On February 1, 1953 RCAF Lancaster KB914, which had earlier been on an anti-submarine exercise, headed to Goose Bay, Labrador, to join in the search for a missing civilian aircraft. There were 9 crew members aboard the Lancaster.

~Cold weather conditions which included rain that soon became freezing sleet and heavy snow, made the flying difficult. The airplane, approaching Goose Bay for a landing suddenly had only two of its engines working; and to make matters worse the Goose Bay air base had to shut down temporarily because of the poor weather situation, and its Ground Control Approach (GCA) system was not available. So the Lancaster was ordered to divert to Torbay, Newfoundland, instead. With the continuing worsening weather, the loss of the plane's engine power, and a change in flight direction, the radio contact that ground personnel had had with the plane suddenly ended. Lancaster KB914 was declared missing.

~The search was hampered by more bad weather and, to make matters more difficult, there were two other missing aircraft that also required attention.

~On June 15, 1953 the wreckage of the Lancaster KB914 was spotted from the air. An RCAF ground search party flew out to the wreckage site to recover the human remains and to investigate the scene.

~On June 26 funerals were held in Greenwood, Nova Scotia, for the nine airmen—the ceremonies took place in the Catholic Chapel and in the Station Drill Hall. The body of each RCAF airman was then transported to his Canadian hometown for final burial.

The nine RCAF airmen who perished in this aircraft accident were:-

Flying Officer Stephen James DECKER,

Flying Officer Bernard Delbert FORBES,

Flying Officer Frances Stewart FOWLOW,

Corporal Joseph Donat GALLANT,

Corporal Roger David Joseph LALONDE,

Flying Officer Charles Bruce SCOTT,

Flying Officer Thurland Maybury TATE,

Flying Officer Claude Thomas WAGAR,

Flying Officer Douglas David Richard WOOD.

Flying Officer Wagar, Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), was the pilot of RCAF Lancaster KB914 on 1 Feb 1953 when it went down.

Military Service:-

Rank: Flying Officer

Trade: Pilot

Service Number: C39538

Age: 32

Force: Royal Canadian Air Force

Unit: 405 (Maritime Reconnaissance) Squadron

Honours/Citations: Distinguished Flying Cross, 1939-1945 Star, France-Germany Star, Defence Medal, General Service, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal

During the Second World War, he enlisted in the RCAF on 16 June 1941 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; following the war, he left the RCAF in 1945, but re-enlisted in 1951.

Son of Thomas and Genevieve Wagar of Kingston, Ontario, Canada; husband of Rita M.E. Wager.

Flying Officer Claude Thomas Wagar is commemorated on Page 37 of the 'In the Service of Canada' Book of Remembrance.

[The casualties of this aircraft accident are remembered and honoured in the VP International Book Of Remembrance which is maintained at the Greenwood Military Aviation Museum at 14 Wing Greenwood, Nova Scotia, Canada. [The term 'VP' is accepted by VP International as a military designator applied to fixed-wing, Maritime Patrol aircraft, employed in intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, anti-surface and anti-subsurface operations]