John Gavin Showler

John Gavin (Jack) Showler, A.F.C., C.D.*, was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on June 15, 1912. He attended the University of Manitoba until 1935, when he joined the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company at Flin Flon, Manitoba, as a chemist. In 1936 he began taking flying instruction at the Regina Flying Club in Saskatchewan but was severely injured in an aircraft accident at Flin Flon, Manitoba. He resumed his pilot's course with the Winnipeg Flying Club in 1939 and enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 1940.

After training at Thunder Bay, Camp Borden and Trenton, in Ontario, Showler received his wings and a promotion to Pilot Officer. Until 1942 he instructed at Summerside, Prince Edward Island, and Trenton, where he was promoted to Flight Lieutenant. His exceptional skills were recognized by an assignment to tour all RCAF flying schools in Canada during 1943 to re-categorize flying instructors. A posting followed to No. 164 Heavy Transport Squadron, RCAF, at Moncton, New Brunswick, where he completed a transport captain's course in 1944. Promoted to Squadron Leader, he was named Detachment Commander of the squadron at Goose Bay, Labrador, on air operations to Greenland and Iceland, and was awarded the Air Force Cross (A.F.C.).

When the Canadian government launched a 3,000-mile (4,800 km) military trek through the western Arctic in 1946, code-named Operation Muskox, which involved the Canadian Army and the RCAF, Showler was promoted to Wing Commander and chosen Commander of the Air Element. The objective of this exercise during the winter and spring of 1946 was to test the possibilities of moving men and motorized equipment across the Canadian Arctic. lie then served as Commanding Officer of the RCAF Station at Fort St. John, British Columbia, until 1948. He graduated from the Air University of the United States Air Force at Montgomery, Alabama, in 1950, and was transferred to RCAF Headquarters at Ottawa, Ontario. Showier was assigned to the RCAF Station at Goose Bay, Labrador, in 1952 as Chief Administrative Officer.

Two years later, he was appointed Commanding Officer of No. 408 Photo Squadron at Rockcliffe, Ontario. The main task of the squadron was the SHORAN (Short Range Aid to Navigation) survey and photography of Canada. SHORAN is basically an electronic distance-measuring device, consisting of both airborne and ground radar equipment. Through its use, unknown positions can be mapped accurately. The SHORAN operation was unique in that completely self-contained stations, each weighing 8,000 pounds (3,600 kg), were airlifted to pre-selected sites, all of which Showler chose by on-the-spot checking. Each station contained three technicians from the squadron, their shelter, housekeeping equipment, fuel, navigation and radio equipment, generators and a 60-foot (18 m) antenna. Precise planning was required to ensure that the thousands of items of equipment could be pre-positioned by sea or aircraft. During the 1957 program, more than 100,000 pounds (45,000 kg) of technical gear and more than 250 personnel were airlifted to Thule, Greenland, and Resolute Bay on Cornwallis Island.

Geodetic survey is the basis of all other forms of survey. It provides a grid of known points from which measurements may be taken. By 1949 the coast of the Arctic islands and the Arctic coast of the mainland were sketched in, but there were large areas on the mainland and the interior of the islands that could not be mapped, even with the aerial photographs available, because of the lack of geodetic reference points. The SHORAN program provided this information.

Showler's personal drive and ability to accurately assess the capabilities of his men and equipment were largely responsible for the success of the 1957 Arctic SHORAN program and the completion of the Geodetic Survey of the whole of Canada, a survey program begun in 1949. For this achievement, he was awarded the Trans-Canada (McKee) Trophy for 1957.

Showler retired from the service in 1961 after a four-year tenure as Director of Transport and Rescue Operations at Ottawa. He established a tourist business at Portland, Ontario, which he operated for several years. In 1973 he retired permanently to Brentwood Bay, British Columbia where he died on August 28, 1989.

John Gavin (Jack) Showler was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 1974 at a ceremony held at Edmonton, Alberta.