MEN'S & WOMEN'S PROBUS CLUBS OF WOODSTOCK-OXFORD

 The tour of Canadian War Planes Museum took place 17 November. Twenty eight members met at the Quality Inn and carpooled to the museum. We arrived at the museum around 9:30 and had an introduction to the museum staff before breaking up into two groups for our tour.  We were first introduced to the Nanchang CJ-5, Chinese license-built version of the Yak-18 trainer. We were allowed to go aboard the Mitchell B-25 a bomber named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell', a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. It is also the plane used by Doolittle’s Rangers mission against Tokyo from the aircraft carrier Hornet. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) used the B-25 Mitchell for training during the war. Lunch was served under the wing of the Avro Lancaster Bomber, one of only two Lancasters still flying in the world. Nearby there was a dam buster bomb, deployed by Lancasters during the famous raid on the dams in the Ruhr Valley. After lunch we braved the frigid temperatures to stroll past the outside exhibits that included the DC-3, Canadian built Saber Jet in the Golden Hawks colors, Canadian designed and built Canuck, Buffalo, Vampire, Voodoo, F-5 Freedom Fighter and T-33 trainer. The rest of the afternoon was spent viewing the exhibits and the gift shop at our leisure. We formed up in the main entrance at 2:30pm and departed for Woodstock. Our thanks to the Canadian War Planes Museum for a day well spent