Lancaster aircraft (Photo submitted: National Air Force Museum, Trenton)
Two major bomber aircraft from World War II will soon be united at the National Air Force Museum in Trenton.
The museum has been working for months with the city of Edmonston New Brunswick to save a Lancaster bomber that has been sitting on the ground there for 50 years.
Executive director Chris Colton says the Lancaster flew the same type of missions as the Halifax bomber, beginning in 1943.
Colton says it will be restored and displayed inside the museum along with the Halifax.
The Lancaster will be transported to Trenton next year to be restored in time for the RCAF 100th anniversary in 2024.
Colton says, “it will be a wonderful tribute to the men who served in the war.”
Colton says, “The National Air Force Museum of Canada is honored to have been selected as the final resting place for this historic aircraft. KB 882 will be fully restored to its Area Reconnaissance (AR) configuration thus enabling all who visit her to understand not only the heroic role that she and her crew played during the Second World War, but also her post war operational taskings. Her appearance along with our Halifax Mk. VII bomber will be unique in the world as the only museum having both in a fully restored condition. KB 882 will be reborn and proudly displayed as the NAFMC’s premier exhibit celebrating the 100th anniversary of the RCAF on the 1st of April, 2024”.
Major Bill March, the museum’s Board Chair commented, “In war and peace the Lancaster aircraft has been a symbol of a Canada’s resolve to do what needed to be done to make the world a safer place. I am delighted that the (Edmonston) City Council placed their faith in the NAFMC to preserve and restore this national treasure.”
