The Ghost Fleet of Fu-Go: When Japan attacked Canada in WWII

Whitney Hodgins is a Master of Arts student at Athabasca University focusing on Heritage and Social History. Picture this: You are tending to your field as a farmer when all of a sudden you see a shadow on the ground approach you in the distance. When you look up into the sky, you see this round dark orb blocking out the sun with a weird looking shaped item floating beneath it on strings. It is approaching the ground… then you realize it is approaching you! You back up and then turn to run as fast as you can away from it.

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The Arrow Phenomenon

This post is by summer student, Rory M. He is a music student at Brandon University, this is his second summer with us. The Avro Arrow seems to be a near-mystical phenomenon in the world of aviation, and I have witnessed this lingering hold firsthand. During my time as a summer student, guests have shared countless memories, conspiracy theories, and stories about the Arrow, and much to my surprise, Arrow merchandise is the top seller of all aircraft in the gift shop. This fascination leads to the core question of this blog post: what is all the fuss about the Avro Arrow?

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Special Event: Jazz in the Hangar!

This coming August 12th from 1 - 2 pm, one of our summer student workers, Rory, and his fellow music student, Kurtis, will give a free (with admission) concert in the hangar! Surrounded by historic aircraft, experience an afternoon where music and history come together in an unforgettable way. Read a bit more about this duo below. Rory McCallum (Trombone) and Kurtis Johnson (Piano) are current students and graduates from the Brandon University School of Music. Performing instrumental music in the jazz and contemporary popular music realm, they draw on jazz traditions and contemporary perspectives, using improvisation and interaction in familiar and standard repertoire.

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Dangerously Dressed: RCAF Fire Suits of WWII

This post is by summer student worker, Whitney M. Hodgins is a Master of Arts Student from Athabasca University. Author's note: I would like to acknowledge and thank Greg Bartlett, a former Canadian Forces firefighter, for peer reviewing this article and taking the time to provide their expertise to this piece to ensure accuracy of content. One of our most interesting artifacts (in my biased opinion), is huddled in a blue display case inside the hangar of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum. At first glance it looks like a frumpy off-white suit, with a tiny window for the wearer to peak out of.

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A Few of My Favourite Things

This post is by summer student worker Seraphina. This is their third summer with us. Seraphina is a recent Music School graduate (Brandon University) and will soon be heading to Ottawa at the end of summer to do a Masters program at Carleton University. This is my final summer at the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum after three years of working here and it has been a very eventful period of my life. I have done a variety of different things while here such as working the front desk, archival maintenance and cataloguing, and responding to a large number of research requests.

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Mandates and Serial Plates

This post is by our summer student, Seraphina. Sera has been with us 3 summers now and is heading to Ottawa at the end of summer to do a Masters program at Carleton University. She has written seveal blog posts for us over the past 2 years. When it comes to museums, the primary focus is often on the artifacts in both the public exhibits and in the archives. What kind of artifacts? How many? How old? The questions go on and on. I know whenever I go to a museum, it’s the artifacts that I look forward to seeing the most (I often also try to get tours of the archives when I can).

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Stephen Hayter Retiring

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum Honours Stephen Hayter Following 27 Years of Leadership Brandon, Manitoba - After 27 years of dedicated service, Stephen Hayter, Executive Director of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum (CATPM), will retire at the end of June, concluding an extraordinary career devoted to safeguarding Canada's aviation heritage. Since joining the Museum in 1999 as its first full-time Executive Director, Hayter has helped transform CATPM from a volunteer-led organization into a nationally recognized museum while remaining true to its founding mission of sharing and honouring the history and legacy of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.

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Trading the Hangar for History Panels: A Student’s Guide to the CHA

Whitney M. Hodgins is a Masters of Arts Student at Athabasca University focusing on Social & Heritage History. Whitney is a student summer worker at the CATPM, this is her third post for us. Some folks might have noticed my usual spot at the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum was empty during the first week of June. That is because I traded a week of talking about World War II aviation history for stepping inside a modern aircraft myself, taking flight all the way to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. While PEI is famously celebrated as the birthplace of Confederation, it recently served as the backdrop for my own professional milestone: attending the Canadian Historical Association’s (CHA) Annual Meeting.

