The First World War
Ongoing
When the First World War began in 1914, it had been a mere 11 years since the Wright Brothers took to the air, and only five years since Canada’s first powered flight in the A.E.A. Silver Dart. Although airplanes remained a largely unproven technology in 1914, military leaders were quick to see their wartime potential.
Learn about the rapid evolution of aircraft technology in this exploration of the world’s first-ever air war, and how airplanes went from surveillance aids to combat machines. You’ll also meet some of Canada’s flying aces, and view rare and iconic aircraft from all sides of the conflict.
Exhibition highlights
- See a Curtiss JN-4 Canuck—Canada’s first mass-produced aircraft—and learn how planes went from quirky inventions constructed from available materials to commercial machines designed and built in factories
- View the only surviving German multi-engine bomber in the world: an A.E.G. G.IV that featured innovations that included night-time dazzle painting, two engines, and a bomb sight
- Discover the world’s only complete Junkers J.1—the first all-metal airplane ever produced—still with its original aluminum skin
- Learn more about flying aces such as Billy Bishop and Billy Barker
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