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75mm Artillery Shell
(Not available for viewing) This 75 mm artillery shell was part of a lamp stand made in 1919 as a memorial to a disaster at the T. A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant in Morgan, New Jersey. On October 4, 1918, a building at the shell loading plant exploded causing the evacuation of South…
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Link Trainer
THE DEVELOPMENT OF INSTRUMENT FLIGHT TRAINERS History Why do we need devices to teach pilots how to fly in bad weather? For hundreds of years the cavalry galloping across the plains, or mariners in sailing ships never needed such things – why do we need them now? When walking along a trail in a forest…
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Supermarine Stranraer
Did you know that our technical volunteers built a replica of a Supermarine Stranraer flying boat that now ‘flies’ with the wind in Shearwater, BC? This is the site, near Bella Bella on the north central BC coast, where Stranraers were based during World War 2. The Stranraer, with a 17-foot span, is mounted on…
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Sikorsky S-55 Gearbox and Rotor Assembly
S-55 Transmission The transmission system conveys power between the engine and the main and tail rotors and at the same time reduces engine rpm to proper rotor rpm. This system is made up of the centrifugal clutch assembly; the main drive shaft from the engine; the main gear box; the tail drive shaft; the intermediate…
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Model Aircraft on Display
The Museum has a large display of models of aircraft. These range from small plastic models with intricate colour schemes to WW1 fighters showing the construction details. Spitfire Mk. 9 Some of the most noticeable of the large models are suspended from the roof of the hangar. These large models give the appearance of being…
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Mk. IX Bombsight Instruction Manual
Would you like more technical details of how the bombsight was used? Read the pdf file labeled bombsight1.pdf about the Mk. IV Bombsight. It will help you appreciate the task of the Bomb Aimers who toiled away in a dark, bouncing aircraft in freezing conditions high in the sky. bombsight1.pdf
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Martin-Baker Mk2 Ejection Seat
The Martin-Baker Mk.2 is a British ejection seat designed and built in the early 1950s. In 1935 James Martin and Captain Valentine Baker formed the ‘Martin-Baker Aircraft Company Ltd’. During a test flight in 1942, Captain Baker was killed. His death caused Martin to investigate a means of assisted escape for pilots. He found the…
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Frazer-Nash FN5 Gun Turret
Note:This display is no longer available at the Museum. It is now on display in Windsor, Ontario at the Canadian Historical Aircraft Association. To make this event even more significant, the turret is now attached to a genuine Avro Lancaster! The Lancaster under restoration. (Photo credit: D. Cardy) For more on this important story…
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Folding Bicycle
In WW2 bicycles were a cheap and light-weight method of giving mobility to infantry. This was particularly true for airborne troops, who were obviously much more limited in the size and number of vehicles that could accompany them. The British airborne forces had a unique bicycle designed to be folded in half and parachuted down.…
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Hughes AIM-4 Falcon
Development of a guided air-to-air missile began in 1946. The original purpose of the weapon was as a self-defense weapon for bomber aircraft, but after 1950 it was decided that it should arm fighter aircraft instead, particularly in the interception role. The first test firings took place in 1949, at which time it was given…
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Course Setting Bombsight Mk. IX
Prior to World War I the bombsight device in service was the Lever Sight, which the pilot held out of the cockpit in one hand while flying the aircraft with the other. This bombsight had no way to calculate “drift” the sideways motion of the bombs due to wind. This meant the aircraft had to…
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Bristol Mk. IV Upper Gun Turret
This turret, designated the Bristol Type B.I Mk.IV, was one of a series of Bristol-designed turrets. The B.I turret was powered from a hydraulic pump mounted on the port engine. When the turret was not in use the cupola could be partially retracted to reduce drag. The turret was controlled in elevation and rotation by…