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The Ghost of Gananoque, a Canadian Vickers Canso A (a license-built PBY Catalina), has resided for the past half century in this out-of-the-way ex-military hangar in Gananoque, Ontario. This mysterious aircraft is one of the last great 'aircraft in a barn' and is always well worth re-visiting as we will see here... (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
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The Ghost of Gananoque
by Richard Mallory Allnutt
Gananoque, Ontario is right in the heart of the St.Lawrence River’s magnificent Thousand Islands region. The small rural town, pronounced properly as ‘Ga-nah-knock-way’, teems with visitors during the summer season, many of them waiting to take one of the ‘three hour’ scenic river tours which stage from the dockside every 30 minutes or so. However, in aviation circles, Gananoque is also famous for being home to a rarely seen WWII-era Canadian Vickers Canso flying boat hidden away for decades in an old hangar at the airport nearby.
The harbor at Ganaonoque, Ontario where ‘3 hour’ river tours of the Thousand Islands Region leave on a regular basis. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
The islands range from tiny rocky islets to large inhabited islands, like this Heart Island which features Boldt Castle, a palatial masion (only partially shown here) dating back to the early days of the 20th Century. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
A more scenic view of the Thousand Islands, which can be overun by jet skis, speed boats and other ‘pleasure craft’ in the summer months. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
Finding the airport is another matter though, as my brother and I discovered. GPS will get you so far, but unless you are paying close attention, you will easily pass by the innocuous gravel road leading through the high corn fields which takes you closer to your goal. And even then, if you miss the poorly placed sign which faces against the direction of travel, you might not think to make that next left turn to your intended destination. There was no sense – at all – that an airfield, or even a hangar, lay beyond… it was just a dense wall of corn.
This sign for skydiving is the only indication that an airport may exist beyond the rows of corn down this gravel road. While it seems prominent in this image, it isn’t obvious unless approached from the facing direction (which we weren’t coming from). There is no sign on the other side of the road. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
The wall of corn seemed to extend for ever, with no sign of any airport structures beyond it. But about a half mile beyond the bend, you finally see the old RCAF hangar. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
As my brother and I paused at the intersection, our imaginations couldn’t help but conjure that famous scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s legendary film, North by Northwest, where a crop-duster biplane chases after Cary Grant’s character, attempting to assassinate him in the Illinois wheat fields. Chuckling at this thought, we made the turn, winding through the crops for a half mile or so until at last we saw what looked like a hangar, although a hangar unlike any I had ever seen before. The weatherbeaten structure was almost entirely clad in wooden shingles of the kind more commonly seen on a traditional Cape Cod dwelling, and its windows were shuttered with chip board sheeting. As externally changed as it was though, this was indeed an original military hangar which the Royal Canadian Air Force built in WWII to serve in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Although crops now obscure much of the view on the ground, Gananoque airport still retains its original BCATP triangular runway layout.
A recent aerial view of Gananoque Airport. (image via Google Earth)
The base served as a relief landing field for the Royal Air Force’s No.31 Service Flying Training School at nearby RCAF Kingston between 1940 and 1945. That being said, there are no obvious signs now of any prior military use at Gananoque. It more resembles a faded hippie hangout than anything else. Several cars were parked beside the hangar, and in a clearing beyond, there were a number of disheveled looking RVs, camper vans and tents.
