Craig Patterson

Last night, Edmonton lost the historic Hangar 11 due to fire. So, let's learn a bit about this history. Hangar 11 was built by the US Army in November 1942. The building was built so quickly there were no design plans prior. The entire area of Hangar 11, which became the Edmonton City Centre Airport, was an airfield that made up a string of airfields leading up to Alaska. The Edmonton Airfield was the headquarters of the Alaskan Wing and Air Transport Command. Hangar 11 was originally known as Hangar T3 and as part of the airfield saw hundreds of planes land and take off every day. During one day in June 1942, 500 planes landed, en-route to Alaska and the Soviet Union. On Sept. 29, 1943, 860 aircraft touched down. The airfield and Hangar 11 supported the transport of 7,000 to 10,000 aircraft towards the north. An estimated 10,000 US Soldiers and 38,000 American civilians travelled through the field during the war. There used to be many other hangars at the location. Hangar 8, also built in 1942, was torn down in 2016. Hangar 11 was one of the last remaining hangars of its kind in Canada. It was believed to be the last in Western Canada. In 2022, it was declared a municipal historic resource. Hangar 14 still stands nearby as a provincial and municipal historic resource and houses the Alberta Aviation Museum.

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