Edmonton aircraft bombing
On January 29, 1965, a man bombed three American warplanes being retrofitted at an Edmonton airport.
Edmonton aircraft bombing | |
---|---|
Part of the Opposition to U.S. involvement in Vietnam | |
Location | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
Date | January 29, 1965 |
Attack type | Bombing Shooting |
Deaths | 1 |
Perpetrator | Harry Waldeman Freidrich Hubach |
Background
The American military sent 112 planes to the Edmonton Industrial Airport, where they were to be repaired by Northwest Industries.[1]
Although initial reports pointed out that 15 of the planes had run spy missions over post-Revolution China,[1] the attack was said to be in protest of the Vietnam War.[2] It is believed to have been one of the first attacks ever citing American involvement in Vietnam as its motive.[3]
Attack
A security guard, Threnton James Richardson, was bound, gagged, and then shot with a rifle, when the perpetrator entered the airport.[2][4][5]
Two F-84 jets were destroyed, and a third heavily damaged by the bombing.[2][6]
Following the attack, an unemployed German immigrant, Harry Waldeman Freidrich Hubach, was arrested by police and charged with the murder of the security guard.[4][7]
Hubach was found guilty and sentenced to hang. But upon appeal and a new trial he was found guilty of non-capital murder and sentenced to life in prison. Released, he turned his life around, married and ran a successful business, finally dying around 2005 in Kingston, Ontario.[8]
References
- Deseret News, "Edmonton, Alta. Page 4", January 2, 1965
- Edmonton Disaster Timetable City of Edmonton
- Ross, Jeffrey Ian. "Violence in Canada", 2004. p. 300
- Los Angeles Times, 3 US jets dynamited, guard slain in Canada, January 29, 1965.
- Maryland Morning Herald, "Guard killed in Canadian sabotage try", January 29, 1965
- San Antonio Express, "US Jets Blasted in Canada", January 29, 1965
- Press Courier, "US jets blown up, immigrant charged with killing guard", January 29, 1965.
- CBC article 2014