Other than the hangar nearby, which more resembles a farm building, there is little more than a windsock to suggest anything aviation-related goes on here. Looks can be deceiving though! (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
This old WWII-era RCAF hangar has been covered in wooden shingles more commonly seen on a Cape Cod house to help keep the elements out. Rather than replace the side glazing, most of it has simply been covered over with sheets of plywood and chip board. At the far end, you can see the old airport tower station. It’s windows too have been covered over with plywood.(photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
The hangar’s west-facing wall has clearly suffered and is in need of additional repairs. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
A nice view of the other side of the hangar. Note the covered-over windows… although one of the plywood boards clearly needs replacing. The old RCAF control tower juts out from the far corner of the structure, although it too has most of its glazing covered. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
Chipboard sheets now cover over most of the hangars glazing sections, and wooden shingles keep out the rain. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
A rather forlorn Piper Navajo Chieftain sits in the foreground, while a much more well-tended Cessna 182 is being prepared for flight just beyond. Very few of the aircraft at Gananoque looked like they had flown recently. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
When we arrived, we could see several people by the partially cracked-open hangar doors. They were sitting down to eat at a picnic table. As we approached to ask if we could enter, strains of The Cult’s “She Sells Sanctuary” echoed from within the hangar, which seemed more than appropriate for a sky-diving crew! We received a warm greeting, of course, and allowed open access to look around. Adjusting to the darkness inside the hangar took a moment, entering as we had from a searingly bright summer’s day. The only light penetrating the interior blew through the narrow slit between the main hangar doors and from whatever gaps in the building’s cladding that the jury-rigged patchwork of shingles and chipboard had failed to mask. It felt like stepping into a cave; all I could see initially were the battered hulks of several long-retired general aviation aircraft. “Ohhhh… we came for nothing,” I thought with a tinge of disappointment. I had heard rumors several years earlier that the Canso had moved on to a new home in the USA, so I already half-expected our adventure to end empty-handed. However, as my eyesight settled into the gloom, I finally saw the massive bulk of a flying boat emerging from the shadows at the very back of the hangar. “It’s here!” I couldn’t help myself from exclaiming…
Looming out of the shadows at the back of the ancient RCAF hangar at Gananoque Airport, we finally spotted the Canso… it was a lot darker to the human eye than this image suggests. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
During our visit, several skydivers were milling around inside, some of them repacking their parachutes. Everyone we spoke to was incredibly friendly, and couldn’t have been more accommodating. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
One of the well-worn general aviation types stored inside the hangar. This image should give you an idea how dark the back of the hangar was with respect to the entrance…
(photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
Some of the aeronautical detritus which gathered in the hangar at Gananoque included the wing from Cessna 182A C-GTPD. While the aircraft is still on the Canadian civil registry, it is unknown whether it received a replacement for this heavily damaged port wing. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
While the original RCAF hangar window frames still exist, they have been covered over externally with sheets of plywood. Glazing is expensive, and while the lack of windows makes it harder to see in the hangar, at least the weather is kept out. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
Beleive it or not, this Cessna 182A is nearly as old as the Canso in the background, dating from 1957. While it is still officially listed as being airworthy on the Canadian civil registry, it is quite clear from the dust and grim on the wings that it hasn’t flown in some time! (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
Some of the other airframes stored in the back of the hangar… alongside motorcycles and old barbeques. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
This flying boat is more properly named a Canadian-Vickers PBV-1A Canso, a Canadian-built version of the more commonly known Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina. She served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as RCAF 11093, being ‘brought on charge’ on June 16th, 1944. According to Ruud Leeuw’s excellent propliners website, this Canso’s military history can be summed up as follows…
Taken on strength by Canada’s Eastern Air Command: 16 June 1944 .
Delivered new to stored reserve. Served with No. 162 (BR) Squadron, probably from 05Dec44, used in Iceland, coded “D”.
To No. 10 Repair Depot in Calgary on 13Aug1945, for conversion to freighter.
To Experimental and Proving Establishment on 21May47, for prototyping of fuel tank modifications.
On 12Sep47 reported as “time since new 471:25, fitment standard”.
With No. 413 (P) Squadron at Rockcliffe January 1949.
On 06Apr49 airframe time reported as 590:00.
To de Havilland Canada on 17May49 for modifications.
Issued to North West Air Command on 25Oct49.
At Sea Island 1949 to 1951.
To Canadian Pacific Airlines (Repair) Limited on 07Sep51 for repairs, “on a fly in basis”.
To Aircraft Industries Limited in January 1954 for reconditioning, and on 25 November 1955 for modifications, including installation of an APX6 ignition analyzer an automatic electric bilge pumps.
Assigned to No. 408 (P) Squadron, RCAF Station Rockcliffe on 23Aug55.
To serviceable reserve at Lincoln Park on 10Jul57.
Available for disposal there from 10Aug60.
Last date: 10 April 1961 – Struck off, to Crown Assets Disposal Corporation for sale.
Sold to D.T. Dorosh of Edmonton, Alberta. To civil register as CF-NJL.
David Dorosh registered the Canso as CF-NJL in Edmonton, Alberta in 1962. According to the people I spoke with at the hangar, he had intended to fly it as a water bomber fighting forest fires but, for whatever reason, his partners backed out of the deal after his purchase, so the aircraft never received modifications for this role. Apparently, Dorosh loved his Canso, so much so that he couldn’t bring himself to part with it, and it has been holed up in Gananoque for the past half century or so. While the aircraft likely hasn’t flown since arriving here, Dorosh still cares for her, taking the old flying boat outside annually for a wash and wax. It is clear that, despite her surroundings, the aircraft is still in good condition, and while she would need a full overhaul to fly again, she has been well-protected from the elements. Other than the paintwork, the Canso appears exactly the way she must have looked at the end of her military service, although whether the unorthodox cargo doors which purportedly replaced the original side blisters during her 1945 conversion are strictly authentic is unknown at present.
