Take a blast into the past with these 5 must-see exhibits at The Military Museums in Calgary
The largest military museum in Western Canada takes guests on a journey through history to learn about the Canadian military, from as far back as the 19th century to the present day. Featuring seven different museum areas, four regimental galleries, and countless artifacts, this museum is a one-of-a-kind educational experience for all ages.
Oh, and did we mention it’s right here in Calgary?
Daily Hive sat down with Alison Mercer, curator of the Air Force Museum of Alberta, to talk about some of The Military Museums’ most popular exhibits, along with the significance of the Air Force’s 100th Anniversary. If you find yourself with a day to spend at The Military Museums, here are five exhibits you should check out.
The People of Canada’s Air Force: 100 Years
Located in the Founders’ Gallery, this exhibit honours the people who have worn the RCAF uniform over the last century. According to Mercer, having a 100th anniversary in 2024 is a “pretty big deal,” as it marks an incredible advancement of progress.
The People of Canada’s Air Force exhibit includes artifacts such as log books from WWI, a variety of uniforms worn throughout the years, and sections that provide insight into the technology, lifestyle, and working environment of those who served in the Air Force.
Mercer’s goal in curating the exhibit was to showcase the people behind the planes.
“You don’t get a lot of human stories out of the Air Force, because the Air Force itself is so complex,” she explains. “The Air Force is always about the collective goal. This exhibit looks at the people and their lived experiences.”
These experiences include ejecting from jets, dealing with G-forces that increase a pilot’s body weight to 800 pounds while flying, living and working out of tents in Burma, and more. It’s not about what the airplanes do — it’s about what the people in the airplanes do.
The Great Escape
In 1944, 76 Allied prisoners of war (POW) escaped the confines of their German-held Stalag Luft III POW camp via a 300-foot-long tunnel. While this marked the largest escape effort of the Second World War, only three men made it back home. Of the 73 who were recaptured, 50 were executed in contravention of the Geneva Convention under Hitler’s orders.
This Great Escape experience consists of a recreated POW hut with a similar atmosphere and dressing to the original huts where these prisoners would have stayed. Imagine triple bunk beds, a small shower, and personal belongings hidden amongst the nooks and crannies of the walls. Just below these living quarters is a recreated section of the tunnel where visitors can slide on the escape cart.
“It’s not the same length,” explains Mercer, “But it’s the same height and width as the original. It gives a sense of what it was like for these people.”
PPCLI Trenches
The PPCLI Museum honours the Edmonton-based Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. This regiment has been on the frontlines of some of the fiercest battles in Canadian history, with a presence in WWI, WWII, Korea, the Cold War, Afghanistan, and other peacekeeping and peace support operations.
The exhibit features a rare collection of 20th-century weapons, touch-and-feel displays of soldiers’ equipment and clothing, and life-like dioramas that depict WWI trench life. These dioramas are especially popular among younger museum viewers, who enjoy them for their immersive look into these wartime experiences.
The experience concludes with the Memorial Hall of Honour, which names the fallen, reminding visitors of the Regiment’s sacrifice while embodying the fighting spirit that connects the first Patricias to the 2,000 soldiers that make up the Patricias today.
The Enigma Machine
Daily Hive
If you want a peek at the device that shortened WWII by an estimated three years, head on down to the Navy Gallery to check out the famous Enigma Machine.
This machine looks like a briefcase full of gears, keys, and other mechanisms. It was first invented in 1918 and was used by Germans to encode and decode vital information and coordinate U-boat attacks.
With more than 159 quintillion different settings, the Enigma Machine was nearly impossible to crack, but mathematician Alan Turing and his team did just that by creating their own Enigma Machine and finding a weak spot in the Nazi-encrypted messages. With the code cracked, Allied Forces could actively avoid danger and go after enemy U-boats.
The Enigma Machine at the Navy Gallery is known as the Enigma-K and was introduced in 1927.
The Cold War Hangar
A quick walk outside will take you to the Cold War Hangar, which houses three fighter jets; a CF-18 Hornet, a CF-104 Starfighter, and an F-86 Sabre Jet fighter. Visitors can look inside the cockpits of these epic jets, but the best way to learn is directly from one of the volunteers.
The Cold War Hangar is unique in that it’s staffed with volunteers who worked on one of the three aircraft, whether by flying or performing maintenance.
“They love to share their perspective,” says Mercer. “Guests enjoy talking to these folks and say how enlightening it is. Getting that first-person perspective is very valuable.”
The exhibit goes on to commemorate over 900 members of Canada’s Air Force who died during the Cold War, listing them in a searchable database that includes their name, rank, awards, squadron or unit, cemetery, date of death, and age. It’s an eye-opening experience that puts into perspective the sacrifices made by the Canadian military across those 40 years.
Mercer hopes that these exhibits, along with everything else The Military Museums has to offer, will give visitors a human connection to our military.
“There’s a tendency to feel that people in the military are superhuman, but at the end of the day, they’re just people. They’re normal people like us, living through exceptional circumstances doing exceptional, intense, and frightening things.”
You can discover the history of the Canadian Military by visiting The Military Museums for yourself.
Admission ranges from $5 to $15 and is free for children under three, veterans, and serving military personnel. Annual passes are also available for anyone who wishes to get the most out of their experience.
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