It is sad to think that of the 6000 or more Halifaxes that were built during the war, none are flying today.  In fact there are only a few Halifaxes in museums, most have bits and pieces but that is it. Halifaxes are important in Canada, the R.C.A.F. squadrons in Bomber Command were mostly flying Halifaxes so there is a bond here. A few years ago  Canadian veterans recovered a Halifax from the waters of a fjord in Norway. It is currently being re- furbished at Trenton in Ontario,  but obviously after forty odd years in the water it will never fly again. I have visited Canada many times to watch the rebuilding effort. Now after many years of effort and tens of thousands of hour work by the dedicated volunteers the Halifax is almost finished. The plane cannot be finally assembled in the hangar that has been used to date because the plane is too big.  A campaign is underway to raise the money for a new building to house the finished airplane but one more question needs to be answered. How will the plane be  when it is finished. The Halifax that was raised from the depths of a Norwegian fjord was modified for Special Operations i.e. supplying the resistance operations all over Europe. It was a Halifax Mk III and was modified as follows. The mid upper turret was removed and the hole was closed with a sheet of plywood. The H2S radar system that was housed under the floor directly below the mid upper turret was removed and the hole in the floor was lined with plywood and covered with a removable door. This hole was then used to parachute "joes" into Europe.  The RCAF flew the bomber versions in large numbers and Canadian crews did ply the Special Ops version, in fact a Canadian crew was flying this aircraft when it crashed.
           One suggestion is that a mid upper turret be acquired  restored and set beside the aircraft together with an  H2S module. Then the plane could be re-created and displayed as a bomber if it was so desired.
                A print of the plane is available from the restoration group, this is the  print.

             Unfortunately  although the plane has been restored with  21st century materials  it will probably never fly. The engines after being immersed in water for almost half a century are not restorable to operating condition, they look good but that is it. I was told that the French Government have supplied one engine that is restorable and a Bristol Freighter that had two Hercules engines has been donated to the group, these engines too are restorable that leaves one to go. Although whether a certificate of air worthiness could be obtained is another matter,

                The Canadian War Plane Heritage Museum in Hamilton, just west of Toronto is a must see for any warplane buffs. One of their planes is a C47 Dakota decked out as they were in the war. Climb up into it and  I guarantee any of you ex paras will go back to the days when the Jump master said "Stand Up, Hook Up, Stand in the Door Number One, Go".  The Dakota flies and takes part in air shows, and as they told me, "Why we even jump with those funny round chutes"
                They also have one of the only two Lancasters still flying, the other is in the Battle of Britain Flight of the R.A.F.    Visiting this museum is a must if you are in Ontario. If you cannot visit it in person you can see it at the  Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum  . Visit it and enjoy.
 
 

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