Bagotville – 75 Years of Air Defence

55 m

Dec 6, 2018

Categories

Aviation

By: Sonia Mendes

Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation

Synopsis:

Marc-André Valiquette is a well-known Canadian aviation author. In this presentation, he recounts the history of the Bagotville Air Base, located in the Saguenay Region in Quebec. This is also the topic of his latest book, Bagotville – 75 Years of Air Defence. The book describes the role of the base during the Second World War, as part of Eastern Air Command until today’s air defence in the high-tech era. Areas of focus include the McDonnell Douglas/Boeing CF-18 Hornet, the Base Flight and Rescue unit operations using the Piasecki H-21, Canadair CT-133 Silver Star, Bell CH-118 Iroquois, and CH-146 Griffon.

Presenter: Marc-André Valiquette

Born in Montreal, Quebec in 1958, Marc-André Valiquette discovered aviation at a very young age when his father frequently took him to the observation deck at Montreal’s Dorval airport. In 1976, while undergoing his military pilot training course in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, he discovered information on the CF-105 Avro Arrow. With the passing of years, his collection of documents and photographs on the Arrow, Avro, and Orenda companies grew in size.

He has shared his passion through a four-volume book series, Destruction of a Dream, the Tragedy of Avro Canada and the CF-105 Arrow as well as Avro CF-105 Arrow – Canada’s Supersonic Sentinel (an overview of the four-volume series). In addition, he published a book on the 70-year history of 425 “Alouette” Squadron, Je te Plumerai. A historical look at 75 years of 439 Squadron “Sabre-Toothed Tiger” Fangs of Death followed in 2015.

After a career of over 30 years with the flight simulator manufacturer CAE Inc., Valiquette now devotes himself to preserving the stories of the Royal Canadian Air Force and its members through his books, which are not just a passion for him – but a duty.

Transcript

In this presentation, Canadian aviation author Marc-André Valiquette recounts the history of the Bagotville Air Base, located in the Saguenay Region in Quebec.

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