NOORDUYN NORSEMAN

Canada’s rugged, fabric-covered workhorse

ROBERT S. GRANT

As Noorduyn Norseman UC-64B 43-5112 turned final approach on August 26, 1944, pilot Albert Hill idled the 600-hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engine and felt the airframe shudder with flaps locked down. When the airplane’s tires contacted the 2,300-foot soft soil airstrip at Fort Smith in Canada’s Northwest Territories, airspeed indicated 100 mph. Three waiting truck drivers watched what they expected would be a routine rollout. “As we had already thrown up a considerable amount of mud, I decided to go around again and attempt another landing,” reported Hill to USAAF headquarters. “At this point, I applied full throttle; we managed to pull through the water in front of us and had almost become airborne when we struck a still larger and softer area. The speed of the aircraft by…

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Flight Journal (Digital) - 1 Issue, September/October 2023

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