Edmonton aircraft bombing
| Edmonton aircraft bombing | |
|---|---|
| Location | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Date | January 28, 1965 |
Attack type |
|
| Deaths | 1 |
| Perpetrator | Harry Waldeman Freidrich Hubach |
| Motive | Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War |
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]
Background
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-revolutionary 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 motivated by the involvement of the U.S. in the Vietnam War.[4]
Attack
Hubach overcame and bound and gagged security guard Threnton James Richardson. When Richardson freed himself and tried to signal an alarm, Hubach shot and killed him with a rifle.[3][5][6] In a statement made to the police, Hubach said he had not wanted to kill Richardson, but that he was left with no choice and that the ends justified the means.[7]
The perpetrator's bombs destroyed two F-84 jets and heavily damaged a third.[3][8]
Following the attack, police arrested an unemployed German immigrant, Harry Waldeman Freidrich Hubach, and charged him with the murder of the security guard.[5][9]
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.[10] It is unclear what happened to him afterwards, albeit there are records of a man with the same name and age as Hubach dying at a hospital in Kingston, Ontario on June 14, 1982, at the age of 53. It is unclear whether he was still in prison at the time of his death.[1]
References
- ^ a b CBC News Edmonton's terrorist attack: the 1965 airport bombing, Jan. 26, 2014
- ^ a b Edmonton Journal, "Jan. 28, 1965: Edmonton man charged with murder, sabotage", January 28, 2015
- ^ a b c Edmonton Disaster Timetable City of Edmonton
- ^ Ross, Jeffrey Ian. "Violence in Canada", 2004. p. 300
- ^ a b Los Angeles Times, 3 US jets dynamited, guard slain in Canada Archived 2012-10-20 at the Wayback Machine, January 29, 1965.
- ^ Maryland Morning Herald, "Guard killed in Canadian sabotage try", January 29, 1965
- ^ "Article clipped from Calgary Herald". Calgary Herald. 1965-10-02. p. 29. Retrieved 2026-01-16.
- ^ San Antonio Express, "US Jets Blasted in Canada", January 29, 1965
- ^ Oxnard Press-Courier, "US jets blown up, immigrant charged with killing guard", January 29, 1965.
- ^ CBC News Edmonton 1965 airport bombing: the untold story, Jan. 28, 2014