Kevin Hansen
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
After building HK Models’ 1/32 scale Mosquito Mk.IV, Kevin made his own decals to mark it as “F for Freddie,” which survived 213 missions in Europe and flew to Canada for a war bonds drive, only to become a tragically famous aircraft in Calgary. On May 9, 1945, the day after V-E Day, Flight Lt. J. Maurice Briggs buzzed the business district. Royal Canadian Air Force staff working on the sixth floor of the Hudson Bay Building recalled looking down as the plane screamed past on its way to buzzing the tower at the Calgary airport, flying under trestles along the way. The following day, reprising the previous day’s stunts, Briggs buzzed the Calgary tower twice — but no more. On the second pass, the Mosquito clipped the anemometer and flagpole atop the tower, shed a wing and horizontal stabilizer, and went into a field a half mile away, exploding on impact and killing Briggs and Flying Officer John Baker.