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Lighting the Night: A New Artifact and Its Role in the Commonwealth Air Training Plan

Another interesting post by summer student, Rory. This is Rory's second summer working for the CATPM, he is a Music & Political Science student at Brandon University. Note on Methodology: This blog post examines a recently acquired General Electric Beacon by analyzing attached identifying information related to the artifact and utilizing digital tools, such as Google Lens, recently introduced to me by the CATPM archivist. These sources enabled me to infer the artifact’s origin and historical context through consultation with relevant online histories and archival databases to the best of my ability.

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From the Cockpit with Love: The Romantic History of WWII Sweetheart Jewelry

This post is by one of our summer workers. Whitney M. Hodgins is a Master of Arts Student at Athabasca University. Picture this: your loved one is going to war. You are left with an overwhelming sense of uncertainty. Will they come back or will they be injured or killed in action? Naturally, you do not want that person to be put in harm's way fighting against the Axis. Yet, you let them go knowing that while you are on the homefront, you are being as patriotic as your loved one on the battlefront.

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Armed Forces Day 2026: June 7th

There is lots going on on Armed Forces Day at the CATPM! Read all about it below! COMMONWEALTH AIR TRAINING PLAN MUSEUM TO HOST ARMED FORCES DAY CELEBRATION FEATURING HISTORIC AIRCRAFT, COMMUNITY PARTNERS, HERITAGE FLIGHTS, AND FAMILY ACTIVITIES. The Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum will welcome veterans, serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces, cadets, families, aviation enthusiasts, and visitors from across the Prairies for Armed Forces Day on Sunday, June 7, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Held within the Museum’s historic 1941 Second World War training hangar at Brandon Municipal Airport, the event will combine living aviation history, military displays, family programming, heritage flights, STEM activities, and community partnerships in a day dedicated to honouring service - past and present.

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Flight Days & the CATPM’s Stearman

This post is by one of our summer workers, Rory McCallum has submitted several blog posts over the last year, this is his latest. Rory is a Music student at Brandon University. The Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum acquired a Stearman Kaydet last season ( and we are thrilled to welcome it to our fleet of flying aircraft this summer. For the rest of the summer, the Stearman will be available for the CATPM’s remaining flight days, which, barring unforeseen circumstances, will occur on Armed Forces Day weekend (June 6-7) Canada Day, July 18th, and 19th, and more!

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Lighting the Way Home: The Humble Flare Pot

This post, her first of many (I hope) is by one of our summer workers. Whitney M. Hodgins is a Master of Arts Student at Athabasca University. This black round object caught my eye in the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum, it was inside the workshop, sitting humbly on a display case. At first I was perplexed about what it could be. At first I thought it reminded me of the Bob-ombs from Super Mario Bros. But instead I found out it was much more than that. Sitting humbly on the shelf were flare pots.

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Initial Training Schools (ITS)

Our summer workers return, including Rory M., who continues his blog post features with this one exploring the ITS. Rory is a student at Brandon University. As the school year comes to an end, students across Canada, including myself, are preparing for final exams by reviewing notes, late-night studying, and are excited for warmer summer weather. During the Second World War, the young men from across Canada who entered the Commonwealth Air Training Plan and faced the Initial Training School had a similar moment. However, their tests carried greater weight, and within weeks, their performance on course materials decided their path as a pilot, navigator, or air gunner in the Allied air effort. 

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Travel Manitoba Video!

So, we had a visit from Michal from Travel Manitoba. He talked to some of our volunteers and too a flight in 2 of our aircraft! Check it out. Thanks to Travel Manitoba and Michal!

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From the Archives: Lantern

Google has this wonderful little tool that we use quite often in the archives. You go to google search and tap the icon that looks like a camera on the far right of the search line. You can then take a photo of your item and by the magic of the internet find out what you are looking at (reverse image search). It doesn't always work but it does give you some hints as to where to look. This item, a carbine lantern, donated in 1991 by Barry Sobchuk of Brandon turned out to be a gem (see photo on the right).

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The CATP Museum Opens for the Season on April 1!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMarch 26, 2026 Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum Reopens for the Season April 1 Brandon, Manitoba - The Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum will reopen for the 2026 season on April 1, welcoming visitors back to the hangar just in time for Spring Break. The Museum will be open daily from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm beginning April 1, offering families, visitors, and aviation enthusiasts the chance to explore one of Canada’s most important Second World War training sites. Over the winter months, staff and volunteers have been busy behind the scenes working on new exhibits, caring for the collection, maintaining aircraft, and preparing for the next stage of the Museum’s growth.

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