Comox Air Force Museum

Holiday time at the Comox Air Force Museum means our annual closure. This year we will be closed from December 20 to January 2, 2016. Until then our regular hours apply.  

[caption id="attachment_10890" align="alignleft" width="150"] AL WILSON[/caption]   It's our honour to continue to share Al Wilson's work for all of you to enjoy.     This month's additions are from Al's scrapbook:   [caption id="attachment_10905" align="aligncenter" width="844"] A GENOOINE SOURDOUGH STORY...[/caption]         [caption id="attachment_10906" align="aligncenter" width="802"] FLOWER POWER[/caption]

If you're wanting more good reads, powerful stories, you might consider seeking out these titles:   The Tunnel King, written by Barbara Hehner, is the true story of Wally Floody and the Great Escape.  You might know that “the Great Escape was one of the most daring prisoner-of-war breakouts of the Second World War.  Yet few Canadians know the heroic story of Wally Floody.  Wally was a Canadian fighter pilot, imprisoned in Stalag Luft III, who was a key figure – The Tunnel King – in the carefully planned escape. Shot down over France on his very first combat mission, Floody captured by German soldiers and spent almost four years in POW camps… Wally, who had worked as a miner before the war, knew the best way out was to tunnel underground…”  This book not only has fascinating facts about life in the camp, but also pays tribute to a courageous Canadian.       The Forgotten, Canadian POWs, Escapers and Evaders in Europe, 1939-45“… tells the story of the more than 10,000 Canadian servicemen, merchant mariners, and civilians for whom the war ended in surrender, capture, imprisonment or escape, as seen through the eyes of a group of men who struggled to survive in Hitler’s Europe. Among them were Private Stan Darch, who had already survived the cauldron of Dieppe; Sergeant Edward Carter-Edwards, who endured the hell of Buchenwald; RCAF Sergeant Ian MacDonald, who was on the run before being betrayed to the Gestapo and spent six weeks in Read more...

[caption id="attachment_13614" align="alignleft" width="146"] FLIGHT LIEUTENANT John Fraser (credit: Bomber Command Museum of Canada)[/caption]   F/L John Fraser, perhaps best known for his participation as one of the Dam Busters,  as well as a part of "The Great Escape", was an RCAF bomb-aimer from Nanaimo, BC.  Prior to being selected to join No. 617 Squadron, he had completed a tour of 30 operations with No. 50 Squadron.               [caption id="attachment_13616" align="alignleft" width="209"] FLIGHT LIEUTENANT JOHN HOPGOOD DFC[/caption]   John Hopgood ( “Hoppy” ) was F/L Fraser’s pilot.  He was selected from the No. 106 Squadron, having served there with Guy Gibson, Wing Commander of 617 Squadron. “Fraser and Hopgood were part of Formation No. 1; Fraser was Hopgood’s bomb-aimer…like all the attacking aircraft, Lancaster AJ-M flew to the Mohne Dam at an extremely low level.  At one point, the rear gunner, Tony Burcher, saw an arc of high tension cable above his line of vision.  “It seemed to drop away behind the aircraft as Hopgood gained height. ‘Right under the bloody things!’ exclaimed the front gunner.  ‘Sorry about that,’ said Hopgood. Soon afterwards, AJ-M was raked by ground fire.  Burcher was hit in the groin and stomach. A searchlight blazed onto the aircraft but Burcher shot it out.  Then a shell burst alongside and Hopgood feathered an engine that had been set on fire.   As well as Burcher being wounded, John Minchin, the wireless operator, had been hit in the leg and the front Read more...

The 1954 Dodge Ambulance engine overhaul is finally nearing completion.  Our volunteer heavy vehicle mechanic, Tom, has been working away all winter.  The block and head were taken to Nanaimo to be re-conditioned and returned looking as good as new.  The radiator and gas tank were also taken to a local shop for checks and repairs as required.  Once the engine was reassembled, it was replaced in the engine compartment.                  Now the fun began...reattaching hoses, connections and systems.  Some parts and pieces were missing or beyond repair but Tom has been able to come up with solutions every step of the way.  Recently the radiator and gas tank have been re-installed, so it was time to think about flashing it up.     The first engine run occurred on Thursday, 23 May.  Check out this video of Tom at the wheel! (vroom, vroom). There are still some timing issues and the daunting task of getting all the electrical hooked up, but the team is cautiously optimistic that this vehicle will be back on the road very soon.  If you see us on a road test, like the one shown here, give us a wave.

