Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 35 missions required flying at tree top level to avoid anti-aircraft or small arms fire from the Japanese troops in the jungles below. On one memorable mission Allan was flying at 8,000 feet when he noticed the head of a snake peeking out from an equipment access panel on the floor between his feet. It looked like a cobra to him. Allan quietly told the co-pilot to slowly leave the cockpit. Once that was accomplished Allan fired 3 rounds from his pistol at the cobra. Upon returning to base, he explained the three bullet holes to the maintenance crew. The C-47 was quickly repaired, and he flew another mission. The next day the maintenance crew informed him that they had found the remains of a 7-foot snake in the plane. Many of the loads he flew consisted of perishable items such as rice, feed for mules, and gain-based foods; rats, mice and snakes were often found in the loads. Near the end of March, he was on a mission to drop three tons of barbed wire and steel pickets behind enemy lines. The load had to be dropped at 50 feet and it had to be done in 4 passes. During the drop the Japanese forces were shelling the drop zone. On the last pass there was an explosion very close to Allan’s plane. The plane’s port wing tilted earthwards, and the engine quit – at the same moment a “bloody mass” of flesh came through the open cockpit window and struck Allan in the head. He was able to recover the plane and return to his base safely. Allan was never sure what that bloody mass of flesh was; however, he always hoped it was the remains of some cow that was struck by a Japanese shell. The greatest threat to airmen flying the hump into Burma was not the enemy – it was the weather. Allan had several neardeath experiences due to sudden changes in the weather. He would later note that planes were often “blown around like leaves.” Flight Lieutenant Allan Coggon left India on 15 July 1945; starting a fiveday journey to England. He arrived in Halifax in late August, and after 30 days leave, he reported to RCAF Training HQ in St Hubeart. In December he was posted to 124 Ferry Squadron, RCAF, and spent the next year flying various types of aircraft back to Canada. Flight Lieutenant Coggon was selected for this task because he was able to fly and navigate at the same time. He was released from the RCAF in April 1946. Allan stayed in the aviation business after the war. He flew for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, from 1947 to 1952 on trans-ocean, and inter-continental routes to the Dutch East Indies and the West Indies. In 1952 he flew with Hollinger Air Transport, on the mega-project, to build a 360-mile railroad to the interior of Labrador. That was followed by a year as the personal pilot to Sir James Dunn. He then became the chief pilot for the Air Service Division of Algoma Steel Corporation. Allan was a freelance helicopter and seaplane instructor from 1982 to 1990. He returned to Mahone Bay in 1990 and was a founding member of the Western Nova Scotia Aircrew Association and the Silver Dart Chapter of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society. He wrote two books: ‘From Wings Parade to Mandalay’ (an autobiography of his war years) and ‘Watch and Warn’ (the story of the Canadian Air Detection Corps of WW II). continued ... Allan is remembered fondly in Clearland; especially for his rendition of the song “Lunenburg County Jail.” He died on 24 December 2006 and is buried in the Upper Blue Rocks Cemetery.
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