When North Luffenham opened as a home base for No 1 (F) Wing, the CO was G/C EB "Ed" Hale. He had begun flying with the Hamilton Aero Club, taking his first flight on June 5, 1936. Soon after, he had formed Peninsula Airways, equipped with a Puss Moth and one of the few Fleetwings Sea Bird amphibians. A Stinson Reliant was later added. There were adventuresome times for Hale during his time as a commercial flyer. In 1937 he had a charter to Florida and Havana with his Puss Moth. Such flights were still headline makers in the thirties. Another occasion his Reliant caught fire in Toronto harbour and burned to a crisp.
In 1939 Hale joined Imperial Airways in the UK, where he joined several other Canadian pilots including Al Lilly and NE "Molly" Small. At first Hale was on the Southampton-Singapore flying boat service. then flew the Ensign airliner serving the Continent. When war broke out, Imperial Airways began using the Ensign for trooping. On one flight (September 16, 1939) into eastern France, Hale and his co-pilot observed a British Expeditionary Force barrage near Saarbrucken. They flew over to have a look but dived for home when some 109s showed up. Many years later, Hale learned from his friend, Johannes Steinhoff, later commander of the post-war Luftwaffe, that it had been Steinhoff himself who had scrambled the 109s that day.
Early in the war Hale returned to Canada. He commanded 161 Squadron on the East Coast on antisubmarine warfare, flying Cansos and Digbys. Post-war, two early assignments were OC of 412 Squadron at Rockcliffe, and CO of RCAF Station Chatham.
On January 21, 1949, G/C Hale flew the Vampire for the first time (17086) and soon also checked out on the Mustang and the T-33. In 1951 he was made CO of the just-forming No 1 Wing, and arrived in Odiham that August. There he flew the Vampire and Meteor with 421 Squadron as he awaited his own three squadrons.
During a visit to North Luffenham by A/M Wilf Curtis, the subject of Korea came up, and Hale suggested that the RCAF should send some senior pilots there along with the younger ones to see what difference the experience factor might make. Curtis agreed and Hale immediately volunteered. Curtis was taken by surprise, and Hale quickly had a letter drafted, giving himself "carte blanche" in Korea, then had Curtis sign it. Hale was soon on his way to Japan ona 426 Squadron North Star.
In Toyko, Hale met with General Partridge, who agreed that he could fly combat missions. However, when Hale met the wing commander, there wasn't much of a welcome, as he was not too keen to have Canadians in his unit. All doubts were soon dispelled, though, as Hale proved himself a capable fighter pilot.
Hale joined the 51st Fighter Wing at Suwon, where he immediately began flying combat missions. Hale recalls a pattern of early days when the Communists would lose many aircraft, then brief periods when the MiG pilots they met were clearly top notch. One explanation for this was that there were short periods between MiG OTUs in China where the instructors were free to head south into the fray, and at such times more UN aircraft than usual would fall victim to their more experienced ways.
On one mission Hale led his wing on an escort for F-84s which were to bomb an army depot. At the rendezvous he found that the F-84s had already gone in on the target, so the Sabres poured it on, trying to catch up. When they reached the target area, they found the F-84s had been set upon by MiGs so the Sabres got right to work. The MiGs were soon routed and no USAF aircraft were lost. For this action Hale later received the USAF DFC.
Another time, Hale's element was called in to escort a rescue chopper deep inside unfriendly territory. The Sabres spotted the downed pilot, and harassed nearby enemy troops while the chopper picked him up. But the chopper was low on fuel. A second one soon appeared. The first one got a short jump on the pursuing troops, then landed. It's crew and the rescued pilot got out, and the chopper was set alight. The back-up machine then carried everyone home.
From May 1 to May 25, 1952, G/C Hale flew 26 combat missions in Lorea for a total of 38 hours. Though his stay was brief, it had been busy. Like others before him, he discovered the strengths and weaknesses of the Sabre vs the MiG-15. For example, he learned how to climb the Sabre to 40,000+ feet in the shortest time, then to stay there at speed - a tricky thing, as at such heights the Sabre could easily stall out. If the Sabre lost speed, it couldn't regain it up high. If jumped by high flying MiGs, Sabre pilots learned that a diving turn was best, as the Sabres couldout-turn the MiGs; and down lower the Sabre was much more competitive.
G/C Hale left North Luffenham in August 1953, replaced by G/C Red Sommerville. Thereafter he held numerous positions in the RCAF before retiring in 1967.
Updated: May 14, 2003