National Air Force Museum of Canada in 1999

National Air Force Museum of Canada CFB Trenton, Ontario October 2026

Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck Mk.5 (18774) ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

The National Air Force Museum of Canada, located at 8 Wing, CFB Trenton, preserves the history and heritage of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Its extensive collection includes historic aircraft, engines and equipment documenting the development of Canadian military aviation. The modern museum building houses several notable aircraft, including a Handley Page Halifax, the only example in North America and one of just three complete Halifax airframes surviving worldwide. Most of the museum's aircraft, however, are displayed outdoors across an extensive site. There is a small fenced off storage area to the rear of the building and an inside restoration facility again not open to the public.

Left to right: Handley Page Halifax Mk.VIIA (NA337 '2P-X'). Built by Rootes Motors at Liverpool Airport, England, Halifax Mk.VII NA337 entered RAF service on March 5, 1945, with 644 Squadron at RAF Tarrant Rushton. On March 24, 1945, it took part in Operation Varsity, the final large-scale Allied airborne operation of World War Two. NA337 towed a Hamilcar glider carrying a Dodge truck and artillery across the Rhine River into Germany. In late April 1945, while returning from a Special Operations Executive (SOE) supply mission supporting the Norwegian resistance, the aircraft was struck by anti-aircraft fire and ditched in Lake Mjøsa, Norway. Five of the six crew members were lost, while Flight Sergeant Thomas Weightman survived. The wreck lay approximately 750 feet beneath the lake's surface for 50 years before being recovered in 1995 by the Canadian Halifax Aircraft Association. Transported to Canada, it underwent around nine years of painstaking restoration by a dedicated team of volunteers, with work completed around 2005 using approximately 75 per cent original components. Today, NA337 is the only surviving Handley Page Halifax in North America and one of just three complete Halifax airframes remaining worldwide.

Left to right: North American Yale Mk.I (3411 'X7') ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). North American Harvard IIb (3270 'AN-C') ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

Left to right: Sikorsky S-51 Dragonfly (9601) ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). de Havilland Canada Chipmunk T.10 (WB550) ex RAF. Auster AOP.6 (VP653 registered C-FLWK marked 'VF582') ex RAF.

Left to right: Avro Anson II (Unknown, marked '7207') composite. Recovered from a farmer's field in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, this Avro Anson had spent decades exposed to the elements, deteriorating until little remained beyond its bare steel fuselage frame and two Jacobs radial engines. Donated to the museum by Byron Reynolds in 2005, it became the subject of a 12-year restoration project undertaken by museum volunteers. Using parts obtained from various sources, the team carried out a composite restoration, recreating the aircraft's original wood-and-fabric structure. It is painted with the tail number 7207 and displays World War Two-era No.1 Training Command markings.

Restoration and Storage Area

Left to right: Canadair CT-133 Silver Star Mk.3 (21435) ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). It served with Canadian military aviation units and was associated with VU 33 Squadron, a Royal Canadian Navy fixed-wing unit based on Vancouver Island. Although often displayed in the distinctive red-and-white colours of the RCAF's Red Knight solo aerobatic demonstration scheme, the aircraft itself never served with the official Red Knight team. Canadair CL-41R Tutor (CF-LTW marked '114000'). The Canadair CL-41 prototype (c/n 1) made its maiden flight on January 13, 1960, marking the beginning of the highly successful Tutor trainer programme. As a manufacturer's prototype, it did not carry an official military serial number during its flight-testing career. Following the completion of testing in 1964, the aircraft was eventually donated to the military and repainted in the striking red, white and blue colours of the RCAF Golden Centennaires, Canada's 1967 centennial aerobatic team. It was assigned the fictional, honorary serial number 114000 to identify it as the original prototype, or ‘zero' airframe.

Left to right: Canadair CL-13A Sabre Mk.5 (23257) 257, ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Built in 1954 at Canadair in Montreal, Quebec. Lockheed Hudson Mk.VI (42-47022, FK466) ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Built in Burbank, California, in September 1942, Lockheed Hudson Mk.VI FK466 was delivered to RCAF Station Debert, Nova Scotia. In 1944, it was converted for Air-Sea Rescue duties, equipped to carry an airborne lifeboat, before continuing in transport roles until 1947. The Mk.VI was powered by two 1,200 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines. FK466 is notable as the only surviving Lockheed Hudson Mk.VI airframe.

