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The Red Knight
By John Corrigan
A solo, aerobatics performer of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Training Command from 1958 through 1969, the role of the Red Knight was actually shared by seventeen different pilots over a period of twelve seasons. Although originally authorized to perform only three shows, the Red Knight went on to make over six hundred appearances, all over North America. The Red Knight was commonly sent to venues considered too small for the aerobatics teams of the day. According to 1963 Red Knight, Bill Fraser: “As with the Teams, the positive publicity achieved was tremendous, and all for what was, even in those days, a very small budget. We did some “openers” for the Golden Hawks, and took part in some larger Canadian and US displays, but most of our shows [took place] in out of the way places that did not rate a Team.”
The Red Knight was uniquely Canadian -- a solo military display. These pilots, with the help of their Crew Chiefs and support personnel, brought an extremely impressive and professional aerobatics show to communities that might not otherwise get the chance to see such an event. The trademark of the Red Knight was his brilliant red aircraft; first the T-33 “Silver Star” and then, for the last two seasons, the CL-41 “Tutor”.
The Red Knight was uniquely Canadian -- a solo military display. These pilots, with the help of their Crew Chiefs and support personnel, brought an extremely impressive and professional aerobatics show to communities that might not otherwise get the chance to see such an event
The unique feature of the Red Knight displays was that all the manoeuvres were performed within the boundaries of the airfield -- keeping the action in view of the spectators throughout the entire show.
There were several reasons that, in the late fifties, the time was right for the Red Knight, as Jack Waters, the 1967 Red Knight, explains: “It was not surprising that the Red Knight aerobatics demonstration program saw its beginnings as post-World War II RCAF Training Command reached its zenith in the fifties. The Command was endowed with a state-of-the-art modern fighter type aircraft, the Canadair T-33 “Silver Star”, and thanks to the burgeoning North Atlantic Treaty Organization combat flying program, was endowed as well with a large supply of highly skilled, mature yet still young fighter-experienced instructors. On the one hand, the Command was anxious to demonstrate its capabilities to other military organizations and to the Canadian public in a dramatic way. On the other hand, many T-33 instructors were eager to take up the challenge of aerobatics demonstrations.”
“Thus, by 1956, some individual pilots were permitted to put a T-33 through its paces in front of military and civilian spectators at unofficially sanctioned air shows. The manoeuvres, conducted at low altitude, were basically those employed in normal military pilot training: loops, rolls, cuban-eights (a double combination loop and roll), and cloverleafs (a series of wingovers). The show usually concluded with a traditional fighter pitch-out and landing. Resourceful pilots could expand the demonstration into a fifteen minute “sound and light” show which was both thrilling for spectators and very demonstrative of fighter aircraft capabilities and pilot skill.”
Roy Windover, a native of Belleville, Ontario, was the first Red Knight. He died May 29th, 1990 in an automobile accident near Arnprior, Ontario. Fortunately, he had told the story of how the Red Knight program began to Larry Milberry, who included it in his book, “Sixty Years”. In 1957, Windover was a Flight Instructor at Central Flying School (CFS), in Trenton. During the Labour Day weekend that year, he attended the Canadian International Air Show (CIAS) at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto. A spectator at the show, Windover was disappointed to see an American exchange pilot flying an RCAF jet in a solo aerobatics display at Canada’s premier air show. Roy vowed to himself that he would be the pilot flying that display at the 1958 Air Show.
As luck would have it, one of Roy’s students back at CFS was Air Vice Marshall (A/V/M) Bryans, the AOC of Training Command, who was renewing his green ticket at the time. Windover lobbied his case to the A/V/M and was granted permission to begin practicing a solo aerobatics display. His first performance was at the Air Force Day celebrations in Trenton on June 14th, 1958. The show went well and Roy continued practicing for his CIAS appearance in September. In preparation for these shows, his aircraft (T-33 S/N 21057) was painted dayglo-red, to make it more visible to the audiences. On July 12th, a photo session was arranged to get publicity pictures for the air show programs and press releases. The photographer, Cpl. George D. Hardy, commented during the shoot that the brilliant red aircraft reminded him of Baron von Richthofen, the Red Knight of Germany, and so the act was dubbed as “the red Knight”.
