# Historic Halifax has a New Home



## Bruce Monkhouse (18 Oct 2004)

http://www.intelligencer.ca/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=83270&catname=Local+News



Nine years, thousands of hours later, historic Halifax finally has a new home 

By Ernst Kuglin 
Local News - Monday, October 18, 2004 @ 10:00 

Special to The Intelligencer 

CFB TRENTON â â€ The final historic journey of Halifax NA337 is complete. 

The Second World War bomber was moved Saturday to its final resting place here â â€ a concrete pad at the RCAF Memorial Museum's new expansion, currently under construction. 

Dozens of restoration volunteers, members of the Halifax Aircraft Association, and veterans, including Halifax pilots, gathered Saturday morning to watch as the bomber's fuselage was towed from the hanger, where it had been under meticulous restoration since 1995, to its new home. 

The process took several hours. 

Volunteers wearing yellow construction helmets and blue vests guided the aircraft into its new home. 

Tears flowed as raw emotion overcame many of the volunteers and association members. 

The last leg of the aircraft's journey began Sept. 3, 1995 when it was pulled from the freezing waters of Lake Mjosa in Norway. It took four flights of C-130 transport aircraft to bring the Halifax to Trenton. 

The MKV11 was shot down in 1945 and was submerged in 750 feet of water for 50 years. 

Project manager Bill Tytula has been with the monumental project from its beginning â â€ nine years, three months and two days â â€ from the date the restoration began to moving the aircraft to its new location. 

â Å“This is all about the volunteers, those who have worked tirelessly and devoted so much of their time,'' said Tytula. 

That dedicated team has tallied more than 333,333 hours, all of them painstakingly working on the restoration. They have averaged more than 37,000 hours a year. 

Ken Kee, the museum's first executive director, got Tytula, a former aerospace engineer, on board. 

â Å“When we were approached about obtaining the Halifax, I knew immediately who to get.'' 

It took a few beers at a local pub for Kee to convince Tytula to manage the restoration project. 

â Å“I don't think anyone else could have held this team of volunteers together the way Bill did,'' said Kee. 

Now chairman of the museum fundraising campaign, Kee said he hopes the massive expansion project can be completed by April 2006. 

But it was the history of the morning that Kee and dozens of others were focusing their attention on. 

â Å“I've had a rough time this morning,'' said Kee. â Å“The tears came pretty close to flowing.'' 

Shortly before noon a loud cheer went up as the Halifax was rolled on to the concrete pad. Minutes later volunteers gathered alongside the fuselage for a group photo. 

Halifax Association president Jeff Jeffery was just as emotional. 

Jeffery was involved with the project from the start â â€ from the salvage to Saturday's move. 

Standing on a scaffold to watch the aircraft towed from the restoration site to the museum's expansion, the 80-year-old Second World War veteran described the plane as a â Å“beautiful thing.'' 

Jeffery was a Halifax pilot, flying 32 missions over Germany from July 1944 to Christmas Eve, 1944. 

Tears welled in his eyes. 

â Å“It brings back a lot of memories, especially for the men who didn't come back,'' he said. 

Then there were the memories of volunteers who started with the restoration project but who have passed on. 

â Å“I wished they could have been here to see this. This project is for the memories of flying crews, veterans and volunteers no longer here,'' said Jeffery. 

Trenton resident, RCAF veteran and Halifax Association board member John Goheen served as a tail gunner on a Halifax in 432 Squadron, the same squadron as Jeffery. 

â Å“It's pretty amazing to witness this day,'' he said. â Å“The volunteers are responsible for this ... it was their dedication, skill and generous donation of time that has made this possible.â ? 

Museum executive director Chris Colton said it took years to get to the point where the Halifax was moved to its last hangar. 

â Å“This is a keystone event for the restoration project. This is the volunteers' day ... it's their time to showcase their efforts.''


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