My last stop on the way home was a couple of old Canadian military bases. What once housed nuclear strike/reconnaissance jets and fighter/interceptors in the face of the Cold War is now occupied by the likes of Ryanair and DHL. The entrance to what is now Black Forest Airport displays a CF-104 Starfighter and the nearby town is known as Kleinkanada (
Little Canada) Some of the old hangers are abandoned and spray painted while many of the hardened fighter shelters have been converted to garages and barns. These were the last operational Canadian bases vacated after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
F-104 Starfighter
Hardened shelters
Jet exhaust ports
Hardened shelters with converted garage doors
These abandoned hardened shelters were even used by our current CF-18's. The last CF-18 to leave Germany has a unique history. It was first aborted on take-off and practically destroyed. After 6 years of repairs at Deutsche Aerospace, it returned to Canada with transplanted wings from Australia and a nose from Spain. The same jet had yet another accident in Yellowknife but is still in service today!
Same CF-18 on test flight with a Bavarian crest