Windover performed two shows at the CNE, September 4th and 5th, and received critical acclaim from the press. One newspaper clipping, that Roy taped into his log book, proclaimed that: “The two pilots who caused the most startles in the crowd were Blue Angels’ solo leader Lt. Jack Dewenter in his F11F-1 Tiger and the RCAF’s Flt. Lt. Roy (Windy) Windover in a fire-engine red T-33 Silver Star.” After the CNE shows, the T-33 was returned to CFS, stripped of its red paint and resumed its regular duties.
There is no objective evidence that Windover had planned to continue the routine in 1959. Roy had, however, left a favourable impression with one very important spectator who would bring him back for an encore performance, as Bob Hallowell explains: “In early 1959 preparations were being made for the big 35/50 shows - 35 years of the RCAF, 50 years of powered flight in Canada. The Hawks were formed, and hordes of T-birds from all over the prairies were jockeying around to spell "35" and "50" in aluminium. To get this all rolling a "Chief's Airshow" was planned at Ottawa/Rockcliffe for the Chief of the Air staff, (Air Marshall Hugh Campbell) and a few friends. The CAS had seen Windy at the CNE, so when the '59 Chief's show was planned he asked for the "red jet".”
Hallowell was designated as Windover’s alternate pilot and flew a second aircraft to the show, as a precaution against technical problems. According to Hallowell: “Windy was on notice for a posting to Sabres, so I was the last one standing and was recruited as his back-up. He did a few other shows before leaving, as interest had sprung up in the display, and it was an easy alternate to the Hawks. It was around this time that the PR wallahs started using the term "Red Knight." Certainly, neither Windy nor I had any shining armour.“ Roy Windover completed three Red Knight displays before reporting to No.1(F) OTU on July 10th. Later that same month, the program moved to Saskatoon with Central Flying School. Hallowell, an experienced instructor and former F-86 Sabre pilot from Guelph, Ontario, became the RCAF’s first “official” Red> Knight. Bob completed seven additional shows in 1959. But Hallowell had seen the positive reaction to the act and felt it should continue, as he explains: “That fall, 057 was to be stripped and returned to regular flying. However, I was aware of requests coming in for the next season, so I wrote an impassioned memo to my boss, and somehow saved the show.”
During the next year, 1960, Bob Hallowell completed a North American show schedule of forty-five performances and brought the program to maturity. For the first time, a full time Crew Chief was assigned to the Red Knight. This maintenance technician would travel with the Red Knight and look after the aircraft on the road. The first Red Knight Crew Chief was John (Jack) Woodhouse, known affectionately to Hallowell as “Woody”. Unfortunately, there was not much additional support provided by the Air Force. The two men were on their own -- looking after meals, accommodations, ground transportation, air show details and maintenance problems. (This would become the norm for all but the 1967 Red Knight team.)
The 1961 season was significant for the changes it brought to the Red Knight program. By the spring of that year, Bob Hallowell had already begun preparing for his third season. A second T-33 aircraft, serial number 21574, had been acquired and was to serve as a spare, in case of mechanical problems. Both aircraft had been re-painted and featured a distinctive new emblem displayed prominently on the nose. The red Knight’s helmet with the flowing yellow plume on a white, circular background was to become the official emblem of the Red Knight for the remainder of the program.
There was, however, a sudden change in plans, as Bob Hallowell recalled, “I had started practice for the season, but received a short-notice posting to a squadron in Germany. After watching the manure that I had to wade through to keep the show going, none of my mates wanted the job, so (Training) Command picked Ray Goeres at Portage. As my routine was already approved, I flew there and took Ray up for a run-through”. So the Red Knight moved again, this time to what many consider to be the home of the Red Knight, RCAF Stn. Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.
The new Red Knight, Flt. Lt. R.J. (Ray) Goeres, was a 39-year-old Flight Instructor at No. 2 Advanced Flying School (AFS). Raised in Stranraer, Saskatchewan, he joined the RCAF in 1941 and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), while serving with the RAF during World War II. After six years of civilian life, Goeres rejoined the RCAF as an instructor in 1951. He served three and a half years with Canada’s NATO Air Division, flying Sabres in Europe.
