Edmonton aircraft bombing

On January 28, 1965 around 2:30 a.m., a man bombed three American warplanes being retrofitted at an airport in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.[1]

Edmonton aircraft bombing
Part of the Opposition to U.S. involvement in Vietnam
LocationEdmonton, Alberta, Canada
DateJanuary 28, 1965
Attack type
Bombing
Shooting
Deaths1
PerpetratorHarry Waldeman Freidrich Hubach

Background

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The United States Air Force had flown 112 aircraft to the Edmonton Industrial Airport, where they were to be repaired by Northwest Industries.[2]

Although initial reports pointed out that 15 of the planes had run spy missions over post-Revolution China,[2] the attack was said to be in protest of the Vietnam War.[3] It is believed to have been one of the first attacks ever citing the involvement of the U.S. in the Vietnam War as its motive.[4]

Attack

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A security guard, Threnton James Richardson, was bound, gagged, and then shot with a rifle, when the perpetrator entered the airport.[3][5][6]

Two F-84 jets were destroyed, and a third heavily damaged by the bombing.[3][7]

Following the attack, an unemployed German immigrant, Harry Waldeman Freidrich Hubach, was arrested by police and charged with the murder of the security guard.[5][8]

Hubach was found guilty and sentenced to hang. But upon appeal and a new trial he pleaded guilty to non-capital murder and was sentenced to life in prison.[9] Released, he turned his life around, married and ran a successful business, finally dying around 2005 in Kingston, Ontario.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b CBC News Edmonton's terrorist attack: the 1965 airport bombing, Jan. 26, 2014
  2. ^ a b Edmonton Journal, "Jan. 28, 1965: Edmonton man charged with murder, sabotage", January 28, 2015
  3. ^ a b c Edmonton Disaster Timetable[permanent dead link] City of Edmonton
  4. ^ Ross, Jeffrey Ian. "Violence in Canada", 2004. p. 300
  5. ^ a b Los Angeles Times, 3 US jets dynamited, guard slain in Canada Archived 2012-10-20 at the Wayback Machine, January 29, 1965.
  6. ^ Maryland Morning Herald, "Guard killed in Canadian sabotage try", January 29, 1965
  7. ^ San Antonio Express, "US Jets Blasted in Canada", January 29, 1965
  8. ^ Oxnard Press-Courier, "US jets blown up, immigrant charged with killing guard", January 29, 1965.
  9. ^ CBC News Edmonton 1965 airport bombing: the untold story, Jan. 28, 2014

53°34′19″N 113°31′10″W / 53.57194°N 113.51944°W / 53.57194; -113.51944