North Atlantic Aviation Museum, Gander, Newfoundland

On Monday, we continued our journey south and east, stopping for the night at a Harvest Host location, North Atlantic Aviation Museum, in Gander, Newfoundland.

Dwayne and I visited in 2016 - since then, a Broadway Musical about Gander's impact on 9/11 has been written, "Come From Away".

We got Gracie and the Jee-rage parked for the evening and then proceeded to view the outdoor aircraft exhibits. The first is a Beech 18S Expeditor - Light Bomber and Armament Trainer

CF-101 Voodoo -- Fighter/bomber, reconnaissance/interceptor

PBY-ra Catalina/Canso -- Maritime reconnaissance, search/rescue, bomber/water bomber

Lockheed Hudson MkIII -- Light bomber, maritime reconnaissance and troop transport

Inside the museum, we viewed displays about the Gander airport from 1935 onwards. Gander was a refueling stop for flights between Europe and North America - the largest airport in the world at the time. During World War II, it was heavily used for transporting aircraft from manufacturing facilities in North America to the European theater in support of the war effort. Following the war, it continued in use as a refueling stop for transatlantic flights - commercial and military. In the 1960s, with airplanes having greater range, it decreased in use, though air traffic control through Gander Control continues supporting North Atlantic flights.

In 2001, when US airspace was closed to flights due to the terrorist activities of 9/11, Gander suddenly again hosted flights...

Quote from Mayor of Gander

If you'd like to see more about Gander's response to the need of 9/11, you might want to view this 60 Minutes Australia program from a couple of years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GXmplRrwgA