Left to right: Grumman CS2F-2 Tracker (1545 '728B' registered CF-UCS). This carrier-based anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft entered Royal Canadian Navy service on May 22, 1959. It served with anti-submarine squadron VS-880 and experimental squadron VX-10, operating from the aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure and shore bases, including CFB Shearwater. Following the unification of the Canadian Armed Forces, its serial number was changed from 1545 to 12145 in June 1970. After its flying career ended, the aircraft was transferred to CFB Borden for use as a ground instructional trainer, carrying the training codes 728A and later 728B. It was officially struck off military charge in June 1993. Beech Expeditor 3TM (1560). Taken on strength by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) on April 28, 1952, the aircraft remained in military service until June 14, 1968. It was sold or transferred to Ontario Central Airlines of Redditt, Ontario, around July 1968. Over the following decades, the aircraft was preserved and displayed at various locations across Canada, including CFB Portage in Manitoba, before eventually moving to the National Air Force Museum of Canada.

Left to right: Douglas CC-129 Dakota III (FZ658 'P' 12963). Delivered to the Royal Air Force (RAF) in January 1944 as Dakota FZ658, the aircraft served with 512 and 48 Squadrons. On June 5, 1944, it dropped paratroopers of the 6th Airborne Division into Normandy during Operation Tonga, the airborne phase of the Allied invasion of France. Transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in late 1945 or 1946, it served with 435 and 436 Squadrons, undertaking supply missions in Burma. It earned distinction as the last Canadian aircraft to leave Burma and also carried the title Canucks Unlimited and the nickname Manitoba Flyer. After a long career, the Dakota retired from active service in 1989 and was delivered to the National Air Force Museum of Canada. It is preserved there in its distinctive Burma-era RAF/RCAF markings. Lockheed CP-140 Orion (140102) ex Royal Canadian Navy.

Left to right: Canadair CP-107 Argus Mk.2 (10732) ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Built in Montreal, Quebec, the Canadair CP-107 Argus was delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) on May 29, 1959, carrying the serial number 20732. Following the unification of the Canadian Armed Forces in 1970, it was renumbered 10732. The aircraft flew long-range maritime patrol missions with 405 (Maritime Patrol) Squadron at CFB Greenwood, Nova Scotia, and 415 (Maritime Patrol) Squadron at Summerside, Prince Edward Island. Its tail fin features a distinctive Swordfish emblem, representing the official crest of 415 Squadron. Following the retirement of the Argus fleet and its replacement by the CP-140 Aurora in the early 1980s, 10732 continued as an instructional airframe, designated 783C. It was transferred to the National Air Force Museum of Canada in 1996 for preservation. Canadair Challenger 600S (144601) ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

Left to right: de Havilland Canada CC-115 Buffalo (115456) ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Lockheed CC-130E Hercules (130313) ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

Left to right: Boeing 720-023B (C-FETB). Rolled out on October 28, 1960, the aircraft was originally delivered to American Airlines, registered as N7538A. From 1971 to 1985, it operated with Middle East Airlines (MEA) as OD-AFQ. In 1985, Pratt & Whitney Canada acquired the aircraft and re-registered it as C-FETB, standing for Flying Experimental Test Bed. It was extensively modified for engine testing, with a nose-mounted test pylon and additional pylons beneath the wings. These enabled it to flight-test a variety of turboprop and turbofan engines, including the IAE V2500, PT6 and several PW-series engines. After 27 years of experimental flying with Pratt & Whitney Canada, the aircraft completed its final operational flight on May 9, 2012, flying from Saint-Hubert to CFB Trenton. Airbus CC-150 Polaris (15001). Government of Canada.

Left to right: Sikorsky CH-124A Sea King (12405) ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Vertol CH-113A Labrador (11315) ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

Left to right: Bell CH-135 Twin Huey (135102) ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), United Nations markings. Boeing-Vertol CH-147D Chinook (147201) ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

Left to right: Bell CH-118 Iroquois (118101) 101, ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Bell CH-136 Kiowa (136204) EQ-408, ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

McDonnell CF-101B Voodoo (101040) ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

Left to right: Lockheed CF-104D Starfighter (104646 'X') ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

Left to right: Beech CT-134 Musketeer (134201) ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Canadair CT-114 Tutor (114015) ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

Hawker Hunter F.58 (J-4029 registered C-GTPQ) ex Swiss Air Force.

Left to right: Northrop CF-116A Freedom Fighter (116721) ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Canadair CT-133 Silver Star Mk.3 (133593) ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

Left to right: McDonnell Douglas CF-188B Hornet (188911 '911') ex Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21MF (23+45, 776) ex German Air Force, ex NVA.