Lancasters at Calgary

[aerovin]

I had a chance to visit The Hangar Flight Museum at Calgary, Alberta. I primarily wanted to see its Lancaster for a special reason.





Here is what the museum says about it:

Victory Aircraft Ltd manufactured Lancaster Mk X., FM136, Serial 31341, in 1945. Assigned to No. 20th and 30th Maintenance Units in England, it was never issued to an active squadron. Returned to Canada to the depot at Pearce, Alberta, it was eventually converted to Maritime Reconnaissance configuration and taken on strength by No. 404 ‘Buffalo’ (Maritime Patrol) Squadron in Greenwood, Nova Scotia. It was subsequently transferred to No.407 'Demon' (MP) Squadron in Comox, British Columbia carrying operational markings RX-136 until it was struck off strength in April 1961. The aircraft was returned to Fort McLeod, Alberta to be surplused.

FM136 was acquired by the Lancaster Club of Calgary and mounted on a pedestal at the southwest entrance to the Calgary Airport terminal in April 1962. The aircraft was moved to the current museum site exactly thirty years later, in April 1992. The City of Calgary now owns the aircraft. It was restored by the museum and dedicated to Ronnie Jenkins in the summer of 2011.

When traveling through Calgary in 1968, I remember seeing the airplane on the pedestal and my dad took this photo. It's the same airplane.



My dad also took this photo of Lancaster Mk X KB976 on the Calgary Airport. According to online sources, at the time it was owned Dr. Ernest A Johnson, Calgary, Alberta. It had a complicated history as seen here: http://timefadesaway.co.uk/strathallan/kb976/kb_976_intro.html

[Hooligan2]

My dad also took this photo of Lancaster Mk X KB976 on the Calgary Airport. According to online sources, at the time it was owned Dr. Ernest A Johnson, Calgary, Alberta. It had a complicated history as seen here:

I remember it - probably! - as a pile of Lanc bits (wing and fuselage sections) outside Doug Arnold's Warbirds of Great Britain hangar at Biggin Hill in the early 1990s. Not sure if there was more than one Lanc i/d amassed in the heap and possibly sections of Lincoln G-APRJ too. Haven't located a pic since...

[DH82EH]

The centre section of the original "Lady Orchid" is alive and airworthy, flying as a major repair part of FM213, operated by Canadian Warplane Heritage

[kalamazookid]

Thanks for sharing the photos! That's a cool museum. I got to visit on a road trip last summer. The Barkley-Grow, Hurricane and Anson are also all very impressive.

For those who may be interested, here's the museum signage with more information on "Lady Orchid."

IMG_7074 by Matthew Vader, on Flickr