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With WWII raging in Europe, Gander became a strategic post for the Royal Air Force Ferry Command in 1940. Being top secret, Gander did not appear on maps and remained shrouded in secrecy as some 10,000 North American-built fighters and heavy bombers were transported overseas.
- Airport Origins
- RCAF in Gander
- Expansion
- Post-War
As the popularity of passenger flight grew, airlines wanted to offer service between North America and Europe. Government officials from Newfoundland, the United Kingdom, and Canada agreed in 1935 to build an airport near Gander Lake because of its situation near the railway and along the Great Circle Route – the shortest air distance between Londo...
London changed its mind in the spring of 1940 after Nazi troops invaded France and hostilities escalated in Europe. By the end of June, Canada had deployed air and army units to Gander. A squadron of five Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) bombers arrived in Gander on June 17, and members of Canada’s Black Watch (a reserve infantry regiment) arrived t...
As hostilities escalated in Europe during 1941, so too did flying activity at Gander. The RCAF had to once again upgrade facilities to support the hundreds of planes passing through on a daily basis. Workers lengthened runways and built additional hangars, barracks and mess halls. They also installed a hospital, a bakery, a laundry, a heating plant...
After the war, Gander helped transport troops and materials back to Canada and the United States from Europe. The Canadian military returned control of the base to the Commission of Government in 1945 and disbanded RCAF Station Gander. The airport was used for commercial purposes, and became a major refueling site for civilian trans-Atlantic flight...
Mar 5, 2013 · In December 1985 Gander was the focus of worldwide attention when a DC-8 carrying 256 passengers, 248 of them US soldiers returning from the Middle East, crashed after takeoff. All passengers and crew were killed in the worst air DISASTER over Canadian soil.
4 days ago · Gander International Airport was once one of the largest airports in the world. It was developed in the late 1930s as a major base for transatlantic flights, located on the direct route between North America and Europe. It saw significant use during the Second World War for military aircraft movement to Europe, and afterwards as an important ...
Apr 15, 2021 · Located on the eastern tip of Newfoundland (and hence North America), Gander Airport found itself in a strategic location. The airport first opened in 1938 and became critical during the second world war, providing stopovers for thousands of warplanes from Canada and the US flying to Europe at the height of the war.
Jun 19, 2019 · As the Second World War raged overseas, Gander was quickly recognized as a strategic location for airbases by military officials from the Canadian, British, and American governments. The airport became a centre for Ferry Command, an operation focused on ferrying bombers and other types of warplanes across the Atlantic to the UK.
Sep 11, 2021 · On Sept. 11, 2001, Gander Collegiate, home of the Concordes, also became home to 357 stranded passengers from Lufthansa flight LH 400. Thanks to the Broadway musical Come From Away , Gander's...
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