Gander Twillingate
Prior to 1934, Gander, NL did not exist. Transatlantic flights from North American to Europe required
a refueling stop and the lack of an airport in St. John’s seemed to point to Gander as a choice for an
airport.
Dr. Carl Christie’s book, ‘Ocean Bridge: The History of the RAF Ferry Command’ notes the following.
”The United States, the United Kingdom, the Irish Free State, the Dominion of Canada, and
Newfoundland (at that time still a separate member of the British Empire) worked together towards
the development of a commercial air service across the Atlantic Ocean.
Canada and Britain helped Newfoundland build a giant airport in the wilderness near Gander Lake,
a little more than 200 miles west of St. John's, in anticipation of a new generation of land-based
aeroplanes that could commence the awaited service. However, by the time war broke out in
September 1939 the Newfoundland Airport, as it was officially named, had no regular user.”
‘Newfoundland Airport’, as Gander was originally known, became the largest airport in the world
during the Second World War. As Newfoundland was still a British colony, British troops guarded
Gander starting in 1940.
The Canadian Army Postal Corps began operations here in Sept 1941. Mail was sent for free by train
(known as the ‘Newfy Bullet’) or by ship. Airmail, on the other hand was sent via a 6 cent
Newfoundland stamp. It was interesting for me to remember that Newfoundland had its own
stamps. I likely had a few of them in the 1970’s when I was an avid stamp collector.
During the war, Newfoundland Airport earned the moniker “Crossroads of the World” with 10,000
military on site and numerous aircraft takeoffs and landings prior to crossing the Atlantic. The name
‘Gander’ was adopted in 1942. (Rob’s note....I couldn’t find out why that name was chosen.) That
year, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill referred to Gander as, “The largest aircraft carrier in
the North Atlantic.”
After the war, Gander continued to grow but over time the military aspect began to lessen. Today
Gander is home to 103 Search and Rescue Squadron, RCAF. Gander continues to show pride in its
aviation history. Nearly all the streets are named after famous aviators.
One of the largest losses of life in a Canadian aircraft crash occurred in Gander in 1985 when Arrow
Air crashed on take off from Gander. 248 US Servicemen and 8 crew returning to their homes for
Christmas were killed in this event. Donna Forward’s late son was involved in the clean up from this
crash. She wrote, “My son, Major Donald Philip Forward, who passed away on Jan 8th
, 2024, had
been posted to Gander about 2 years at that time. He didn't make it home for Christmas until 2
days before Christmas as he was on the crew who had to stay behind to clean up the crash site. It
affected him for a very long time.”
Gander is also home to Gander Automated Air Traffic System (GAATS). GAATS is used to control the
oceanic airspace of the Gander Area Control Centre (ACC). The Gander ACC is responsible for
controlling aircraft in the western half of the North Atlantic oceanic airspace. The Gander oceanic
airspace is bounded to the north by the Icelandic Control Center, on the east by the Prestwick,
Scotland Control Centre, to the south by the Portuguese Control Centre in the Azores, and finally to
the southwest by the New York Air Route Traffic Control Center. 1300 transatlantic flights per day
are handled making the North Atlantic airspace the busiest transoceanic airspace in the world.
And who can forget 9/11? Gander itself became home for 38 airliners with 6500 passengers for
several days. The catch phrase for this hospitality was, “Lend a hand, do what you can.” The
response and hospitality of the town of Gander is honoured in the 9/11 Memorial & Museum
website. The musical, ‘Come From Away’ was taken from this event. St. Martin’s Anglican, where we
will eat and sing on June 21 and 22 respectively, took part in that Herculean response.