The second-oldest military aerodrome in Canada turns 100
Posted Aug 3, 2018 03:15:16 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
This week marks 12 Wing Shearwater's 100th anniversary.
Originally founded in August 1918 by the US Navy, the military airfield located at Canadian Forces Base Shearwater is on the eastern shore of the Halifax Harbour.
Retired colonel Lee Myrhaugen was on the first Sea King training course at CFB Shearwater in 1964 and left the base in 1985.
“I have had very close ties with it,” he says. “I look at the 100 year celebration and think about myself as covering about a third of it.”
Myrhaugen says because of the station, the aviation community has played a crucial role in Halifax's history.
“Shearwater is part of the family of HRM and always has been,” he says.
Today 12 Wing Shearwater is the centre of naval aviation in Canada. It supports the Navy with up to nine helicopter air detachments (CH-124 Sea King helicopter and the CH-148 Cyclone) for domestic and international operations.
Myrhaugen says he is pleased events in celebration of the centennial anniversary have encouraged local engagement with the aircraft and monuments.
“What's really important here is that they opened it to the public,” he says. “It is so nice to see so many civilians welcomed in.”
Friday mid-day there will be a Cyclone on display and Symphony Nova Scotia is performing a free concert in the evening.
For more information on the festivities visit shearwater100.com.