A nice study of the forward fuselage showing some of the modifications it received during its conversion to a cargo variant in 1945. The most noticeable of these include the deletion of the forward turret with the nose reconfigured into the so-called ‘clipper’ bow, and the removal of the gun turret side blisters, which were then faired over with cargo hatches. Interestingly, each of these doors has a rather unusual observation dome in the middle. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
The Canso’s ‘Clipper Bow’ still retains a pleathora of stenciling dating back to its military days, making it a time-capsule airframe in many ways. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
A study of the starboard cargo hatch with its unusual observation domew. In the wartime patrol bomber variants of the Canso, this area would have featured one of the large side blisters with a machine gun position. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
A good look at the Canso inside the hangar showed an aircraft in good visible repair for its age. While some of the paint is a little tired, there are no signs of serious hangar rash or corrosion on the airframe. The owner has covered up the cockpit glazing to protect it, and mitigate the possibility of any rainwater coming in from a somewhat creaky looking hangar roof. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
A study of the center fuselage showing some of the hatches and windows added to the airframe during its modification from Patrol Bomber to Cargo configuration with the RCAF in 1955. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
A nice view of the wing pylon. The somewhat opaque glazing is for the flight engineer’s station. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
A detailed view of the engines. Note that while the cowlings have lost a fair bit of their paint, there are none of the characteristic dings you would see in a well-used airplane of its age. This Canso has clearly had a quiet life. If you look carefully, you can see that many of entry holes into the nacelle have been plugged to prevent insects, birds and rodents from crawling inside. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
In this closeup of the starboard engine nacelle, you can see how the gaps behind the cowl flaps have been plugged up to help keep the ‘critters’ out. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
A detailed shot of the port wingtip showing just how close it is to the hangar wall. The same is true for the right wing. You can see clearly how the wingtip float is folded up into the wing. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
The red, green and amber underwing lights of the WWII-era Recognition Light system. These lights could be keyed on in a specific order to identify the aircraft as “Friendly” to personnel on the ground during wartime. Typically, the combination of colors used changed over time, so enemy aircraft couldn’t masquerade as being friendly if they had an old code. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
The aircraft is clearly due its annual wash, as some bird droppings are starting to accrue on her top surfaces. Strangely, someone has hooped one of the reflective dishes from a hangar light over the dorsal antenna. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
A view of the starboard undercarriage bay, looking up into the wing pylon. You can just see into the small window for the flight engineer’s station. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
Another view of the forward fuselage. Note all of the stenciling preserved on the underside of the wing. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
Some of the old RCAF stenciling under the wing looks so fresh that it almost feels it could have been painted yesterday. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
Even though the hangar is relatively leak-free, a little rain water does make it through as this small puddle proves. (photo by Richard Mallory Allnutt)
Given her condition, desirability and the advanced age of her owner, it seems a strong possibility that the Canso will move on to pastures new before too long, which will likely include a restoration and return to flying condition in military configuration and markings. While I would love to see this aircraft operational again, a part of me feels this would almost be sacrilege, like the looting of an ancient tomb. There is something strangely romantic about still being able to wander across an all-but-forgotten historic aircraft tucked away in an ancient old barn of a hangar amidst a sea of corn fields; a diamond in the rough just awaiting discovery…. Whom amongst our regular readers could deny having had such a dream? For the time being, she remains…
The author wishes to thank the skydivers who made my brother and me feel so welcome at the Ghost’s hangar…. and to David Dorosh for preserving this majestic flying boat.
Richard Mallory Allnutt's aviation passion ignited at the 1974 Farnborough Airshow. Raised in 1970s Britain, he was immersed in WWII aviation lore. Moving to Washington DC, he frequented the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, meeting aviation legends.
After grad school, Richard worked for Lockheed-Martin but stayed devoted to aviation, volunteering at museums and honing his photography skills. In 2013, he became the founding editor of Warbirds News, now Vintage Aviation News. With around 800 articles written, he focuses on supporting grassroots aviation groups.
Richard values the connections made in the aviation community and is proud to help grow Vintage Aviation News.
Great article. Great find. What an amazing story . . . a barn find. You mentioned it’s pulled out and washed and waxed yearly. I was wondering how the tires were still inflated and in good shape. Would be great to see her flying again
Great article. Great find. What an amazing story . . . a barn find. You mentioned it’s pulled out and washed and waxed yearly. I was wondering how the tires were still inflated and in good shape. Would be great to see her flying again