Canadian Halifax Bomber Believed Intact Off Ireland

Karl Kjarsgaard wants to raise a Halifax bomber located nearly a mile (1.6 km) below the surface of the North Atlantic and put it on display at the Nanton Air Museum in Alberta. It's not an idle fantasy.

In 1995, Kjarsgaard, an Air Canada pilot who lives in the Ottawa region, led the successful effort to raise a Halifax bomber from 230 meters (754 ft) below the surface of a Norwegian lake. More than 6,000 Halifaxes were built but no complete original specimen exists.

The plane brought up in two pieces from the bottom of the Norwegian lake is being reconstructed at the RCAF Memorial Museum in Trenton, Ont., and is regarded as the most authentic and complete Halifax in existence. The Yorkshire Air Museum has a Halifax on display but it's a composite of several planes. Two other British museums display pieces of wrecked Halifaxes.

Kjarsgaard believes the plane in the Atlantic -- Halifax LW170 -- is intact. What's more important, he said, is its historical significance -- it was an RCAF plane and flew 28 combat operations over Germany and France from May to August 1944.

He notes that of the 39,000 bombing missions flown by Canadian squadrons during the war, 28,000 were flown in Halifaxes. He said he also wants the plane to be a memorial to nearly 800 Americans who died while flying for Canada, almost 10 percent of those who enlisted with the RCAF when the war started.

"That airplane is a symbol of our contribution to the war effort," he said. "That's the Canadian experience -- flying a Halifax in combat. This is a national symbol. One that should be a tribute to the young men who flew to hell and back in the cause of freedom."

"The American connection has been totally forgotten," the 53-year-old said. "I feel badly for them and their families. They were not really remembered in the States because they weren't part of the American air force and, in Canada, they were grouped with the Canadians. They end up sliding through the cracks, and have never been given proper credit."

Kjarsgaard said the Nanton Lancaster Society Air Museum is the ideal home for Halifax LW170 because it is the only museum in Canada dedicated to the Second World War bomber command.

"I can't think of a better bomber command memorial than the Nanton museum," he said. "Their main concern is that these young men shouldn't be forgotten."

Bob Evans, volunteer curator at the Nanton Museum, welcomes the potential donation.

"We are prepared to accept it and to eventually restore it," said Evans.

"The addition of a Halifax bomber, especially one used by 6 Group, the RCAF Bomber Group that was commanded and crewed primarily by Canadians, will be a prestigious acquisition. To have examples of the two most famous World War II British four-engine bombers under the same roof here will be unequaled on this continent."

The first of the more than 6,000 Halifax bombers built during the war started flying in late 1940. Although later overshadowed by the Lancaster, which could carry a heavier bomb load, some aviation historians believe the Halifax was a better multi-purpose plane. Besides dropping bombs, it was used to haul freight, drop agents and supplies behind enemy lines, patrol sea-lanes and tow heavy gliders.

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