Canada's 2nd-oldest military airfield celebrates 100 years of aviation history

Three days of celebrations began Wednesday to mark 12 Wing Shearwater's 100th anniversary.

Along with the historic theme, Maj. Bill Thomey, president of the organizing committee, says he hopes the events will encourage more local engagement with the airfield, a landmark on the eastern shore of Halifax harbour.

"We invite the public to come out, see the aircraft, touch the aircraft and monuments, the history that we've had here for 100 years," he told CBC's Information Morning on Wednesday.

12 Wing Shearwater is the second-oldest military airfield in Canada, behind only CFB Borden.

Defence cutbacks in the 1990s saw the Canadian Forces close Shearwater as a separate base and merge it with CFB Halifax.

However, in 2007 the Department of Defence began to convert Shearwater into a heliport facility, closing runways. With the retirement of the Sea King helicopters, its 406 Squadron now trains pilots, air combat officers and maintenance technicians on the new CH-148 Cyclone helicopters.

Crowds flocked to Shearwater in the 1970s and 1980s for the Nova Scotia International Air Show, which saw aircraft and flight demonstrations from across Canada, the United States and Europe. In 2004, the airshow moved to the Halifax Stanfield International Airport.

When the airfield was established in 1918, it wasn't even a Canadian operation, Thomey said.

"During World War 1, the Canadian government didn't have its own air service," he said.

So it asked the American government for help in starting a flying base here, he said. Lt. Cmdr Richard Byrd, who was later known for his polar explorations, came up with some personnel and about a dozen "flying boats."

"They established a small air base," Thomey said, "and started patrols out of Shearwater in 1918. The flying boats were planes that landed on water." 

That's the way it stayed in Shearwater for a number of years.

But starting in the 1920s, with the creation of a Canadian Air Force, "it was a time of rebirth a time of renewal," Thomey said. "Of course, with World War II, everything kind of expanded from there."

In the last decade or so, the federal government has reinvested in Shearwater, he said.

"The Cyclone helicopters have arrived and we are starting the transition from Sea King to Cyclone," he said. 

Wednesday, he said, also marked the 55th anniversary of the first Sea King arriving at Shearwater.

The centenary is attracting current and past Royal Canadian Air Force members. "There are members coming from all over the world for this," Thomey said.

On Thursday there will be a dedication parade for the Shearwater Aviation Park. The park will have three historical aircraft — a CT-133 Silver Star, a TBM Avenger and a CH-124 Sea King. It will also include monuments on the history of Shearwater's squadrons.

That will be followed by a gala dinner at the Halifax Convention Centre where air force personnel, historians and community leaders will speak about how Shearwater evolved over the past 100 years.

Family Day is on Friday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be a Cyclone on display, and air crew and technicians will be on site to answer questions.

Symphony Nova Scotia is performing a free concert Friday at 7 p.m. with images and films of Shearwater's past, playing music with a military theme.

More information on the celebrations can be found at shearwater100.com.