Greenwood Aviation Museum
The Argus At The Greenwood Military Aviation Museum The Greenwood Aviation Museum first opened its doors in May of 1995. It had started with the Base Commander of CFB Greenwood in 1992, Col. Ken Allen. He had dreams of opening a museum to preserve the history of the base, the squadrons who served there and all the men who were stationed there. It seemed more people shared his dream and soon after a society was formed which was incorporated in 1994. The membership grew made up of retired air force personal plus several active personal who gave of their spare time. They set out to research any information about the early formation of the base at Greenwood in 1942. They then researched right up through the Lancaster, the Neptune, Argus and the present Aurora eras. Then all of the histories of the squadrons stationed there were researched which includes the 14 AMS, 404, 405, 413, 415, 434 and 14 SES. The Greenwood Aviation Museum houses several permanent exhibits plus more temporary theme based exhibits to keep people interested in coming back. They also have several new projects in the works which will be added as they are finished.
But back to my story, we drove to Greenwood and passed the road to the mall Airmen Memorial Statue at and headed toward the Main Gate to CFB Greenwood. Just before the gate we seen the sign for the museum and noticed all the aircraft mounted around. Yup this must be the right spot. I turned in and parked the car. Before we went into the Greenwood Aviation Museum I wanted to check out the planes, there were five of them mounted on pedestals around. The first one was across the road from the museum on the corner of Church Street and Ward Road. This one was a T-Bird which I found out was from the 434 Squadron. The T-Bird had originally been acquired for testing at the base and then it was mounted in 1999 as a beacon to the Military Aviation Museum. Back across the road is another aircraft which I even recognized as an Argus; I have seen a few of them years ago. The Argus was originally built under the license of Canadair and they were all stationed at CFB Greenwood first. They were used from May of 1958 until November of 1980 when they were replaced by the Aurora. Beside the Argus there was a T-33 from 393 Squadron.
The Neptune had been the first plane that was developed for Anti-Submarine Warfare. They flew out of CFB Greenwood from March of 1955 until June of 1959. A Neptune Aircraft Located at After looking at the planes I found Judy looking at the memorial garden and tablets. The garden was planted by the Greenwood Aviation Museum society to commemorate those who served and worked in CFB Greenwood. Along the pathway of interlocking stones are engraved stones placed to commemorate individuals who spent time in Greenwood. These can be purchased by the individual or their family and are engraved with their name, unit, hometown and province they are from. Beside the garden is a very nice bronze statue of an airman. Then just down from them are several memorial tablets honouring the squadrons stationed at CFB Greenwood. These squadrons include the 404, 405, 413 and 415 squadrons and the RCMP WWII Aviation Memorial. Several of these were erected in June of 1999 during a special ceremony with the Governor General of Canada, his Excellency the Right Honourable Romeo LeBlanc. Off across the field we noticed a tower. I wondered if it had been the old tower for the Greenwood airport. But we found out later that is was not. It had been a working tower, but located in Economy along the shore of the Bay of Fundy. It was built in 1942 and had been used as a watch out for German U-Boats that would make their way up the bay. Another use it had was as a bombing range observation platform. The tower is made of wood and stands 9 meters tall. The Greenwood Aviation Museum obtained it and trucked it to its present location in the summer of 1998. There is only one more still standing and it is located along the Glooscap Trail and used for tourist information.
The Collection of Donald Lee Model Aircraft As we approached the desk we stopped when we seen this display case full of miniature model aircraft. They were all different and all with fantastic detail. I read the card by it and found out they had all been hand made by Donald Lee and had been donated to the Greenwood Aviation Museum by his widow. They were built to 1/72 scale and represented aircraft from all over the world during the time of WWII. What a beautiful job, no wonder it took him thirty years to do.
