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Carl Dubin - 9 Jun. 2010
- Name
- Carl Dubin
- Material Format
- moving images
- Interview Date
- 9 Jun. 2010
- Source
- Oral Histories
- Name
- Carl Dubin
- Number
- OH 370
- Subject
- Canada--Armed Forces
- World War, 1939-1945
- Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)
- Interview Date
- 9 Jun. 2010
- Quantity
- 1 reference DVD (WAV file)
- 1 archival DVD (WAV file)
- Interviewer
- Shayla Howell
- Total Running Time
- 37:08 seconds
- Notes
- This interview is part of The Memory Project event held at Lipa Green on May 13, 2010 in partnership with the Historica Dominion Institute.
- http://www.thememoryproject.com/stories/1052:carl-dubin/
- Biography
- Carl Dubin born in 1922. He enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1941. Posted to the 404 Coastal Command Squadron in Wick, Scotland, Carl’s squadron was assigned to protect the North Atlantic. As navigator of various aircrafts, Carl participated in the D-Day invasion and was discharged in February 1945.
- Material Format
- moving images
- Geographic Access
- Scotland
- North Bay (Ont.)
- Kirkland Lake (Ont.)
- Original Format
- DVD
- Transcript
- 00:25: Carl Dubin was born in 1922 in Stolin, Belarus. He came to Canada at age two. 00:47: Carl offers his reasons for enlisting in the air force. 1:38: Carl explains that his father, who was fluent in German, would listen on short wave radio to Hitler giving speeches. This served as a strong motivator for Carl to enlist. 2:16: Carl lived in Kirkland Lake, Ontario. He describes the process of enlisting. He travelled to a recruitment depot in North Bay in 1940 but was sent home because there were too many recruits. He was called back in 1941 and was sent to the Manning Depot in Brandon, Manitoba. 3:50: Carl explains that the Canadian government was not ready for an influx of recruits (e.g., Carl did not have a complete uniform). 4:28: Carl was sent to a navigation school in Rivers, Manitoba. 4:40: Carl explains that he could not be a pilot due to poor eyesight. At the beginning of the war, entrance to pilots was very strict but grew more lax as the war progressed. 5:21:Carl was sent to Burford, Ontario to # 5 Service Flying Training School. Carl was posted overseas. He sailed out of Halifax on the ship, Louis Pasteur to Bournemouth, England. He was posted to #404 Coastal Command Squadron in Wick, Scotland. He was then posted in the Shetland Islands. 6:52:Carl’s squadron served to protect the north Atlantic. He describes the squadron’s responsibilities and the area they covered. He explains the significance of the area. 9:55: Carl was a navigator. He lists the types of aircraft: Bristol Blenheims, Bristol Beaufighters, and Mosquitoes. Carl describes the positioning of the pilot and navigator. 12:06: Carl reflects of some of his good memories from his time overseas. 13:05: Carl describes ally losses from friendly fire due to lack of identification on Allied planes. In preparation for D-Day on June 6, “invasion stripes” were painted on the aircraft as identification. 14:42: Carl explains that the task of his squadron was to protect the invasion fleet that was sailing from England to Normandy. 15:05: Carl recalls an incident involving three Allied squadrons successfully attaching German destroyers. 17:07: Carl continues to describe the invasion and recalls with awe the enormity of the invasion fleet. 19:10: Carl recounts an incident where one of the engines from his aircraft was hit by a German anti-aircraft flyer. 19:42: Carl highlights the D-Day invasion as one his most memorable operations. He notes that the Luftwaffe had lost their strength by this time. 21:36: Carl recalls antisemitism in the Canadian Air Force. He cites the example of Syd Shulemson to illustrate antisemitism. Syd, despite being one of the most highly decorated air force men, was never promoted beyond flight lieutenant because he was Jewish. 23:06: Rabbi Eisendrath from Holy Blossom served as a padre of the RCAF. There were few Jews where Carl was based. There was no celebration of Jewish holidays or practices. 24:48: Carl was discharged and sent home in February 1945. No longer had need to patrol the shipping in the Atlantic. 25:23: Carl recalls V-E Day in Kirkland Lake and the impact of the war on Kirkland Lake. 27:05: Carl’s father was a veteran of the Russian-Japanese War in 1905 and the First World War. He was captured and served as an interpreter in the prisoner camp. Carl recalls that one of the prisoners was Ernest McMillan, who later became the conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. 29:38: Carl speaks of the impact of the war on his life. 30:24: Carl offers his impressions about the Allied response to the Holocaust. 32:42: Carl describes the accuracy of the canons on the fighter air craft. 33:47: Carl calls attention to Syd Shulemson as being the most highly-decorated Jewish pilot and an inventor. 34:39: Carl’s wife refers to “the boys from Major Street”: several Jewish men who lived on Major Street who died in the Second World War. 35:50: Carl reminisces about meeting and dating an admiral’s daughter.
- Source
- Oral Histories