Dallas Schmidt

Dallas Wilbur Schmidt, DSC with bar, (August 9, 1922 – November 22, 2007) was a Canadian fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. He later served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1975 to 1982 as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. During his time in public office he served as a cabinet minister in different portfolios in the government of Peter Lougheed.

Dallas Wilbur Schmidt
Schmidt in RCAF uniform, c. 1945
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
In office
March 25, 1975 – November 2, 1982
Preceded byJames Henderson
Succeeded byDonald Sparrow
ConstituencyWetaskiwin-Leduc
Minister without Portfolio
In office
April 3, 1975 – August 29, 1976
Associate Minister of Energy and Natural Resources responsible for Public Lands
In office
August 30, 1976 – March 22, 1979
Minister of Agriculture
In office
March 23, 1979 – November 18, 1982
Preceded byMarvin Moore
Succeeded byLeRoy Fjordbotten
Personal details
BornAugust 9, 1922
Wetaskiwin, Alberta
DiedNovember 22, 2007(2007-11-22) (aged 85)
Political partyProgressive Conservative
OccupationPilot, politician
AwardsDistinguished Flying Cross and Bar of the Flying Cross
Military service
AllegianceCanada
Branch/serviceRoyal Canadian Air Force
Years of serviceJanuary 8, 1942 - September 12, 1945
1951 - 1956
UnitEFTS No. 18, SFTS 15 OTU No. 2, Squadron 227, 236 and 404,

Born in Camrose, Alberta, Schmidt grew up in Millet, Alberta.

Air Force career

Schmidt volunteered for service in the RCAF on January 8, 1941, and was trained at Claresholm under the Commonwealth Air Training Plan. He was quickly shipped overseas to see action in World War II.

In August to December 1942, he was placed in Malta, just off Axis Italy, said at the time to be the hottest place for fighting in the world. He was credited with either 8.5 or 10.5 aerial victories (sources differ), including two large Junkers troop-carrying planes, and sank two ships.[1][2]

He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on October 5, 1942, and then the bar, for his daring and destructive sorties.

During the war he served in No. 227 Squadron. He flew a wide range of military aircraft used by Canada at the time. His aircraft was shot down by enemy fire on five separate occasions. On Christmas Day 1942 he parachuted out of his plane over Malta and through good fortune landed on the island itself, suffering only a twisted leg. He was then transferred to Rhodesia then to Britain where he joined No. 404 Squadron RCAF (the Buffalo Squadron) and attacked German shipping.[1] He came home on leave in August 1943 and was feted as Millet's air ace, before travelling on to visit his parents at Ma-Me-O Beach, Alberta.[2]

After V-E Day, he returned to Canada in July 1945 and was released from service in September of that year.[1][3]

He re-enlisted in the Air Force and served his second stint from 1951 to 1956.[1]

Political career

Schmidt first ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature in the 1967 general election in the electoral district of Wetaskiwin. He finished a close second to incumbent Albert Strohschein.[4]

Schmidt ran again in the 1975 general election in the electoral district of Wetaskiwin-Leduc. This time he won by a landslide margin over three other candidates to pick up the seat for the governing Progressive Conservative party.[5]

On April 3, 1975 Premier Peter Lougheed appointed Schmidt Minister without Portfolio.[3] On August 26, 1976 he was appointed Associate Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Responsible for Public Lands.[3] In the 1979 general election he won in a landslide.[6]

Schmidt was promoted to Minister of Agriculture on March 23, 1979 and served in that position until he retired from politics at dissolution of the legislature in 1982.[3]

References
  1. "Dallas Wilbur Schmidt". Canadian Aces of WW2. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2009.
  2. Edmonton Journal, December 22, 1942, in the "Dallas Schmidt" information file at the Provincial Archives of Alberta
  3. https://www.assembly.ab.ca/ISYS/LADDAR_files/docs/hansards/han/legislature_26/session_3/20071126_1300_01_han.pdf |chapter-url= missing title (help) (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. November 26, 2007. p. 2169.
  4. "Wetaskiwin results 1967". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
  5. "Wetaskiwin-Leduc results 1975". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved November 22, 2009.
  6. "Wetaskiwin-Leduc results 1979". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved November 22, 2009.
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