Chief Warrant Officer Peter Sayers, CD
CWO Peter Sayers joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in Nanaimo, BC 16 October 1951. He received his basic training in St Jean, PQ and his trades training in Camp Borden, ON specializing in Rolls-Royce V12 engines for bomber reconnaissance and transport aircraft. His first posting was to 426 (Transport) Squadron in Lachine, PQ.
426 Squadron aircraft flew from Dorval airport to destinations throughout the world. With the Korean conflict ending at this time, Chief Sayers missed going to Japan; instead he was posted to North Luffenhan, England on a three-month detachment.
In the fall of 1954, he began Flight Engineer training in Trenton, ON, subsequently returning to Lachine as a Flight Engineer on North Star aircraft. During this tour, he saw all provinces and territories in Canada and many countries throughout the world – from Hong Kong to Leopoldville in the Congo.
Cross-training to P2V-7 Neptune aircraft in 1958 saw the start of his Maritime Patrol flying with postings to Comox, BC; Summerside, PEI; Halifax, NS; and Greenwood, NS. During his posting to Summerside with 2 (Maritime) Operational Training Unit (OTU), he was a Flight Engineer instructor for five years.
In October 1960, the Chief was called back to 426 Squadron for the United Nations Emergency Force, as the Squadron was short of Flight Engineers. This detached posting included time in Resolute Bay, NWT; Zweibrucken, Germany; Decimomannu, Sardinia; Shannon, Ireland; Gutersloh, Germany; Pisa, Italy; Idris, Libya; Kano, Nigeria; Leopoldville, Belgian Congo; and Lisbon, Portugal.
He returned to 407 Squadron, Comox, BC mid-December 1960 and later held positions in Maritime Command Headquarters, Halifax with the Maritime Aircrew Standards Team, the Military Manpower Distribution Centre South Street and, finally, as Base Chief Warrant Officer at 14 Wing Greenwood, NS.
During his career as a Flight Engineer, CWO Sayers accumulated 14,000 hours in the North Star, Neptune, Argus and Aurora aircraft, flying with 426 Transport, 2 (M) OTU, and 407, 415 and 405 Maritime Patrol Squadrons.
CWO Sayers retired in 1986 with 35 years of service in the RCAF and Canadian Forces, then joined the Atlantic Region Air Cadet Organization for eight years and, since 2000, has been doing volunteer work with the Greenwood Military Aviation Museum