Ben S.

What was the most interesting thing you learned about your topic?

The daring crews of these aircraft would fly from England at night halfway across Europe. They had nothing other than a map and compass but could find a small target. They operated in a very hostile environment filled with enemy planes over an area where you were not welcome.

What important lessons have you learned that you want to share with other Canadians?

Canada played a major role during WW2 by manufacturing, training crews, and flying missions with the de Havilland Mosquito. After the war it was used for mapping Canada's remote northern territory. The Mosquito paved the way for more Canadian built planes such as the Dash 8 that is in use today.

How would you compare your life today to the lives of those studied in your project?

The Mosquito Pilot I spoke to, George Stewart, loved planes at a young age like me. His first flight was at 17 and mine was at 11 but both were in de Havilland planes. At 18 George enlisted in the RCAF and went on to fly 50 combat missions in Mosquitos returning to Canada at 21 to train Mosquito pilots in my home province of Nova Scotia.