings (MP3) also available.

Physical repository

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Collection

• Canadian Military Oral History Collection

Provider

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Genre

• interviews
• sound recordings
• reminiscences
• oral histories (literary genre)

Archival item identifier

• ME_703

Fonds title

• Military oral history collection

Fonds identifier

• SC141

Is referenced by

• Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection

Date digitized

• March 17, 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

•  https://doi.org/10.58066/w7eh-rn43

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