Peter Growen was born December 1, 1939 in Montreal, Quebec. He grew up during the Second World War, and he remembers getting ration books alongside his mother; he also remembers his Norwegian father teaching Canadian troops to ski, readying them for potential winter warfare. At war’s end Peter recalls seeing his father in a parade as well. Peter really grew up in the 1950s, attending the High School of Montreal and watching the exploits of Rocket Richard and les Canadiens. He remembers the riots that happened when the Rocket was suspended too. Peter joined the RCAF in 1957, right out of school. He took the train to London, Ontario, and in short order he was posted to Centralia and was flying Chipmunks. Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan was next, where training on the larger Harvard aircraft took place. All the while, the Cold War was heating up, and Peter was getting to train on the new jet aircraft the RCAF had to offer. He headed to Cold Lake, destined for the CF-100s; while there he was paired with a navigator and ready for his new role. Later he was sent to Squadron 416 in St-Hubert, Quebec, by this time on active duty and in the front lines of the Cold War. The CF-100 was an interceptor aircraft, so it was the squadron’s job to look out for potential Soviet bombers – and to help wayward pilots who might have gotten lost in Canada’s north country. Peter married at this time and then was almost immediately transferred to Germany, where he was stationed at Baden-Soellingen: he was there in the immediate aftermath of the building of the Berlin Wall, a very tense period of time. Tensions de-escalated quickly though, and Peter made his way back to Canada, tasked with being an instructor on Harvards and Chipmunks. He did leave the air force for a short period in the 60s, but Peter chose to reenlist and again flew CF-100s as part of 414 Squadron, based in Ottawa and then North Bay. That is where he finished his career, which lasted until 1987. Near the end of the interview Peter reflected back on the state of Canada’s military and the air force, and he concluded that he came in at the end of the “Golden Age”, after which a steady period of decline set in. That is a debate that continues in present day Canada. Peter Growen was interviewed by Scott Masters at his home in Collingwood in August 2024.
