What Ship Did He go On?

Discussion in 'The War In The Air' started by Gunner400, Apr 10, 2021.

  1. Gunner400

    Gunner400 Well-Known Member

    The below gent went to Canada or arrived in Canada 13/3/42 and it is thought he left from GREENOCK and possibly arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Is there anyway that we could find out what ship he went on?

    1497293 Frank Robert Ablett, LAC, RAF

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  2. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    Could be one of these ships.......I’ll check my convoy files for you. Of course the is assuming that is when he arrived in Canada? I note that his first Unit after was 38 Service Flying Training School, which was in Estavan, Saskatchewan.......which was about a 3 or 4 day train trip from Halifax.......I’ll also see if I can find his records their

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    Last edited: Apr 10, 2021
  3. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    A quick question, I might be able to find him “going back to England” a lot faster......does his records tell you when he went BACK???
     
  4. Gunner400

    Gunner400 Well-Known Member

    Temujin any info would be great thank you, I have attached his record that I have. Thanks for the info so far. 382AA25B-DDAB-443B-8546-7AA2E2CFBE82.jpeg
     
  5. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    Thank you...I’ll check thru it.

    I found the record of WHEN he arrived in Estevan (38 SFTS).....it looks like the 38 SFTS was JUST opening, and it looks like the RAF were the first to go their......and a LARGE group. Also, they came from 31 PD RAF Moncton, NB (New Brunswick)....so they would have landed in Halifax or New York, then went by train to Moncton, NB and then when the group was “gathered”, all by train to Saskatchewan......

    31 PD was No. 31 RAF Personnel Depot. No. 31 Personnel Depot was located at Moncton, a reception centre for members of the RAF moving to and from Canada and the United States.

    Here that record......I’ll look for more info, may not spot his name, but at least I can give you as much as I can find

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    38 SFTS, Estevan Saskatchewan
    SASKATCHEWAN – Canadian Military History
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    Last edited: Apr 11, 2021
  6. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    Another question......at the “corner” of the record (top right) I think it says his “trade” was a Clerk? So was he “support staff”.......and NOT on course at 38 SFTS??

    Also, a quick look thru his records and it does NOT tell us when he went back to England.....but from the Units at the lower portion of this page, they are units in England.....so is their any other pages that gives us clues when he returned??
     
  7. Temujin

    Temujin Member

  8. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    More info, Pennfield Ridge Air Station was located in Charlotte County, New Brunswick in the hamlet of Pennfield

    The Royal Air Force (RAF) operated No. 34 Operational Training Unit (OTU) on site from 1 June 1942 until 19 May 1944. No. 34 OUT also operated No. 34 OTU Detachment, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia from 20 August 1942 until 30 April 1943. Two detached flights, No. 126 (F) Squadron and No. 127 (F) Squadron, operated at different times at the station, providing fight affiliation for those in training at No. 34 OTU

    RCAF Station Pennfield Ridge had Lockheed Venturas, a light bomber, for the training of four man-crews for Bomber Command. The course for pilots and wireless operators was 12 weeks long and for air observers it was 8 weeks. Each group trained separately at first and in the final stage trained as a crew. It was operational from May 1942 to June 1944. Occasional operational missions were flown from this airfield into the Atlantic Ocean. The station experienced a number of difficulties due to serviceability problems with Venturas, persistent fog, and a lack of operationally trained instructors.​

    Pennfield Ridge Air Station - Pennfield Ridge, NB - No.2 ANS, No.34 OTU - RCAF, RAF, BCATP

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    Last edited: Apr 11, 2021
  9. Richelieu

    Richelieu Well-Known Member

    Many of the nominal rolls for Canadian movements were microfilmed and these are available at LAC. Some of these have been digitised and are available on Héritage.

    The file for the vessel that you are interested in should be on either reel C-5705 or C-5706, neither of which have been digitised yet, but you may request this for free, albeit COVID seems to have brought this to a halt for the time being.

    Keep your eye out for an embarkation number (a three-digit number prefixed with a W) from which the vessel can be identified.
     
  10. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    OK, found him and his ship.....he did not land in Halifax, he came in thru New York City, on Convoy TA12. He was on a American Troop Transport, USS George F Elliot

    Sorry, took me a while, but finally figured out he “left” England on (or about) the 13 March 1942

    As you can see from the list below, almost the entire convoy was “American”, with many of the ships being US Navy Transport ships......with a British Escorts force, and American Escorts joining as it neared NY. If you examine the US ships attached, you will see the convoy was also accompanied by the USS New York (BB-34), USS Quincy (CA-39) and USS Philadelphia (CL-41). A Battleship and two US Cruisers.

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    Last edited: Apr 11, 2021
  11. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    SIDE NOTE......the USS George F Elliot was lost a few months later

    Port side view of USS George F. Elliott (AP-13) burning between Guadalcanal and Tulagi, after she was hit by a crashing Japanese aircraft during an air attack, 8 August 1942.

    Source: Transport (AP_

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    Last edited: Apr 10, 2021
  12. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    So, from the information above we now know he left Clyde to NYC, then “most likely” by train north to New Brunswick, then from New Brunswick (by train) on to Estevan, Saskatchewan.
     
    Last edited: Apr 11, 2021
  13. Gunner400

    Gunner400 Well-Known Member

    Wow that is fantastic thank you Temujin so much for giving your time to this and can’t believe how much info you have got in so short a time. Are you interested in this route and or the RAF in particular?
    This info is going to a elderly friend who’s dad you have been researching and this was one of the few things they could not seem to find. You have made his year.
     
  14. Gunner400

    Gunner400 Well-Known Member

    Looks like he left Canada for the U.K. in June 1944 to base 43 which was Driffield I believe
     
  15. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    Thank you. I’ll see if I can find anything with that date. I figured he left sometime in June also, as he shows up in Driffield at the end of June 1944. If you have any other questions, about the Canadian bases or other questions, just let me know and I’ll see what I can find.
     
  16. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    I have a “suspicion” he was on Convoy AT.123. A single ship convoy, Empress of Scotland.....but I have not found any info on this Convoy (ship) yet.....so right now it’s just a guess. The large ocean liners (like the “Queens” etc) sailed “alone” on convoy’s quite often, even though they carried “thousands” of troops (The Queen’s carried over 10,000 in one trip, one trip carrying over 14,000).......because these ships were so fast that the U Boats, even if they detected them could NOT catch them. Normal trip for these ships North America to UK was 6 days (25 knots or faster)..........a “normal” Convoy could take 13 PLUS days (plodding along at 8 to 12 knots)

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    Here’s Convoy AT.123 info.......and the Original Convoy Plot. The Convoy Plot is the actual route the ship took, with any deviations marked etc. Convoy Plots were made in Canada (which was responsible for all North Atlantic Convoy routes) of each and every convoy as it made it’s way to and from North America to Canada and the US. Sorry, this is the best resolution of the Convoy Plot I can get from LAC’s website. You can see on the plot sections that are “marked out” (wavy line over the route).....this was the PLANNED RO”UTE, but then the Convoy had to deviate for some reason (A U Boat or group of U Boats was suspected on the route, or weather issues etc etc)

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    Last edited: Apr 11, 2021
  17. Gunner400

    Gunner400 Well-Known Member

    Again thank you so much for this
     
  18. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    The Arnold Hague sheet you included is for Convoy AT. 123



    TD
     
  19. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    Ooops, my typing error.......the Plot I posted is correct, it IS AT.123 (plot number and ship name at the very bottom of the map).....I’ve corrected my typo’s in the above post
     
  20. Vssanders

    Vssanders Member

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