A piece of Canadian history flew into town Tuesday with a unique opportunity for Thunder Bay.
The Lancaster, a Second World War bomber built in Canada, was an integral part of the war effort said Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum chief pilot Leon Evans. Built in 1946, the Lancaster Evans co-piloted to Thunder Bay didn’t see any action during the war. Evans said the plane is one of two left flying.
"There’s only two of these left flying in the world and this is the only one you can climb aboard and have a look," Evans said.
Evans said the plane was unique because each of its four engines could maintain 1600 horsepower each at heights of 18,000 feet. It was specifically designed to drop such bombs as the 22,000 lbs. "grand slam" from its 34 foot long bomb bay.
"The grand slam bomb was designed to go into the ground about 100 feet or so and then explode they were going after the pens for the submarines," Evans said.
It also dropped 12,000 lbs. "tall boys", and city block busters called "cookie cutters".
"They did a lot of damage," Evans said of the bombs.
Rupert Boyes flew in 32 missions during the Second World War in a Lancaster. Boyes said looking at the plane Tuesday made him feel lucky to be alive.
"Some of them were harrier than others," Boyes said of his missions. "Some of them were really bad."
Boyes recalled missions where the tail was on fire, engines exploding and nose diving from 10,000 feet.
"It’s nice to be still alive. I certainly didn’t expect to be alive as long as I have," Boyes said.
The plane will be on display Wednesday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Confederation College Aviation Centre of Excellence. Admission is a non-perishable food item. To take a tour inside the plane, a $5 donation to the CWHM is required.