Inside the Greenwood Military Aviation Museum There were models of whole planes, life-sized models of cockpits, bomb casings, a radar display, uniforms, pictures, exhibits on each squadron stationed at Greenwood and all the different sections of aircraft. Judy went one way and I went another and it was awhile before we met up with each other again. There was just so much to look at. Judy was reading up on something I had already seen so I continued to a new section. There was a set of steps which I went up and I found myself inside a real aircraft, well a life-size model of it anyway. There were manikins dressed in flight gear sitting at the controls. The radio was going and sound effects just as if you were on a real flight.
Now I had free time on my hands again Inside the Model Aircraft at Greenwood Museum while she was in there so I looked in the next room. There were three massive engines in there that caught my eye. While I was in there I noticed a seat which was set up like the cockpit of a plane. I couldn't resist, I just had to sit down and see what it felt like. Come to find out it was a simulator and you could try your hand at flying it. I was not going to try it but just as I was looking at it a door from out side opened up and a man in combats walked by. Before I knew it he turned back to me and said that I had to press that button and pressed it. The thing started up, I could hear the engines start and the screen in front of me lit up with visual of an airport runway. This was neat! The gentleman then told me how to start the plane down the runway and how to take off. I had not intended to do this, but I had to admit it was fun. I flew around for a bit and the screen showed me what I was flying over etc. He told me to watch my altitude and horizon, and then asked if I wanted help to land it. I knew I could not do it on my own, so sure let’s give it a try. He instructed me as I turned around and found the runway again. Good thing I had been lost, I had not paid attention to where I was flying to. I lined up the runway and he helped by telling me what my altitude and speed should be etc. I was doing pretty good, right up until I was about to touch down and for some reason I lifted my front too high and added too much speed. It was too late to compensate this and when I tried I overshot the runway and crashed. What a let down after doing so well. He told me I had been doing well up until then and I thanked him, a little embarrassed about my landing. I felt even a little worst when I seen that Judy had been standing there watching me also. He then told me that not many people have good landing their first time and that is why they have simulators for them to practice on. This made me feel a little better, and the fact that I had really enjoyed it. I was very thankful he had come in when he did and stopped to help me.
Memorial Tablet at Greenwood Aviation Museum Admission is free but donations are welcome. If you would like to make an appointment you may call them at 902 765 1494, ext 5955 or write them at the Greenwood Military Museum, P.O. Box 786, Greenwood, NS, B0P 1N0. If you have any interest in military aviation or the history of CFB Greenwood then I recommend a visit to the Greenwood Aviation Museum.
Link from Greenwood Aviation Museum Page to Museum Page
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We have been to Greenwood several times, but this time we were not going shopping. I had found out about the Greenwood Aviation Museum and I wanted to visit it. As usual my sister, Judy came with me. This has been a great summer not only because I have been busy visiting all the wonderful things offered in the Annapolis Valley, but also because my sister has taken an interest in accompanying me. We have spent some great days together exploring the area. 
Then around the corner there is a Lancaster and a Neptune. I read that there are only two Lancaster’s left in the world in flying condition. One is in England and the other one is in Canada. 
Now we were ready to enter the Greenwood Aviation Museum building itself. It is located in the same building as the Canex. We entered first into a hallway which had model planes hanging down from the ceiling along with other displays along the walls. They had a nice large airel picture of the runways at the Greenwood Airport which I thought was nice, I had never seen them. 
We turned the corner then to the main museum and I was really taken with how big and how much they had in there. It had not looked that big from the outside. They had it set up with different themed displays. Just a few of them included the WWII Aircrew Exhibit, WWII Authentic Uniforms and Memorabilia Exhibit, MP Air Navigation Exhibit, and a Spitfire Exhibit which included a real Spitfire. 
After I looked around the cockpit I went on farther and there was the actual working section with workers busy at their stations. It was really neat, you really got the feeling you were in a real military aircraft. I came out the other end and went to find Judy to get her to go in for a look. 
The Greenwood Aviation Museum also houses a reference library, videos and a great gift shop with genuine squadron kits. They are open year round. Their summer hours are June, July and August - 7 days a week from 9 am until 5 pm. From September to May they are open Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm. They also welcome visitors outside of published hours by appointments. 
