Something New Coming To The NAAM in Gander

GAHS is planning on bringing something new to the NAAM. In conjunction with the help of individuals at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (CWH), a digital model for the flight simulator is being constructed to portray Gander during WWII showing all the buildings and runway layout. In addition airplanes and buildings for additional models for the post war airport up to the new terminal opening and another for the present day. The 3 models will be incorporated into the present flight simulator to enable you to fly into and land at Gander in 3 different eras. These models  will also be displayed on a flat screen monitor, for those not familiar with flight simulators, to view a video of what the old airport town looked like, by taking a visual tour of the airport, to be shown in a continuous loop. This should be available in 2017, as well as a 3D table model of the airport, all to be displayed at the museum. Be prepared to take a trip back in time to the old Gander.

Canadian Geographic Magazine

The Canadian Geographic magazine's cartographer has informed us they working on an article about the evolution of Gander and its airport. They have asked us for some historical air photography to show how the town and airport have evolved. We here at GAHS are more than enthused with this project. We have spent the last few days uploading information to assist them. Unfortunately the better the quality the better the result. Most of our images of the airport are not in the best of condition but all we can do is try. Their main interest is aerial images from the late 30's, 40's and 50's to portray this evolution. If anyone has good quality aerial images they wish to share, please pass them along.

Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum's Gander Airport Project

We have been in contact recently with the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton ON. They are seeking our assistance in compiling information on the graphical layout of Gander Airport during the war years for a project they are getting underway. Their intent is to present a 3D simulated version of Gander during the war years to be available for all to see. This is as big of a compliment to Gander’s history that we could ever imagine. We are so looking forward being a part of assisting in the creation of this project. We ask everyone’s assistance in passing along to us photographic information on Gander up until 1958. there is no such thing as a bad photo that shows our historical past.

Link Updates

We just finished updating our links in the right hand column. We have added Lisa Daly's blog 'Plane Crash Girl’. Lisa is an Aviation Archaeologist and is a contributor to our website. Her latest piece deals with a Digby bomber that crashed during the war very near where the Czechoslovakian IL18 crashed in 1967. This looks like this will be a very interesting blog to follow in the future. We also added a link to our Twitter account. This account has been in effect since last summer and is raising a lot of interest around the world. We have followers from as far away as California, Vancouver, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Turkey, Germany and the UK. Just goes to show that people from everywhere are curious about Gander Airport's history.

Gander Commonwealth War Graves

We have updated the Gander Commonwealth War Graves webpage in the Ferry Command section in the WWII era to include a link where you can view the records of those who lie at rest in the cemetery (located at the bottom of the page). Highlighted names of the military personal will lead to photos of the grave markers. These records have been documented by Genealogical & Historical Data of the Newfoundland’s Grand Banks Site and we take the liberty of making use of this information by accessing their wonderful website. Our appreciation and thanks go out to those who researched this data.

RAF Ferry Command

Nov 10, 1940 marks the most important event that has very occurred at the Gander Airport. 7 Hudson bombers left Gander on a perilous voyage to the UK. Once proven to be successful, RAF Ferry Command commenced. This event, later acknowledged through out the world, was a key factor that led to the defeat of Nazi Germany. Gander Airport was about to morph into a world renown airport. To be known throughout aviation worldwide. We commend the Gander Rotary Club and the North Atlantic Aviation Museum in the organization of this anniversary. For more information on RAF Ferry Command we ask that you visit our website.

Above and Beyond

CBC produced a two part doc/drama back in 2006 entitled Above and Beyond, the story of RAF Ferry Command in WWII. Playing key roles were Nfld’s Allan Hawco, Mark Critch, and Peter Soucy. The extras used during the film consisted mainly of people from Gander. The location of the production was Gander Airport and the main prop was the Hudson Bomber from the North Atlantic Aviation Museum. A worth while view to relive the 75th anniversary that will take place on Nov 10. To view the video click here.
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GAHS Celebrates Ferry Command’s 75th

In honour of this prestigious day, the GAHS will be posting 3 stories with reference to Ferry Command on our website in the near future. Not only was this an event that led to a major contribution in the winning of WWII but it set the course for Gander Airport’s future. This future led to the town of Gander as it is today. Indeed, a most important day in Gander’s History.

Ferry Command's 75th Anniversary Event

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of Ferry Command, the Gander Rotary Club and the North Atlantic Aviation Museum will be sponsoring a gala event to be held 6 pm Tuesday, Nov. 10 in our historic Gander Airport's International Lounge. Organizers are encouraging 40s dress. Funds raised support the Ferry Command Memorial Hall, Cobb’s Pond Rotary Park, and other Rotary projects worldwide. Tickets are $60 per person and available from any member of the Gander Rotary Club or North Atlantic Aviation Museum. Mayor Claude Elliott will serve as MC and auctioneer (those who have seen His Worship in auctioneer mode will note it is an event in and of itself). Get out and support the NAAM and Rotary Club.

Gander Lake’s B24 Liberator Crash Update

We have been in contact with Tony Merkle about an update on his progress lately in his attempt to recover the B24 that crashed in Gander Lake during WWII . He advises us the project is still ongoing. There was a delay with the archaeology permit but that is to be resolved shortly. He had to put the project aside this summer due to personal work commitments. He hopes to resume searching later this fall. He advised he is getting  good feedback from the pilot's son who turned 72 this year. It looks like later attempts at dragging with grapnels may have sent the plane down over the steep slope into much deeper water. This was from an attempted salvage operation carried out by the military shortly after the crash.  Tony  has re-equipped himself with much better underwater video equipment which will aid in his search. We hope to follow this project as it progresses.

