Going out with the Range Crew

Heroes Remember

Going out with the Range Crew

Transcript

We used to go out with the range crew and they had a Lysander that used to tow a drogue and the fellows that were on the gunnery course they used to get up on the Ansons and fire at that drogue so when we got out to the range they used to drop the drogue and then we from the range crew used to go and pick it up and then we’d count all the bullets that was in there and we’d put his name beside it and put it on the log form and then we’d take it back to the base. And then they had the one for the bombing, they used to go up and have smoke bombs and bomb the trees that were on frozen lakes. And if a sergeant says you gotta drive on that lake and I said, “It’s frozen?’ and he said, “I guarantee it’s three or four feet deep,” and he says, “I want you to go so far and then we’ll go and see where the smoke bomb had landed near this tree.” This was the bombing crew. So it was very exciting, I learned a lot!

Description

Mrs. Sallaway describes her experiences with firing range training and controlled bomb blasts.

Marjorie Sallaway

Mrs. Marjorie Sallaway was born in 1924 in Courtney, British Columbia. Growing up close to the Tofino Airport gave her the desire to join the air force. Mrs. Sallaway went to Victoria, BC and took a driver’s test and later became a Motor Transport Driver with the Women’s Division, Royal Canadian Air Force. Mrs. Sallaway received her basic training at Rockcliffe base in Ottawa and after three years transferred to Mountain View air base where she remained until her discharge. She held rank of Leading Air Woman. After her discharge from the Air Force, Mrs. Sallaway returned to her home province, British Columbia.

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