Nils Christensen (15 August 1921 – 6 August 2017) was a Norwegian-Canadian aviator and aircraft engineer who founded the Canadian aerospace manufacturing firm, Viking Air Ltd. He was also a WWII veteran, serving with the Norwegian Merchant Navy and the Royal Norwegian Air Force. He received numerous awards and honours in Canada and Norway for his aviation and military accomplishments.
Christensen immigrated to Canada in 1951, and in 1970 founded Viking Air Ltd. in Sidney, British Columbia, Canada. Initially doing aircraft maintenance and repair, Viking Air developed into a world-class aerospace manufacturing company that continues to build aircraft. He was instrumental in obtaining the sole parts manufacturing rights from de Havilland Canada for the Beaver, Otter, and Turbo Beaver aircraft. This, along with manufacturing components for Boeing, Bell Helicopter, Textron, Lockheed Martin and Bombardier Aerospace, elevated Viking Air to the position of a leader in the Canadian aerospace manufacturing sector.Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, Member Biography. 14 June 2012 (at: http://cahf.protraining.com/CUSTOMPAGES/907/MemberList.cfm?firstLetter=C#49)
Early life Nils Christensen was born on 15 August 1921 near Oslo in Høvik, Bærum, Norway, the fifth of six children of Emil and Jonette (Jansen) Christensen. His father, Emil, emigrated to North Dakota, USA as a young man, working various jobs and homesteading on his own land. He returned to Norway after about 10 years, when he married Jonette and they raised their family. Emil worked as an insurance collector. In 1926, when Nils was five years old, he recalled standing outside his house with his family and staring at the sky while an enormous airship glided silently overhead. This was such an amazing sight that he said the memory stayed with him all his life. He later found out what they witnessed was the Norge (airship) on an exploration trip to the North Pole. Nils attended primary school starting in 1928 at Høvik School (Bærum) from grade one to seven. He then began training as a mechanic apprentice at the age of 15 while attending trade school. When he was 18, he joined the Norwegian Merchant Navy in October, 1939, signing a six-month contract with Wilhelmsen Shipping Co. aboard the newly launched M/S Torrens.Nils Christensen, Unpublished biography.
World War Two Norwegian Merchant Navy Christensen's first voyage was on the route between New York, USA and the Far East. They first sailed to Lisbon, Portugal, then across the Atlantic Ocean, through the Panama Canal, and up to California. They then sailed across the Pacific Ocean to Japan, China, the Philippines, back to China, Japan, across the Pacific, through the Panama Canal again, and up to New York City.
World War II had started prior to Christensen signing on with the Merchant navy, on 1 September 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland. On 9 April 1940, the German occupation of Norway began after Nazi forces invaded Norway, which was a neutral country at the time. Christensen's ship was in dry dock in New York on this day, when he and his crew mates learned that Norway had entered the war. As a result of the war, the Norwegian merchant marine companies were taken over by the Norwegian government, now in exile in London They were operated by the Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission (Nortraship), who instructed the fleet to start shipping supplies to the Allied forces. Christensen would not go home for six years.
When he signed on in 1939, Norway’s population was barely three million people but the country had the fourth largest merchant marine force worldwide. With a thousand, modern vessels, the Norwegians could haul more cargo than most any other country. Due to their importance to the Allies, the civilian fleet ships were in constant danger from German attack and the risk to the Norwegian sailors was great. Around ten percent of the 34,000 men and women who served in the Norwegian Merchant Fleet during the Second World War lost their lives."Floating Memorial to the Allied War Effort", Stiftelsen Arkivet, 31 October 2011.(Translated from Norwegian at: http://www.mynewsdesk.com/no/pressreleases/floating-memorial-to-the-allied-war-effort-699651) The ships were destroyed by U-boats, mines and the Luftwaffe. Christensen's time with the Merchant fleet included all the dangers of war but only accorded civilian status. The ship's crew often had to live on severely limited rations. When docked, they had to live in absolute silence, not permitted to talk or listen to the radio at night, to avoid attracting German attention."Island man's transport achievements feted in both Norway and Canada. Viking Air founder Nils Christensen". Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, 21 December 2011, p. 22. (at: https://saltspringarchives.com/driftwood/2011/v51n51Dec21-2011.pdf)
Christensen had served on the M/S Torrens for almost 16 months when his tour was completed on 4 February 1941. He left the ship in New York, USA. After a month or so, he signed on with another ship, the Caretta out of Panama, which he sailed with for about one year.Nils Christensen, Unpublished biography.
When Pearl Harbor was attacked on 7 December 1941, Christensen's ship was on-route to Panama with a cargo of oil. His captain was ordered to scuttle the ship if it was attacked by the Japanese. In early 1942, Christensen's sister ship was torpedoed and everyone on board was killed."Island man's transport achievements feted in both Norway and Canada. Viking Air founder Nils Christensen". Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, 21 December 2011, p. 22. (at: https://saltspringarchives.com/driftwood/2011/v51n51Dec21-2011.pdf)
The Norwegian merchant fleet's effort during World War II was considered one of the most important Norwegian contributions to the Allied victory, which included shipping 40 per cent of the oil to the Allies in Europe, needed to fuel their airplanes and other machinery. After the war was over, British politician Sir Philip Noel Baker stated, "Without the Norwegian Merchant Fleet, Britain and the Allies would have lost the war".
