Hangar 4 has seen better days.

Only scraps of its original white paint remain. The rest has been sandblasted away by 80 years of winds that sweep down from the Rocky Mountains west of the town of Claresholm, Alta.

Most of the windows are broken. The hangarB次元官网网址檚 lone occupants appear to be three pigeons perched on top of a closed door.

The building is surrounded by a twisted metal fence with barbed wire and B次元官网网址楴o TrespassingB次元官网网址� signs.

There were originally seven hangars in Claresholm, 135 kilometres south of Calgary, that were built as part of one of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 contributions to the Second World War.

In 1943, there were 107 air-training fields across Canada as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. It was a major program for Allied aircrews during the Second World War.

The Claresholm training base turned out pilots and another airfield 60 kilometres away, near Vulcan, trained pilots and flying instructors.

The Vulcan base was eventually purchased privately. Some of the hangars have been repurposed, but in others the roofs have caved in, allowing sunlight to stream into the buildings.

Hank Jackson, 100, was a tail gunner on a Halifax bomber. He received his training near Portage la Prairie, Man., at the No. 3 Bombing and Gunnery School. He recently paid a visit to the Claresholm airfield.

B次元官网网址淚 like to see these. ThereB次元官网网址檚 something about it. ThereB次元官网网址檚 a few places with some of the old buildings left. It brings back a lot of memories,B次元官网网址� said Jackson, who flew 32 combat missions. All members of his crew received Distinguished Flying Crosses from the United States armed forces.

B次元官网网址淚t was a great time in my life. I enjoyed it. Maybe at the time I didnB次元官网网址檛.B次元官网网址�

Jackson, who also was awarded the French Legion of Honour four years ago, joined the Calgary Police Service after he left the military and retired after 35 years.

He said he always knew that dying was a possibility when he embarked on missions.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no way I was going to get out of that turret B次元官网网址� and I always thought if itB次元官网网址檚 going to happen make it bloody quick. I didnB次元官网网址檛 want to go down in flames like most of them seemed to go,B次元官网网址� Jackson said.

B次元官网网址淪omeone was looking after us, the Good Lord I guess, and we managed to survive.B次元官网网址�

Karl Kjarsgaard, curator of the Bomber Command Museum of Canada in Nanton, Alta., said only a handful of the air-training fields are left. Many have been bulldozed and replaced with a simple monument.

HeB次元官网网址檚 glad ClaresholmB次元官网网址檚 hangars are being saved.

B次元官网网址淭he history here is great and what the people need to know in Canada is this base is just like the bases across Canada. No major bombing raid in World War 2 could have been a major bombing raid without this kind of facility,B次元官网网址� Kjarsgaard said.

B次元官网网址淔or me, as a historian, the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan is one of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 greatest achievements in over 150 years of Confederation.B次元官网网址�

Almost half the total aircrew personnel who served in British and Commonwealth flying operations during the Second World War were graduates of the program. The majority of graduates, almost 73,000, were Canadian.

Murray Frame, manager of the Claresholm site, is proud that six of the seven hangars are still intact.

Four of FrameB次元官网网址檚 uncles served in the Second World War, including a pilot, two mechanics and a tail gunner.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e lost one hangar that got so badly dilapidated that it was condemned and bulldozed. But thereB次元官网网址檚 still six left and all but a couple of them have companies in them that are restoring or rebuilding them into viable industrial buildings,B次元官网网址� said Frame.

B次元官网网址淵ou canB次元官网网址檛 even get beams like those that are inside. TheyB次元官网网址檙e over 100 feet long and theyB次元官网网址檙e still there.B次元官网网址�

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

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