RCAF Gander WWII Publications

We have just finished posting the last of the RCAF Gander Magazines that we have collected to this date. There are a few more missing which we hope to collect in the future. For those who have been following this collection, we have improved our website in order to make reading these editions more accessible. Downloading and saving these magazines are no longer necessary. Clicking on the link now will load the magazine directly to your browser. Our software hasn’t improved to allow this. We have just learned how to do a few more tasks in the software’s application. We are still not too old to learn new tricks.

Weather Forcaster McTaggert-Cowan

We recently posted a page dedicated to Dr. McTaggert-Cowan, , brought over to Gander by the British Air Ministry in the late 30’s, to forecast the weather for those traversing the North Atlantic. Originally to assist the flying boats out of Botwood, he later became an intricate part of Ferry Command’s success in their objective. No doubt he was a scientist in his own right and later in life was acknowledged for his pioneering work in aviation weather forecasting. Many of his meteorology theories are in use today. However reading his interview on this webpage, shows his very opinionated views on the role of Gander airport's activities. I take the liberty in begging for your consideration of the gentleman’s age when giving this interview. Whatever your opinion may be, his work in Gander during this era was of great value to the history of commercial & military aviation.

Flashback To A 1943 Historical Report

From the ‘RCAF Gander’, December, 1943 magazine edition, we have have taken a report that was written by S/L H. A. L. Pattison, Gander Airport's first CEO and included it on our website in the Thirty's Era, entitled Early Days At Gander. S/L Pattison was given the responsibility to oversee the development of Botwood and Gander by the British Air Ministry. The historical accuracy of this report is undeniable, given the time it was written. This is an historical document written by an individual who was a part of the original history in the making.

Website Restructuring Of The WWII Era

We have added a new section to the WWII era by adding ‘Magazines’ . We have come across several magazines produced by the RCAF entitled ‘Gander” from Brandon, Manitoba’s Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum. These are very good magazines but too large to put on a web page. To overcome this problem we have provided a link in order for you to download them in a PDF file format, to read on your PDF Reader. So far we have 6 of these magazines which tells of the very interesting life in Gander during the war. We will be posting these editions individually on a timely basis rather than flooding the section with too much information. For some it will give the opportunity to read about your grandparents/parents contribution during the war.

Royal Rifles of Canada 75th Reunion

We have just received email from Eileen Elms, one of the first children to live in Gander during the war. She advises; 'There was a very impressive ceremony on Sat. past (Aug.8) at our new Memorial Park. About 50 veterans attended, along with the present commanding officer of the regiment.I remember them being here in the 40’s. They were the third regiment to be stationed here. A big deal for an 8 year old. There were very few local people in attendance on Sat.'. Thank you Eileen for the update.

The Dover Crash

A new item posted in Warbird Down tells the story of how the community of Dover in Bonavista Bay came together to save the lives of six airmen from perishing of hyperthermia. This came about after their Digby bomber crashed landed in the ocean near their community. Another story of Newfoundlanders taking quick action in getting involved in helping others in distress. Read about it on the website. The Dover Crash

Special Gander Day Website Addition

To commemorate this years Gander Day, the GAHS is introducing a new section in the Transition Era entitled Streets of Gander that will include 14 articles. Frank Tibbo has written some fine documents on people directly involved with the town of Gander and it’s airport. Most of the street names in Gander themselves have an historical connection and are easily identified. Others, not so much. This section will deal mainly with street names that have, in some way, a direct connection to Gander Airport's history. Transposing Frank’s information on individuals who had street named after them, made us realize just how deserving they were. Their contributions should be told and not forgotten. Other names will continually be added with time. It is also our desire to bring forward more names for the town to consider in the future naming of streets.

Aviation Archeology Thesis

Lisa Daly has just completed her thesis on airplane crashes in Newfoundland during WWII, particularly in the Gander area, for her completion in receiving a PHD in Aviation Archeology. She has made her thesis available for download at https://db.tt/1GNq2a4d for your reading.  In the near future Lisa will be joining our website in doing several articles for us on specific  crashes in the Gander area which will be posted in our Warbird Down section in the WWII era. We are sure a few  of you have encountered some of these crashes while exploring the island’s terrain. The history of Gander airport is slowly coming back to life.

Reunion of Giants

Our old friend Mike McAnany sent along this link from YouTube depicting a short video on the last two airworthy Lancaster bombers (RCAf & RAF) remaining in the world, reuniting in England last year for an air show. Very moving as well as an historic event. I am sure the airshow they were involved in will be made available on the English TV network in the near future.

Gander Lake’s B24

We have just posted this story under the same title on our website. This correlates with the project that Tony Merkle has undertaken to locate and attempt to recover this airplane. In recent correspondence he informs us that he is has made contact with the pilot’s son in hopes that he can attain more information on the crash itself. The pilot's son is now 72 years old and was born 21 days after his father was lost. Tony has completed a couple of searches with some positive results receiving interesting targets on the sonar returns. He had trouble with his underwater video equipment but has now re-equipped with higher tech gear. He plans to be back on the lake in June to continue the search.