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First World War (1914-1918)
Canadians in the Royal Naval Air Service

Among the Canadians serving with the Royal Navy were those in its aviation branch, the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). They included aces and future leaders of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The dangers they faced included the enemy, the elements, and their own unreliable aircraft.

Propeller Fragments, Flight Lieutenant Harry Wambolt
Propeller Fragments, Flight Lieutenant Harry Wambolt

These propeller fragments are from the aircraft of Flight Lieutenant Harry Wambolt of the Royal Naval Air Service, who was killed in a dogfight with two German aircraft.

Wambolt enlisted from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and was killed on 4 March 1917. Jean Thuillier, a French boy who witnessed the crash, saved the fragments and corresponded with Wambolt's grieving parents for years after the war. Thuillier sent this wreckage to the family and, in letters, described Wambolt's death and his subsequent burial by the Germans.

Propeller Fragments
CWM 19720147-010





Service Dress Cap, Royal Naval Air Service
Service Dress Jacket, Royal Naval Air Service
Flying Helmet, Royal Naval Air Service
Medal Set, Air Vice Marshal Raymond Collishaw
Wristwatch, Flight Lieutenant Henry Botterell
Medal Set, Captain Arthur Brown
Propeller Fragments, Flight Lieutenant Harry Wambolt
Memorial Plaque, Flight Lieutenant Harry Wambolt
Model, Felixstowe F2A
Flight Commander Wilfred Austin Curtis
Telegram Confirming Flight Lieutenant Harry Wambolt's Death
Letter to Flight Lieutenant Harry Wambolt's Parents