RAMWC Honours Memory Of The RCAF’s First Commander In Manitoba, Basil D. Hobbs, With Unveiling Of New Artefact

Republished By Plato

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(WINNIPEG, MB – April 6, 2023) – Ahead of their first-ever aviation conference, the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada (RAMWC) is set to add a significant new artefact to its collection on April 13, 2023.

Basil Deacon Hobbs (1894–1965) is a key figure in Canada’s aviation history. He served as a naval pilot in WWI, was decorated three times, then became Manitoba’s first commander of the Canadian Air Force in 1923, and of the RCAF upon its formation in 1924. He also made great contributions to Canadian aviation during peacetime, including the first long-range flying operations across Canada and in northern Manitoba.

On the 100^th anniversary of the flights made by Basil Hobbs in a Curtiss H-16 flying boat from Ontario and in northern Manitoba during the summer of 1923, the museum is pleased to unveil its newest artefact, an intricate scale model of this plane built by Winnipegger Stan Michalak.

What began in 2020 as a tribute to Manitoba’s 100^th anniversary turned into a three-year passion project for Stan, commemorating the first and only aircraft of this type registered and flown in Canada.

While it’s exciting to look toward the future of aviation, we also need to remember that without the heroes and innovators who blazed a trail, we would not have a future to look forward to.

The mission of RAMWC is to preserve and to tell the stories of western Canada aviation. To honour these stories and the contributions of those who led the way for today’s aviators, the RAMWC has made storytelling a top priority in their new museum.

“When our new museum opened, we took the opportunity to shift from being an aircraft-centric to a story-centric museum,” explains CEO Terry Slobodian. “Every aircraft display includes a story to more effectively engage our visitors. Building on that theme, we’re now starting to develop the stories of Canada’s greatest aviators, starting with Basil Deacon Hobbs.”

This model of the Curtiss H-16 flown by Basil Hobbs will be the first artefact in the museum’s Hero Collection, a collection designed to showcase some of Canada’s aviation pioneers and heroes.

The model will be unveiled at a private reception on April 13, prior to the conference which begins Friday, April 14.

Event Details

Thursday, April 13 at 2:00 pm – Model unveiling and champagne toast followed by a reception. Members of Basil Hobbs’ family will be in attendance and available for interview along with model builder Stan Michalak.

About the RAMWC

The Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada was established in 1974 by a small group of visionaries committed to preserving Canada’s distinct aviation heritage. Today, with nearly 100 historic aircraft and more than 70,000 artefacts and archival records (including photographs), the museum remains one of Canada’s largest and most complete aviation heritage collections. Through remarkable storytelling and engaging exhibits that enable visitors and students to discover the science behind flight, this collection is sure to inspire future generations of aviators and inventors. RAMWC is located on the campus of the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport and will be a premier attraction for the city of Winnipeg. Located on Treaty No. 1 Territory, the traditional lands of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, Lakota, and Dene Peoples, and the homeland of the Métis Nation, RAMWC is committed to Truth and Reconciliation, and to creating a safe space for this to occur.

About the RAMWC National Aviation Conference

Organized by a passionate group of aviation historians, the first RAMWC National Aviation Conference was designed to create a deeper understanding of the developments in Canadian civil, commercial, and military aviation between the critical years of 1928 and 1924. These developments were different from those in the United Kingdom, other Dominions, the United States and Europe. How and why these differences came about and why they set the scene for the future is especially important for what came following the establishment of the RCAF on April 1, 1924.

About Basil Hobbs

Born in England and raised in Sault Ste. Marie
WWI flying boat pilot stationed in Felixstowe, UK from 1916 – 1919
1917: Appointed to Distinguished Service Order for downing a German Zeppelin and twice awarded Distinguished Service Cross for sinking two U-boat submarines.
1920: One of the pilots who completed the eastern half of Canada’s first cross-country flight.
1921: Appointed superintendent of the Air Board’s air harbour at Victoria Beach.
1923: Appointed Manitoba’s first commanding officer of the Canadian Air Force; flew the Curtiss H-16—one of the aircraft gifted to Canada by the British Government after WWI—from Ontario and during a tumultuous, 10-day trip through NE Manitoba and NW Ontario to deliver treaty annuity payments.
1924: Became Manitoba’s first commanding officer of the RCAF when it was officially constituted on April 1, 1924