Royal Norwegian Air Force In April 1942, at the age of 21, Christensen left the Merchant Fleet and enlisted in the Royal Norwegian Air Force (in exile) in New York City, USA. He was trained as an aircraft mechanic at Little Norway, the Norwegian Army Air Service and Royal Norwegian Air Force training camp in Ontario, Canada.
On completion of his training in the spring of 1943, he was posted to the No. 333 (Norwegian) Squadron RAF, a maritime patrol and special duties squadron. Stationed at the Royal Air Force (RAF) base at Leuchars, Fife, Scotland, under control of the RAF Coastal Command, Christensen acted initially as an aircraft mechanic for Mosquito aircraft. The Mosquitoes did surveillance flights and reported to Coastal Command, then the RAF dispatched aircraft with depth chargers and bombs to respond to enemy intruders. In 1944, Christensen completed air gunnery school and operational training in Morpeth, Northumberland, England. He then flew on Catalinas with the squadron, as a flight mechanic and air gunner, on convoy duty and submarine patrols with the Coastal Command.Nils Christensen, Unpublished biography.
On 8 May 1945, Nils and other select members of No. 333 Squadron were chosen to fly a Catalina, and members of No. 330 Squadron to fly a Sunderland, from Scotland to Oslo, Norway to bring the Allied Peace Commission to German-occupied Norway to accept the surrender of the German forces. They were the first two Norwegian airplanes to fly into Norway since the occupation began.Kudos to 'Goose Doctor', Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, 11 February 2004, page 1 and 4. (at: https://saltspringarchives.com/driftwood/2004/February11-2004.pdf) It was also the first time Christensen had seen his homeland in over five years.
After the liberation of Norway, Christensen was assigned to help with the rebuilding of the base at Fornebu in Oslo, bringing in planes and supplies. While he was there, he was chosen to crew on one of the aircraft that for two weeks flew Crown Prince Olav (later Olav V of Norway) around Norway, with his entourage and the press, to view the devastation left by war, and the German scorched earth policy of burning every building that could offer shelter, that had left much of the country in ruin.Canadian Federation of Aircraft Maintenance Engineers, Hall of Fame Induction information, 2003 (at: https://cfamea.ca/team_member/nils-christensen/)Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, Member Biography. 14 June 2012 (at: http://cahf.protraining.com/CUSTOMPAGES/907/MemberList.cfm?firstLetter=C#49)
While Christensen was in the Air Force, he learned that one of his commanding officers, Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen, had been on board the Norge airship in 1926, the day that five year-old Nils saw it flying over his home in Norway.
Post-War Aviation Career After the war, Christensen agreed to stay on with the Royal Norwegian Air Force for another year. In 1946, he attended Engine Instructors' School in England, then he instructed on engines and aircraft for the Royal Norwegian Air Force. In October 1947, he left the Air Force, and soon after obtained his Norwegian Aircraft Mechanic's license.Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, Member Biography. 14 June 2012 (at: http://cahf.protraining.com/CUSTOMPAGES/907/MemberList.cfm?firstLetter=C#49)
He began civilian work as a flight engineer and a station engineer for Braathens South-American & Far East (SAFE) Airtransport, a Norwegian air transport company, flying and maintaining Douglas DC-3 and DC-4 aircraft. He was transferred to Amsterdam, Holland by Braathens. In 1951, Braathens SAFE moved their maintenance base back to Norway, prompting Christensen and his wife to seek other options.
Emigration to Canada In 1951, Christensen and his family moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he used the aircraft service and maintenance skills he had gained during the war and in Holland. He first worked for de Havilland Canada aircraft manufacturer doing Lancaster conversions for air-sea rescue. A year later, he was hired by Keith Messenger of Sault Airways, a bush plane operation in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, as Chief of Maintenance, servicing float and ski aircraft including Norseman and Cessna. At times, if an airplane crashed, Christensen and the other mechanics would fly out with parts and tools, and repair the plane on site so it could be flown home.Nils Christensen, Unpublished biography. During his time at Sault Airways, he earned his Canadian Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME) license.Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, Member Biography. 14 June 2012 (at: http://cahf.protraining.com/CUSTOMPAGES/907/MemberList.cfm?firstLetter=C#49)
In 1956, the Christensens moved to Sidney, British Columbia, Canada. There, he became Chief of Maintenance at the Victoria Flying Club, where he serviced club aircraft, as well as the Harvards and Beach 18's of the Naval Air Reserve squadron.
Martin Mars Flying Tankers In Summer 1959, Christensen joined Forest Industries Flying Tankers (FIFT), as a flight engineer and superintendent of maintenance on the giant Martin JRM Mars water bombers.
The Martin Mars aircraft was initially developed for the US Navy in WWII as a cargo transport seaplane, and was the largest Allied flying boat to enter production. Only seven were built, and three were lost by 1950. The remaining four of the world's only fleet of mighty Martin Mars aircraft were purchased from the US Navy by FIFT in December 1959. Christensen obtained his Flight Engineer License in January 1960, and then began working with Fairey Aviation converting the Mars to firefighting water bombers, which were then operated out of Sproat Lake, Vancouver Island, BC . When the first two water bombers were completed, Christensen flew each mission as Flight Engineer.Nils Christensen, Unpublished biography.