One of our volunteers, Mel, has just returned from the annual OMMC (Organization of Military Museums of Canada) Conference, and saw a presentation about Project '44, Mapping the Battle of Normandy. On this, the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, we thought you might like to have some information about this enormous undertaking: This summer, the Canadian Research and Mapping Association (CRMA) will launch a massive initiative to help commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Normandy. After reading the information below, have a look at their website at https://www.project44.ca/ to get an appreciation for the depth and quality of their work. "The Project ‘44 website will combine basemaps, unit positions, and war diaries into an online experience focused on the First Canadian Army and the Victory Campaign. This is the first initiative of the Canadian Research and Mapping Association (CRMA), a not-for-profit organization specializing in digital preservation, collection management systems, and mapping military history. The CRMA was formed in the Fall of 2018 and is led by Executive Director Nathan Kehler, a former Geomatics Technician from 2 Combat Engineer Regiment. Included on the CRMA’s Board of Directors are serving or former Sappers, including Colonel (Retd) Mark Gasparotto, Capt Stephan Gurgurewicz, and WO John Girard. This is a massive undertaking and the CRMA team has spent months meticulously collecting data on where units were fighting day-by-day in Normandy. This includes the typical infantry and armoured units, as well as the engineer field companies, the artillery regiments and other supporting arms such as the RCAF, Read more...

6 June 1944 was the day that Operation OVERLORD, the Allied invasion of NAZI-occupied Europe, commenced with an amphibious assault over the Normandy Beaches: Operation NEPTUNE. The term “the longest day” is said to have been coined by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, who had responsibility for defending the Atlantic coast from the Allies. More famously, it was the title of Cornelius Ryan’s excellent single-volume history of the invasion. The term “the longest awaited day” would have been just as accurate. The Russians had been fighting in their homeland since the spring of 1941, and were desperate to have a Second Front to draw NAZI forces away. All the occupied countries – Poland, Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium, France and more – were desperate to be liberated from the evil of NAZI occupation. Finally, the Allied nations were eager to commence the final operations that would see the end of the Third Reich. For the soldiers, sailors and airmen, however, it was to be a long day of savage fighting. Elite airborne troops would open the battle during the night, then five Armies, over 150,000 men, would cross five beaches that day in the greatest amphibious operation in human history. Two British Armies would attack over Sword and Gold, two US Armies would invade over Omaha and Utah and one Canadian Army, volunteers all, would storm Juno Beach. The casualties were significant, although mercifully less that feared, but still some 2,500 young soldiers lay dead in the sand, with another 7,500 wounded. Read more...

  [caption id="attachment_13233" align="alignleft" width="140"] DOUGLAS BADER[/caption]   The posting this month is not from our gallery but from our theatre. Throughout the summer, the museum will be showing some classic war movies. On June 01/19 we will be presenting the story of Douglas Bader, one of Britain’s great fighter pilots of World War II. The movie is called “Reach for the Sky”, and it’s one of my all-time favourites. I have also watched several documentaries covering the same story.     From these sources, I had drawn conclusions about the man himself. Having been asked to write this post I thought I had enough information already; but feeling as though I should get all the information I could possibly find, I decided to read the original book. Boy, am I ever glad I did.  The movie and the documentaries only covered the Bader story from his accident to the end of World War II. From these I thought I knew the man as many of us do when thinking of our heroes and stars of movies and TV. The book, however, starts at his birth and gives insight to the make up of the man.  I had always thought that Bader was sometimes careless with the safety of his men, driven to get the highest scores. Part of that last statement is correct and yet the other half couldn’t be further from the truth.  He was born to a middle-class family, the second of two boys. From the moment Read more...

BC MUSEUMS WEEK invited all of us to have important conversations about museums, particularly about our Museum.  Why are museums important?  How is our Museum of value to one of our volunteers?  How has our Museum had meaning for our visitors?  What do museums mean to one of our website readers? What makes a good museum?  We invited you to share your thoughts and many of you did!       ** A museum is not just a collection of “old stuff”. Hours of research is done to investigate each museum piece to be able to describe its significance. Then each piece is placed in the perfect position to enhance the overall story which is yearning to be told. Each piece is not only unique in its own right, but is also part of the bigger picture which brings the whole story alive. To be able to read and know the story and then look upon an actual piece of that story brings not only the piece to life, but also the story of what has been. To walk through and enjoy being surrounded by bits of history is like a treasure hunt…and there is a jewel around every corner. ~ DAN   ** Our museum is of value to one of our volunteers. My love of the military began in the early 1970s, when I left home with my new husband, a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Through many postings in Canada, the US, and Germany, I had an Read more...