John Lawrence Plant

John Lawrence Plant, C.B.E., A.F.Q, C.D.*, B.A.Sc., LL.D. (Hon), was born in Swansea, Wales, U.K., on August 20, 1910. He immigrated with his family to British Columbia in 1919. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree (with Honours) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of British Columbia in 1931. Plant began flying as a Provisional Pilot Officer with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 1929, received his wings and was granted a permanent commission in 1931.

Plant enrolled in a flying instructors course at Camp Borden, Ontario, in 1936, and was posted to No. 20 Auxiliary Bomber Squadron at Regina. He organized and operated a squadron pilot training program with both ground and air instruction to convert the flying qualifications of young officers to squadron standards.

Early in 1941 Plant piloted a Catalina flying boat on a trans-Atlantic ferry trip from Bermuda to Greenock, Scotland in 20 hours, a speed record that stood for quite some time. On May 7, 1941, he was posted as Wing Commander to the RCAF Station at Patricia Bay, British Columbia. He placed the station on full alert after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

On March 3, 1942, Plant was posted to the command of No. 413 Squadron which proceeded to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). He flew many patrols from Ceylon, one of which was a cover operation for the British landings on the island of Madagascar.

In January of 1943 he was posted to England as Commanding Officer of RCAF Station Dishforth, Yorkshire, home base for No. 425 and 426 Squadrons. He was later posted to RCAF station Leeming, Yorkshire, which housed 408, 427 and 429 Bomber Squadrons, remaining at this post until November 23, 1943. During this extremely difficult time for bombers, his squadrons operated against occupied Europe and Germany. He flew as crew on flights to such places as Wilhelmshaven, Mannheim and Kassel.

After returning to Canada in December of 1943, Plant attended Army and Navy College in the United States. In May 1944, he was posted to Air Force Headquarters in Ottawa as Deputy Air Member, Air Staff. He was named Commander of the Order of the British Empire (C.B.E., Military).

On May 1, 1945, with the rank of Air Commodore, Plant was appointed Air Officer Commanding, No. 9 (Transport) Group. He immediately became qualified on all types of the Group's aircraft, including the Consolidated B-24 Liberator and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. He made flights to all units in the Group, both in Canada and overseas. In November 1945, he flew as Captain of a B-l 7 from Canada to Warsaw, Poland, carrying penicillin donated by the Canadian Red Cross to the people of that shattered country. The flight was very risky at the time because of the developing 'Cold War', and for his efforts he was awarded the Air Force Cross (A.F.C.).

On February 16, 1946, Plant was appointed Air Officer Commanding, Western Air Command, and again qualified on all the types of aircraft used in the command. On December 1, 1947, he was posted to Air Force Headquarters as Air Member for Personnel. In 1950, when the European Air Division was being established, he obtained approval for dependents to accompany RCAF members on North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) postings. This had a profound effect on overall morale of the Air Division and was one of the factors that helped make it the most efficient of the NATO air elements. In August 1951, he saw these effects first-hand while serving at the headquarters of Allied Air Forces, Central Europe. His overall contribution to the NATO alliance was recognized by his appointment in 1953 as Chief of Staff and his promotion to Air Marshal.

While serving as Air Member Personnel John Plant considered that pay scales were inadequate and that the restriction on flying pay for active aircrew had removed an important incentive for staff officers to maintain their flying proficiency. He was the only Air Vice-Marshall holding a valid instrument rating at that time. By example and amendments to the pay regulations, he brought about a great increase of active flying throughout the RCAF.

In 1954, on returning to Canada, he reverted to his permanent rank of Air Vice-Marshal on appointment to the post of Air Member, Mechanical Services. His major concern during this period was the technical supervision of the design and procurement teams for the Canadair Argus, a long-range patrol aircraft, and the CF-105 Avro Arrow. In 1956, while serving as Air Officer Commanding, Air Material Command, he resigned his commission in order to open up promotion to others, in keeping with the policies he had advocated as Air Member for Personnel.

Plant was appointed Executive Vice-President of Collins Radio of Canada until 1958, and then was appointed General Manager of Avro Aircraft Ltd. In 1958 he announced the dawn of Canada’s supersonic era when he described a flight of the CF-100 Arrow with its Pratt & Whitney J75 engines: “The aircraft exceeded the speed of sound - not in a dive not in level flight, but while climbing and at a height of more than 40,000 feet.” He resigned from Avro six months after the cancellation of the Arrow project and returned to Collins Radio still convinced that the government could have handled the Arrow differently, that it might have been possible to complete it for all the costs of the shutdown and the price of the older McDonell “Voodoo” aircraft that the government bought as replacements. He retired in 1970.

Plant was honoured in 1945 with an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from his alma mater, the University of British Columbia. He died in Victoria, B.C. on May 7, 2000.

John Lawrence Plant was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 1985 at a ceremony held in Edmonton, Alberta at a ceremony held at Edmonton, Alberta.