B-17 CC Additional Material by Robert M Stitt

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27-8-44 Liberator VI KH160 Montreal – Karachi via Azores and Cairo 16-9-44 Mosquito KB415 Montreal – Prestwick B.25 1-10-44 Liberator VI KH238 Montreal – Prestwick 27-10-44 Liberator VI KH268 Montreal – Prestwick via Azores 17-11-44 Dakota IV KK130 Montreal – BW1, Greenland 21-11-44 Mosquito B.25 KB489 Crash-landing at BW1, Greenland, due to undercarriage problems following test flight 31-1-45 Dakota IV KN258 Montreal – Prestwick 24-2-45 Lancaster B.X KB934 Toronto – Montreal Total ferry flights: 38 Total first officer and captain time with RAF Ferry Command: 1,104 hours Total return passenger time with RAF Ferry Command: 944 hours. Les Baxter with his Fleet 80 Canuck CF-EBE and the large-format camera used for his aerial photography business. Baxter flew with the pilot’s door removed, hence his bulky insulating attire. CF-EBE (c/n 149) is preserved mounted on floats at the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa, Ontario. (via Elaine Baxter) George Insley Bliss George Insley Bliss was born in Pasadena, California, on November 17, 1909. His ambition was always to become a pilot and he eventually took flying lessons at a small private airport at Monrovia, California, while working for his father’s painting business. He subsequently joined the Lockheed Aircraft Company where he built his flying time to 850 hours, notably on the Lockheed Hudson. His considerable multi-engine flying experience and eagerness to be involved in the war effort made Bliss a prime candidate for recruitment by Ferry Command and on September 20, 1941, he completed his flying check at Dorval. On his third delivery flight, George Bliss had the honour of being second pilot aboard FK184, the first Fortress IIA delivered to the United Kingdom. (see book pages 37–39). His son George Bliss Jr recalls his father’s enthusiasm for flying: He told stories of flying just about everything in the air from RAF Mosquitoes to B-17s and had tales of flying all over Africa, Europe and North America. He never dropped a bomb or fired a gun during the entire war. He said he once saw a German ‘sub’ in the Atlantic but had nothing but a cheese sandwich to drop on it. He was interested in commercial aviation when he returned from the war but the competition was so intense among the many post-war pilots that he became a painting contractor, as his father had been. During 6
Christmas of 1969, I joined Dad in England and we met his old co-pilot ‘Kelly’ in a pub. Boy, the stories they had to tell… I used to love hearing him ‘hangar flying’ with other pilots. George Insley Bliss passed away in Los Angeles on February 21, 1970. Deliveries with RAF Ferry Command (main route waypoints indicated) Departure Type Serial Route (Captain unless marked FO – First Officer) 29-9-41 Hudson III AM948 Montreal – Prestwick 30-12-41 Liberator I AM582 Montreal – Prestwick (FO) 28-3-42 Fortress IIA FK184 Montreal – Prestwick (FO) 21-4-42 Fortress IIA FK185 Montreal – Prestwick (FO) 2-5-42 Ventura I AE707 Montreal – Prestwick 14-6-42 Mitchell II FL178 Montreal – Prestwick 10-7-42 Liberator III FL908 Montreal – Accra – Montreal (FO). 31-7-42 Liberator III FL908 Montreal – Accra – Montreal (FO) 26-9-42 B-25 (USAAF) ‘973’ Long Beach – Australia 6-1-43 Boston IIIA BZ236 Montreal – UK via South Atlantic 5-3-43 Liberator GR.V FL974 Montreal – Prestwick Liberator Various Series of flights between Montreal, Accra and the Middle East 30-8-44 Fortress III KJ110 Montreal - Prestwick 8-10-44 Liberator VI KH282 Montreal – Rabat via Azores and Cairo 3-11-44 Liberator VI KH366 Montreal – Karachi via Azores, Cairo and Sheiba 19-11-44 Fortress III KJ124 Montreal – Prestwick 21-1-44 Lancaster ? Montreal – Prestwick 1-2-45 Fortress ? Montreal – Prestwick 25-2-45 Liberator ? Montreal – Middle East George Insley Bliss of Pasadena, California, was second pilot for the first transatlantic delivery of a Fortress IIA, that of FK184. He filled the same role for the delivery of FK185. (Directorate of History and Heritage) 7
Page 1 and 2: Boeing B-17 Fortress in RAF Coastal
Page 3 and 4: could fight their way to and from a
Page 5 and 6: manding officer of the 28 th BS, de
Page 7 and 8: Medium-altitude attack on ships in
Page 9 and 10: onto the northern Solomons, New Bri
Page 11 and 12: The Hudsons flew 13 missions into W
Page 13 and 14: 41-9234 in 1955, 12 years after the
Page 15: Boeing B-17 Fortress in RAF Coastal
Page 18 and 19: 13-7-44 Dakota III KG771 Montreal -
Page 25 and 26: This sample Crew Member/ Aircraft T
Page 30 and 31: Fortress II FA700 ‘R’. Beaty an
Page 32 and 33: Sgt Joseph Edouard Roch Boudreault.
Page 34 and 35: Aviator’s certificate issued to C
Page 36 and 37: Pair of Junkers Ju 88 R-2s of 13/KG
Page 38 and 39: Anson Is and Harvard Is at No. 6 SF
Page 40 and 41: Anthony Pinhorn’s sister, Wendy,
Page 42 and 43: Richard Weatherhead with the six ot
Page 44 and 45: Inscription commemorating Richard J
Page 47 and 48: Fortress Aircrew Casualties Eighty-
Page 49 and 50: Sgt Garfield Charles Wilson, age: 2
Page 51 and 52: Panel 130, Runnymede, Surrey. F/Sgt
Page 53 and 54: Son of Leslie George and Kathleen B
Page 55 and 56: Sergeant Robert Fabian, age 24. Roy
Page 60 and 61: MKS. III, IV, V and VI A.S.V. There
Page 62 and 63: good chance of being effective if d
Page 64 and 65: Pilots and W/T operators must be fu
Page 67 and 68: Take-off Across the Steel Planked R
Page 72 and 73:
Extract from Cle Lamb’s logbook f
Page 75 and 76:
Ken Brailsford’s War This photo e
Page 77 and 78:
Logbook page documenting the forced
Page 79 and 80:
Brailsford’s logbook for February
Page 81 and 82:
Unidentified Martin Maryland at LG.
Page 83 and 84:
Air tests and ferry flight to Habba
Page 85 and 86:
Return of AN518 to Karachi over Aug
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B-17 CC Additional Material by Robert M Stitt

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