Once at Portage, a number of other changes were introduced to the Red Knight organization. Now, with two aircraft, an Alternate pilot was added to the team. This pilot would fly the spare aircraft to the major shows and stand-in for the Red Knight in times of illness or when scheduling conflicts required the Red Knight to be in two places at once. The Alternate Red Knight would sometimes act as commentator and could provide a critical eye for possible improvements to the performance. It was intended that the Alternate would become the Red Knight in the following season, giving the pilot a year to learn the ropes.
The first Alternate Red Knight was Flying Officer D.J. (Dave) Barker from Lakeview, Ontario, a flying instructor at No. 2 AFS, Portage la Prairie. A promising young pilot, Barker had flown Sabres in Europe and was a member of the RCAF team which won the 1959 Guynemer shooting championships -- a type of “Top Gun” competition among the NATO countries. Upon the recommendation of the OC No. 2 AFS, Dennis Simmans was appointed Station Co-ordinator for the Red Knight airshows. It was his duty to provide liaison between the Red Knight and the sponsoring committees, after the air show had been approved by Command. Jack Woodhouse was brought in from Saskatoon to continue in his role as Red Knight Crew Chief. To complete the team, a second Crew Chief, Les Matthews, was added to look after the Alternate’s aircraft.
During the 1961 season, Ray Goeres performed 54 aerobatics displays. Dave Barker flew an additional 19 shows, bringing the total number of performances to 73 -- the busiest schedule to date for the Red Knight. More importantly, the structure of the team had evolved into the basic format that would remain throughout the rest of the program.
In 1962, Ray Goeres moved on to other duties and Dave Barker assumed the role of the Red Knight, as planned. A new Alternate was required and Bill Fraser, also a Flight Instructor at Portage, was selected from the list of applicants. Born and raised in Salmon Arm, BC, Bill obtained his wings in August of 1957 and had flown CF-100’s operationally with 409 Squadron, at RCAF Stn. Comox, BC. Dennis Simmans remained as Station Coordinator for the Red Knight; however, the ground crew was completely new for 1962. The season began with Grant Harrison and Moe Foote as Crew Chiefs; however, Paul Bouche replaced Foote early into the season.
The number of performances increased again, in 1962, to 74 aerobatics displays. Dave Barker flew 66 shows, while Bill Fraser flew another 8 displays as Alternate. One notable development of the 1962 season was the introduction of the Co-ordinated show -- not technically considered formation flying, both Red Knight aircraft performed the same manoeuvres, at the same time and in the same direction, while maintaining a minimum separation of 1,000 feet.
The next season would be one of transition and tragedy for the Red Knight program. Early in 1963, Dave Barker left Portage La Prairie to join the Golden Hawks’ aerobatics display team in Trenton, Ontario. So, Bill Fraser became the new Red Knight. His new Alternate was F/L J.W. (Bud) Morin, a 25 year old Flight Instructor and native of Maniwaki, Quebec. Dennis Simmans began his third season as Red Knight Station Coordinator. The Crew Chiefs’, “Stretch” Dunn and Bob Casey, were both new members of the team.
The season was only just beginning when Fraser received notification of a transfer to Europe, as Bill recalls: “I was Red Knight in ‘63 and got in nine shows before leaving Portage La Prairie in early June of that year. Being transferred out in the middle of your year was very unusual considering the expenses in training and publicity that had already been invested in you. But in my case, a Two Star had requested me by name and insisted when queried. I went to Air Div HQ in Metz, France, to be Executive Assistant to the Air Officer Commanding, A/V/M D.A.R. Bradshaw. The A/V/M knew me, as he had been Commandant of the Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario, during my time there until graduation in 1956. My new posting was grand, but I was sad to leave the Red Knight, particularly in mid year.”
With Fraser’s departure, Morin assumed the role of the Red Knight. Wayne MacLellan from Stellarton, Nova Scotia, was selected to replace Morin as Alternate. The two pilots began a rather busy schedule of aerobatics displays. The program faltered somewhat and came close to cancellation later that summer. On August 21st, the two Red Knight aircraft were performing a coordinated show, as part of the Gimli Air Force Day celebrations. They commenced a Cuban 8 and entered cloud near the top of the manoeuvre; on exiting the cloud, both aircraft were in a steep diving attitude. MacLellan’s aircraft broke off the manoeuvre without completing the final roll and pull through. Morin’s aircraft completed the final roll and, during the pull through, contacted the ground and exploded. Morin died in the crash of T-33 21057, the original Red Knight aircraft.
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