Shearwater Aviation Museum honours RCAF contribution to the Battle of the Atlantic
By Shearwater Aviation Museum Staff
Since the year 2000, the Shearwater Aviation Museum (SAM) has been commemorating the RCAF contribution to the Battle of the Atlantic. Most visitors to the Shearwater Aviation Museum are not aware that the RCAF played a role in the Battle of the Atlantic; this project assists staff and museum volunteers in interpreting the story for our visitors. This Eastern Air Command exhibit was the Shearwater Aviation Museum’s millennium project for which it received a Department of National Defence grant. The aim of the grant was to help preserve a segment of our nation’s maritime aviation heritage, particularly those global events that influenced the development of RCAF Station Dartmouth (now Shearwater) and the role of Eastern Air Command (EAC) and its historic involvement in the Battle of the Atlantic.
The map is a replica of the wall map used in EAC Headquarters at the corner of Barrington and South Streets in Halifax during the Battle of the Atlantic. The museum staff salvaged the original Mercator map before the EAC Headquarters building was razed in 1998. However, the costs to restore the map proved to be prohibitive and the replica became a more affordable option. The scale of the replica is almost identical to the original with the major differences being that space limitations caused three degrees of latitude (180 miles/300km) to be omitted from the top and six degrees of longitude (275 miles/460 km) omitted from the right side.
The wooden banister around the exhibit and the wooden ladder used by the staff to move the symbols on the map are the original furnishings removed from the briefing room where senior EAC officers directed the Battle of the Atlantic. The mannequins wearing RCAF uniforms that were typical of the 1940s era represent members of the operation staff that assisted the senior officers.
For more information, please contact the Shearwater Aviation Museum at 902-720-1083, or via email at info@shearwateraviationmuseum.ns.ca.
