A rare First World War airplane, a German-built Fokker D.VII, is tucked in a barn on Lakeside St. in this cozy town 85 kilometres east of Montreal.
The biplane is in almost perfect condition. One of three left in the world, and the only one in North America, the aircraft is a source of pride for many residents.
People come from all over to see the plane in the barn, an annex of the Brome County Historical Society Museum. Some say the town is lucky to have such a treasure.
Then there are those - many of them former trustees of the historical society - who say selling the Knowlton Fokker would free up display space for local collections hidden away in the museum basement and would ensure the biplane was stored properly.
They also suggest it would be a financial windfall for the society, as the plane would be worth an estimated $1 million - or more.
In late November 1918, Senator George G. Foster, a Knowlton Academy alumnus, wrote to the federal government. The armistice treaty had just been signed at Versailles, France, and he asked whether some of the war booty could be sent to Knowlton for its new museum's opening, set for 1921.
The response came in the form of the Fokker D.VII. It arrived by train and cost the museum $112.50.
Twenty-two Fokker D.VIIs were sent to Canada after the armistice. McGill University, Acadia University and many other educational institutions received them as gifts. The biplanes were promptly taken apart and studied, as the aircraft was known as one of the most deadly of the war.
Fokker technology first allowed machine guns to be synchronized through the front propeller of the airplane. One authority said the Fokker D.VII "had the ability to make a good pilot out of mediocre material."
The plane was easy to control, but more important, it had the ability to "hang on its prop" to fire at the enemy, while other fighters stalled and spun.
The Fokker D.VII came into service only in April 1918, but in its short history it was known as the "Terror of the Western Skies." German fighter pilot Manfred von Richthofen, better known as the Red Baron, had planned to swap his triplane for the new Fokker biplane, but he never got the chance: He was shot down only days before the new plane went into service.
The Fokker D.VII and the Zeppelin airships were the only flying machines that were singled out for confiscation at the end of the war. The Zeppelins were known for their silent approaches with deadly consequences.
Another former Knowlton Academy student, Zelotes E. Martin, offered the money to build a shelter for the Knowlton Fokker; the structure was ready for the opening of the museum in May 1921. Martin's son, Wells, along with Senator Foster's son, George, were airmen in the war. Both survived.
- - -
The plane currently resides in the museum's Martin Annex. It sits unassumingly behind a waist-high picket fence. Within the wooden perimeter are various wartime articles, including helmets, guns and uniforms. But after 88 years, and in a building that is not climate-controlled, the plane is starting to deteriorate. Rips have begun to appear in the plane's delicate external fabric: the original linen covered with a resin lacquer.
A few years ago, representatives from the National Aviation Museum in Ottawa came to Knowlton. Preliminary negotiations over the sale of the plane began but halted almost as quickly.
"I know it would be well housed there," said Kirk Lawrence, president of the Brome County Historical Society. "I think they are a little nervous about where it's sitting right now."
Despite the unfavourable conditions, the plane has managed to survive.
"Wear and tear is normal," said Arlene Royea, managing director of the historical society's little museum.
"It has a gradual temperature change though the seasons and the airplane seems to have adapted itself well to that, as other artifacts do in a museum. "
The question remains, though: Should it stay?
"It's become part of our history," Lawrence said, but he acknowledges the money from the sale of the plane could keep the historical society running for many years without the need for fundraising.
Others say keeping the Fokker is not in the mandate of the Brome County Historical Society, which is to preserve items relevant to the county.
When the question was brought up a few years ago, discussions became so heated that several trustees of the historical society quit in frustration.
Michel Green, a former historical society trustee, was involved in the effort to try to sell the plane a few years ago.
"The problem is, we have this really interesting museum that maybe a few hundred people visited last summer. If the museum sold the Fokker, the money would allow them to improve the exhibits, add staff and allow the plane to be preserved the way it should be," he said last week.
Green adds that the money would allow the historical society to properly publicize the museum and change the displays.
"There's all kinds of stuff in the basement of the museum: a ton of uniforms worn by men from the Eastern Townships who served in all the wars, an incredible collection of postcards and wedding dresses. ... It doesn't get seen."
The Brome County Historical Society Museum is open from mid-May to mid-September. Archives and special visits by appointment only: Call
1-450-243-6782 or email
bchs@endirect.qc.ca
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2006
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