The “Anson” was built in huge numbers over an eighteen year period, served twenty five nations, and was finally withdrawn 36 years after the prototype first flew in 1935. The first two were airliners, but its early years were spent in combat roles. When out-classed it went on to an illustrious career as a trainer for pilots and aircrew for multi-engined combat aircraft, and returned to its original role as a communications aircraft.

The RCAF used 4,413 “Ansons” between 1940 and 1954, many of these being licence-built in Canada. This was the largest number of a single type in the history of the Air Force. Many were stationed at Patricia Bay during the war as part of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Many surplus aircraft saw civilian service after the war.

Our example is (mainly) a Mk II that was obtained from the Legion in Fort St. John, BC. It has been restored to represent a training aircraft with a paint scheme and markings representative of those that operated from Patricia Bay during the war. BC Heritage Trust provided funding to assist with the restoration.