What, you are asking, is VR796. Well, if you don’t know, go stand in the corner till recess! Everyone knows that de Havilland Mosquitos were all given a manufacture number by which they are identified. Grandpa flew MM590, a Mk. 13 Mosquito in 1944. VR796 is a Mk. 35 Mosquito built after the end of World War 2 and so saw no active service.
It was acquired by Spartan Air Services and used for mapping Northern Canada until 1963. I understand that Spartan only had one Mosquito. If that is the case, then I have seen this aeroplane before. I worked at Uplands Airport in the summers while I was at the University of Ottawa. I remember walking around a Spartan Mosquito on the ramp. Things were different in the 60’s and there was no security. I was able to walk out and examine the plane at my leisure. There was no one around. And then I forgot about it for fifty years.
Grandpa in the Victoria Air Maintenance Hangar at Pat Bay Airport with VR796.
After Spartan, VR796 was owned by several people and groups intending to make it airworthy again until it was acquired by Robert Jens who placed it with Victoria Air Maintenance at Pat Bay Airport to finish the job.
I became aware of it as I was looking for something to do to get Grandpa out of the house for the day and this seemed perfect. So I contacted Mike Ingram, President of Victoria Air Service and he was very welcoming. So we set today as the day and we went off to see VR796.
Grandpa (on right) and his navigator Joe Carpenter in June 1944 in front of MM590.
70 years later, Grandpa and I stand in front of VR796 in the hangars of Victoria Air Maintenance.
It was a beautiful day. I picked Dad up about 9:30 and we made the 11:00 am ferry to Victoria. We went straight to the airport and found the hangar without difficulty. And there she was. I was surprised how big this aeroplane was. She is complete now and they are hoping to fly her on Monday. The finish is in the colors of a famous Mosquito that crashed in Calgary on 10 May 1945, “F” for Freddie. You can read about that famous airplane here.
After a good look at this beautiful machine and chatting everyone up about its history and the plans for it we removed ourselves to the Stonehouse Pub for beer and pizza ‘al fresco’ and then we caught the 5:00 pm ferry home. All in all a great day. Thank you to Mike and everyone at Victoria Air Maintenance for putting themselves out for us. It was very much appreciated.