The Canadian Military Museum is dedicated to the national military history, and it contains a huge amount of materials, starting with documents and artefacts for several centuries . There are exhibitions related to the wars that were waged in the territory of the current Canada, as well as those devoted to the world military conflicts of the 20th century, including the Cold War and foreign operations, in which Canadian troops took part. . A separate part of the museum is designed for storing and demonstrating large objects, t such as ship cannons, tanks, motorcycles, jets, and . d . Moreover, the Museum has a Military History Study Center with a library that has about 500 thousand . artifacts and military certificates, including medals, uniforms , weapons, military art items, army transport and artillery . Today the museum is managed by the Canadian History Museum .
The building
The Military Museum was established back in 1880 ., but moved to the current building in May 2005 . The modern and unusual architecture of the building with a tower of irregular shape resembling the tail part of the fuselage has earned both professional and public recognition . The building as a whole somewhat resembles a bunker with a partially covered grass roof, and small windows in the tower-tail are made at such intervals to transmit the Morse code message "We must not forget" . @ Solemn opening of the building I took place on May 8, 2005 ., on the anniversary of the end of the Second World War for Europe .
Exposition
The exhibition "Battlefield: wars on our land" refers to the earliest period in the history of the country from the time when the Indians lived here and ending in 1885. Here you can see the weapons of Canadian Aborigines, learn about the conflicts (and alliances) between them and the first Europeans, and also trace the past of Canada through the Seven Years War, the American Revolution, the War of 1812 andonflikty the Canadian West in 1870 and 1885
Exhibition. "For the crown and the earth: South Africa and the First World War" covers the period from 1885 to 1931. At this time, Canadian troops were sent abroad in 1899 and in 1914 to participate in the war on the side of the British Empire. The exposition ends with the year in which the country gained independence from the Empire
"Tempered in Fire: World War II" is an exhibition devoted to the period from 1931 to 1945 . The exposition begins with a description of the tough dictatorships established in Germany, Italy and Japan in the 1930s ., and outlines the role of Canada in the most global war of the 20th century . Among the exhibits of the early exhibitions - the limousine "Mercedes" on which Hitler himself traveled . The main exhibition tells about the participation of Canada in war, about battles in the territory of Europe, the battle for At the air war, the battle of Dieppe, the battles in Italy, Normandy, the Netherlands and the final approval of zones of influence in Europe after the end of the war .
Next in chronology, the exposition is called "Violent World: Cold War, peacekeepers and recent conflicts" . It covers the period from 1945 . to the present . Here you can learn about the role of Canadian troops in NATO and the United Nations, about Korean wars, conflicts in the Persian Gulf, Kosovo, Afghanistan; as well as espionage, internal security, civil liberties and pop culture related to military topics . Among the materials of this exhibition are comics and table games of the Cold War era, as well as peaceful symbols and an interactive space for visitors, so that they themselves can transmit their attitude to war, peace and memory of the past .
Finally, the museum guests are waiting for more chamber expositions . Firstly, it is the Hall of Fame of the Royal Canadian Legion with multimedia equipment . Regeneration hall with angular walls and narrow triangular a window through which the view of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill opens, represents, according to the plan of the creators, "the physical expression of hope for a better future" . In the memorial hall in the foyer of the museum is stored the only artifact: the helmet of an unknown soldier of the First World War, and the sun's rays fall through a single window exactly on this helmet on Memorial Day (November 11), exactly at 11 am - the time when the war ended in . .
Lebreton Gallery
But the special interest of visitors of course, the Lebreton gallery . It's about a multi-purpose multi-purpose zone, where various programs and events are held, and where artillery pieces, aircraft, armored vehicles are displayed, etc. . Among the exhibits there are the fighter McDonnel CF-101 Voodoo Jet, Yagdpantser VI, completely restored tank Panzer V (Pantera), Panzer II, as well as rare motorcycles, Canadian jeeps and other vehicles that were used in the Balkans in the 1990s . In addition, there is an old good T-34 , several underwater mines and the German mini-submarine "Molch" .
П Practical information
Address: 1 Vimy Place
The museum is located in the Lebreton-Flat area, on the corner of Booth Street and Parkway McDonald, right on the picturesque promenade along the Ottawa River. You can get here by OC Transpo buses No. 8, 86, 87, 95, 96, 97 ("Lebreton" stop)
Working time: Monday to Wednesday and on weekends: 9:30 - 17:00, on Thursday: 9:30 - 20:00.
Admission: for adults: 13 USD, for pensioners: 11 USD, for students: 10 USD, for children 3-12 years: 8 USD. General ticket for visiting the military museum and the historical museum for adults: 20 USD, for pensioners: 17 USD, for students: 15 USD, for children 3-12 years: 12 USD (November 2014).