Canada's love affair with flight has been around almost as long as the country itself. In 2009 Canadian's celebrated 100 years of flight by marking the anniversary of the flight of the Silver Dart near Baddeck NS in 1909. Only 6 years later, Canadian airmen were serving in World War I with the British Flying Corps. This is how the story begins when you enter the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum located on the grounds of the Hamilton International Airport in Mount Hope.
The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is housed in an impressive 108,000 square foot structure. The front entrance to the museum could be taken as low key if it were not for the towering monument only meters away. A gleaming white and red CF-104 fighter aircraft stands in front of the museum poised as if it were soaring into the heavens. The CF-104 Starfighter was a supersonic, interceptor aircraft designed to fulfill nuclear strike and reconnaissance roles. It played an integral part in Canada's Air Force for more than a quarter of a century until it was retired in 1986 and replaced with the current CF-18 Hornets. The two-seater version of the CF-104 displayed on the monument was used for training.
Inside the entrance and just beyond the admissions area, you enter a long gallery that is overflowing with information, images, artifacts, displays (both static and interactive) and a theatre that will take a visitor on a historical journey from the early days of Canadian flight right through to the space age. Beyond the gallery, housed in a large hanger you will find a one of a kind collection of aircraft flown by Canadians and the Canadian military services from the beginning of World War II to the present. What makes this collection of over 40 aircraft so unique compared to other aviation museums is that a large number of the aircraft are still in flying condition. A number of these aircraft travel thousands of kilometers to perform in air shows in the US and Canada. It's a fitting tribute to the museum founders, the dedicated staff and volunteers who have made the restoration and preservation of so many aircraft possible.
One of the museum's most popular attractions is the Avro Lancaster WWII Bomber - one of only two that are still flying. Thousands of Canadians were part of the aircrews and other personnel that served with the RCAF and RAF's Lancaster squadrons in
England; and thousands of Canadians helped to produce the more than 7300 Lancasters that rolled off the production lines in Britain and Canada. The CWH (Canadian Warplane Heritage) Museum has dedicated its Avro Lancaster to the memory of Pilot Officer Andrew Charles Mynarski who won the Victoria Cross, the Commonwealth's highest award for gallantry in battle. On the night of June 12th
1944, his Lancaster was shot down by a Luftwaffe night fighter. As the bomber plunged earthwards, Mynarski, his flying clothing on fire, tried in vain to free his trapped rear gunner from the jammed rear turret. Miraculously, the gunner lived to relate the story of Mynarski's bravery. Unfortunately, Mynarski died from the severe burns he received.
Other aircraft in the museum's collection include the Submarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane (most known for their role in the Battle of Britian), Douglas DC-3 (crucial in cargo and personnel delivery, glider towing and paratroop drops), Grumman S-2 Tracker (anti-submarine warfare, operated from the HMCS Bonaventure), Fairey Firefly Mk 6 (served as a carrier-borne reconnaissance fighter in both World War II and the Korean War and is pictured on the CWH logo), McDonnell CF-101B Voodoo (purchased to replace the Avro Arrow as a fast interceptor) and the Avro CF-100 (first fighter designed and built in large quantities in Canada).
The museum also maintains a collection of training aircraft used in WWII as part of The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. US President Franklin Roosevelt called Canada the "Aerodrome of Democracy". Beginning in 1939, Canada took a major role in training over 130,000 aircrew for the Commonwealth and Allied Air Forces. Over 70,000 joined the RCAF as pilots, navigators, air bombers, air gunners, flight engineers and wireless operator/air gunners. The airfield that is now part of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum and the Hamilton International Airport was once an Elementary Flying Training School.
Having a large number of working aircraft is not the only thing that makes The Canadian Warplane Heritage a 'living museum'. It's the stories of the people who flew them and who worked on them. They give us an insight into the men and women who served in Canada's Air Force and a glimpse into Canada's aviation history.
Links:
Canadian Warplane Heritage
Royal Canadian Air Force
Canada's Air Force
Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum
Canadian Aviation Musuem
