Spartan also employed Consolidated PBY-5A Cansos on magnetometer surveys. CF-GBQ shares the frozen surface of Gods Lake, Manitoba, with two ‘mag’ Ansons in March 1956. The Canso’s ‘bird’ was deployed from a cradle attached to the starboard side of the rear fuselage.

Anson CF-GSB awaits its next magnetometer mission at The Pas, Manitoba, July 1957. The pod below the port wing houses the magnetometer sensor, a fixed and more convenient installation than the earlier trailing ‘bird’.

Herman Nelson engine heaters were routinely used to warm the interior of Spartan’s Ansons after the engines had been brought up to starting temperature. CF-GSB receives a welcome infusion of warm air at Flin Flon, Manitoba, in February of 1957.

Delightful winter scene as CF-GRN rests on a lake near Wabowden, Manitoba in February of 1952. The roller in the foreground was used to maintain the ice runway.

Ansons CF-GMK and ‘ML plus a company Cessna 310 participated in the first joint federal/provincial magnetic mapping programme, for ten months over Ontario in 1959. The Cessna, CF-JFS, had the magnetometer installed in an extended tail cone while the Anson’s featured a wingtip installation.

Repairs underway on a troublesome R-985 Wasp Junior. The circular baffle was installed during winter operations to shield the crankcase, thus helping maintain engine oil temperature.

Anson crew, left to right, Dyson Webb, navigator and a former Mosquito XIII radio observer with 264 Squadron, RAF; Barry Brenner, magnetometer operator; and Ed Kozystko, pilot with CF-GMK at Esker Lake, Quebec.

CF-GMK departs Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, for a magnetometer survey in March 1955.

Remarkable shot of a magnetometer ‘bird’ in flight, taken from the open fuselage door of a Spartan Anson. The photographer, to the dismay of some company pilots, perfected the technique of planting his foot on the wing root and keeping the door partially open with his knee, thus leaving both hands free to operate his camera.

Spartan’s operation of the high-flying Lockheed Lightnings required considerable field support and Edmonton-based Anson CF-GLD was pressed into service to supply spare parts to P-38 detachments. Note that the nose transparencies, astrodome and rear cabin window have been deleted.

Snow and cold were synonymous with magnetometer surveys during the winter months. CF-GSB receives some attention prior to its next sortie over northern Quebec.

Anson 6012 was built by Avro at Newton Heath as Mk.I N9942 with AS Cheetahs. It was taken on strength by the RCAF on March 11, 1940, following re-assembly by de Havilland and subsequently converted to Mk.III configuration in June 1942 and to Mk.IV status in December 1943. It is pictured on March 10, 1941, while serving as a Mk.I with 1 Air Observer School at Mallon, Ontario

A Spartan Anson demonstrates both types of magnetometer sensor installations; the trailing ‘bird’ and the underwing pod. While CF-GML cruises serenely for the benefit of the camera, Ansons on actual ‘mag’ operations followed the terrain profile at a precise 500ft (152m) altitude.

Two of Spartan’s Ansons, CF-GMK and ’ML were fitted with skis for winter magnetometer surveys. ’ML sits at Britannia Bay on the Ottawa River in February 1953. The undercarriage remained retractable.

Wearing the final Spartan paint scheme, which included high-visibility DayGlo, CF-GML at Uplands Airport on June 9, 1963.

With overnight temperatures as low as -50°C, it was essential to protect the airframe from snow and frost so that operations could begin promptly if weather permitted.

Maintenance personnel and an unidentified Anson strike an impressive pose at Spartan’s headquarters at Uplands in the late 1950s (maintenance manager Syd Baker, left, and engineer John Kapcala).

A magnetometer crew climbs aboard their Anson, shielded against the intense cold by winter boots and a thermos flask of hot coffee. Below the fuselage can be seen the ‘bird’ in its cradle and the transmit and receive aerials for the APN-1 radar altimeter.

Anson of 14 Squadron taxying at Norman Wells, Northwest Territories while engaged in a photographic survey of the Mackenzie River basin in September of 1944. Designated as a Mk.VP, 11900 served with the Rockcliffe-based unit from delivery to the RCAF in January 1944 until struck off strength in August 1947.

Fine view of CF-HXA, showing the ventral camera port. The underwing cells visible inboard of the engine nacelles are bomb bays, modified by Spartan to each contain a fuel tank.

The Canadian-built Anson V differed substantially from earlier versions. A moulded plywood fuselage, Pratt & Whitney R-985s and small, round cabin windows resulted in a more refined appearance, greater performance and improved crew comfort in both winter and summer. Spartan’s CF-HXA, a photo survey conversion, near its Uplands Airport base.

Navigators Lem Hawkins and Bob Bolivar in their ‘office’, the cosy interior of a ‘mag’ survey Anson. To the lower left is the Leeds-Northrop recorder which charted the magnetic flux intensity detected by the trailing sensor while the two recorders to the right of centre were linked to the scintillometer (left) and the radio altimeter. Note the astrodome overhead.

The sad demise of CF-ICQ after the pilot ran out of fuel and force-landed in a swamp at Lac Parent, Quebec, in the spring of 1957. Note the separated tailplane with elevator already removed for salvage

Close view of the wing-mounted sensor pod on the ill-fated CF-GRN. This installation was made by Northwest Industries and differed from that sported by other Ansons in the fleet.

The final straw... CF-GRN at Medicine Hat, Alberta, shortly after repairs following the fire at Fort Nelson. The new Anson pilot ground-looped the long-suffering ‘Annie’ while practising touch-and-go landings, breaking the main spar.

The scene at Fort Nelson, British Columbia in mid-1952 as CF-GRN displays the results of an explosive short-circuit caused by an incorrectly connected cable from an auxiliary power unit. The damage was repaired by Northwest Industries of Edmonton, Alberta.

Anson CF-GRN was fated to have a troubled career with Spartan. This incident at North Bay Airport in March of 1950 was the inevitable result of a locked port brake and the pilot’s successful efforts to prevent his first Anson flight ending in a snow bank

Intriguing shot of semi-derelict Anson V, N465C, taken at Carp Airport, Ontario, in the early 1960s. Formerly 12213 with the RCAF, it became CF-GDY of World Wide Airways Inc, of Montreal, Quebec in April 1949 and apparently joined Canadian Aero Service Ltd, the survey company owned by Spartan and Aero Service Corporation, in the early 1950s. Its role in the joint venture is not known.