RCAF WW2 Fighter Pilot Jim Ashworth

Title Screen: Jim Ashworth, Royal Canadian Air Force, World War II Pilot, Trained at Claresholm, Alberta.

Image of blackboard.

Transcript of narration:

As a child, I was kind of interested in the Air Force.

[piano music]

I was living here in Invermere and I got the urge to join and my age was 20 in 1939.

Inset: photo of man in snowsuit in front of Tiger Moth;

Jim Ashworth on camera.

I got a call right after turkey dinner at Christmas of 1940, to go to Calgary on January the 4^th and join the Air Force.

[film reel ticking]

Vintage video footage of airmen being inspected by officer; title “Manning Depot.”

I was then transferred to Brandon, Manitoba, to the Manning Depot, but I went to bombing and gunnery for part of my duty there, but waiting to go to ITS, and that was at Portage la Prairie.

Jim Ashworth on camera. Title “Initial Training School.”

Then I was transferred to Regina ITS, and went through the initial training there. And interestingly there on the steps when we graduated, there was an RCAF Corporal there and here we were all lined up on the streets.

And he said, “Ok, you guys from here are navigators. You guys from here are going to be air gunners, and the rest of you are pilots.” I happened to be in the right pile for pilot. So, then that was the selection there on our particular course.

[film reel ticking]

Inset: vintage video footage of yellow airplanes flying. Title “Elementary Flight Training School.”

Then I was fired off to Boundary Bay, near Vancouver, for my Elementary Flying Training.

Jim Ashworth on camera. Title “Service Flying Training School.”

Following that, it was then chosen to go to Claresholm for my next pilot’s training course. And I arrived there, I guess, in about July of 1941.

[film reel ticking]

Inset: vintage video footage of wheat fields

Claresholm was probably slated as an airport partly because of the atmosphere. The climate is excellent there. It was a natural place to have an airport.

Blackboard with white box drawn on it. Inset: aerial photo of airbase.

Jim Ashworth on camera.

When I was in Claresholm I lived on the base, and that was where I spent all of my, or most of my time.

Inset: photo of instructor in classroom with 4 pilot trainees, photo of 6 airmen studying maps in classroom.

In the classroom, depending on whether it was airmanship or navigation. It depended on what it was that particular hour or day.

Jim Ashworth on camera. An airplane flies across the blackboard (animation); stars appear on blackboard;

And then a flying schedule happened in the afternoon.

[plane flying overhead]

Later on in the course, of course, it got to be night flying when you had a little more time. Night flying, which I found very interesting.

And you wouldn’t even think there was a war on, when you were out at the night flying field, flying around at night in Claresholm, with the window open, nice fresh air.

Close up image of flight wheel and instruments of Link trainer, door closes on the space; b/w photo of man getting out of Link trainer;

The Link trainer, which you were sort of boxed in quickly, and you felt uncomfortable in a sense, because you didn’t have a comfortable seat, and suddenly it was nighttime and you all you had was instruments.

Vintage video footage of Link instructor and airmen using Link trainer; photo of man in Link trainer with instructor.

After a while you could relax, and we did several hours on that, of course. It was always a very beneficial treatment, definitely.

Jim Ashworth, pilot, on camera.

Especially for instrument reading, which you had to do. If there was any night flying involved, it was very necessary.

Blackboard Jim Ashworth, pilot, on camera. B/w image of twin-engine plane with man standing in front; image of plane flies across screen (animated).

The training there was basically twin-engine. I was more interested in the fighter side of the game, but you had to do this.

[piano music]

The course there was fairly intensive.

Photo 1940s Claresholm streetscape;

The community was very helpful and very friendly.

Blackboard Jim Ashworth on camera. Title: Manning Depot, Initial Training School, Elementary Flight Training School, Service Flying Training School, Instructor Trainer, Operational Training Unit and Active Duty appearing in order on the screen.

Ten percent on the course, when they graduated, were allowed to say, “Do you want to be instructors in Canada? Or do…” You know, because some of the guys were married and it was a good idea to maybe stay in Canada. And the rest of us said, “Let’s go! We want to get overseas and do what we can.”

Blackboard with waves and submarine being drawn on it.

We had to stop mid-ocean a couple of times, because of the U-boats.

[sonar pings]

Nobody move or do a darn thing.

Photo of military men going through bombing rubble.

Got over to Birmingham and saw the first signs of war there, with the buildings that had been bombed. And then on to Bournemouth.

Blackboard Jim Ashworth on camera.

And then all of a sudden the good news came that we were selected to go on to Fighter OTU (Operational Training Unit).

[plane flying overhead]

Image of a Hurricane airplane flies across the screen (animated).

Then I was transferred to 55 OTU, up in Annan, in Scotland, near Dumfries, and that’s where I got into the Hurricane training.

Blackboard Jim Ashworth on camera.

And then word came through that they were short of pilots, so we got we got pulled out and into the system – properly.

[piano music]

Blackboard, chalk drawing world map, with Great Britain, India and Cheringa labeled on it.

I was transferred to India, a place called Cheringa, which was on the Bay of Bengal.

Group photo of airmen in summer uniforms in front of fighter plane.

The unfortunate part was that after about 50-odd missions that I did over there, I ended up getting malaria.

Blackboard Jim Ashworth on camera.

But it happened just about the stage that we managed to get the Tiddim (Burma) Road open. I was happy to be kind of a part of that, along with the other guys, that did a hell of a pile of work.

Photos: graduation group photo of unit in front of twin-prop plane.

Self-respect, respect others, and always think positive.

Jim Ashworth on camera.

We have a great place to live in, and any chance that you might have to volunteer please do it and help out the community.

Photo of Jim Ashworth getting his wings pinned on his chest by officer.

End Credits: Claresholm & District Museum, Claresholm & District Museum, Archives, Library & Archives Canada, Bomber Command Museum of Canada, Footage courtesy of Glenbow Archives, Jim Ashworth Collection.