Skip to main content
Ingenium Logo

You are leaving IngeniumCanada.org

✖


This link leads to an external website that Ingenium does not control. Please read the third-party’s privacy policies before entering personal information or conducting a transaction on their site.

Have questions? Review our Privacy Statement

Vous quittez IngeniumCanada.org

✖


Ce lien mène à un site Web externe qu'Ingenium ne contrôle pas. Veuillez lire les politiques de confidentialité des tiers avant de partager des renseignements personnels ou d'effectuer une transaction sur leur site.

Questions? Consultez notre Énoncé de confidentialité

Ingenium The Channel

Langue

  • Français
Search Toggle

Menu des liens rapides

  • Ingenium Locations
  • Shop
  • Donate
  • Join
Menu

Main Navigation

  • Browse
    • Categories
    • Media Types
    • Boards
    • Featured Stories
  • About
    • About The Channel
    • Content Partners

Ken Molson's photographs detail Canada's aviation history

Share
4 m
Apr 4, 2019
Categories
Aviation
Categories
Photography and Film
Media
Article
Profile picture for user Adele Torrance
By: Adele Torrance
Ingenium
Ken Molson sitting on a dock near a seaplane
Photo Credit
CASM Archives KM-05075
Ken Molson sitting on a dock near a Fairchild FC-2W2

In honour of Archives Awareness Week (April 1-7), Ingenium is highlighting a few gems taken from our digital collection.

Was Ken Molson born with the dream of flying? Or did he acquire the taste, little by little, just as he collected photographs on aviation themes, little by little, over his lifetime? Ken Molson’s personal archives were donated to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in 1996 and were later certified as Canadian cultural property. The archives cover the entire history of aviation, up until the point when Molson was no longer able to collect. Photographs from his collection, up to the year 1948, are now available in Ingenium’s Digital Archives.

Molson learned to fly at the Curtiss-Reid Flying School at Cartierville. Among the first photographs published from his collection in the Digital Archives, there are about 50 images from Cartierville in the 1930s; this was the time when he was earning his pilot’s license.

Reid Hangar at Cartierville Airport with aircraft in snowy foreground
Three pilots posing with a Curtiss JN-4D Jenny aircraft at Cartierville
Two men and a boy looking at Curtiss-Reid Rambler that crashed at Cartierville
As a passionate collector of Canadian aviation heritage, Molson also found photographs from before his time. For example, he acquired photographs documenting the early work of the Aerial Experiment Association in Baddeck, Nova Scotia.
J.A.D. McCurdy sitting at the control's of the Cygnet II aircraft
Photo Credit
CASM Archives KM-06412

J.A.D. McCurdy sitting at the controls of the Aerial Experiment Association’s Cygnet II.

He also found photographs documenting Charles Willard’s famous flight in Scarborough, Ontario in 1909, where he made two false attempts before he managed to get airborne over Lake Ontario. The excited crowd blocked his landing strip and Willard was forced to crash a third time in the water.

Men pushing Charles Willard's Curtiss airplane in Scarborough
Photo Credit
CASM Archives KM-04082

Men pushing Charles Willard’s Curtiss airplane in Scarborough

Later in the 1930s, before moving on to study at the Boeing School of Aeronautics in Oakland, California, Molson worked as a mechanic for Dominion Skyways in Rouyn, Quebec. Celebrated First World War ace Billy Bishop was Vice-President of this company, and Ken’s cousin, Hartland Molson, was one of its founders. Evidently, a difficult task like changing out the engine of a float plane was not enough to dampen his enthusiasm for the field.

Supplies on snow in front of Dominion Skyways airplane
Bellanca Pacemaker CH-300 at dock, engine hanging from ropes
Dominion Skyways crew covering the propeller of a Fairchild 71C

As an engineer, he worked for National Steel Car, Victory Aircraft, and then A.V. Roe Canada. He gathered photographs and took a few himself of the work, employees, and products of these companies.

Detail of the front of a Westland Lysander II at National Steel Car
Photo Credit
CASM Archives KM-06530

Detail of the front of a Westland Lysander II at National Steel Car

Assembly floor with multiple Avro 683 Lancaster X aircraft under construction
Photo Credit
CASM Archives KM-02105

Assembly of Avro 683 Lancaster X aircraft at Victory Aircraft or A.V. Roe Canada

In 1960, Ken Molson became the first curator at what was then called the National Aviation Museum. He guided the museum as it built its collection, and continued to gather his own personal collection of archives. These materials range from his collection of Boy’s Own books on aviation adventures to his last files for articles he wrote in the early 1990s.

In the future, we will continue to release more photographs in the Digital Archives from this collection, little by little, as our cataloguing and copyright research continues.

Author(s)
Profile picture for user Adele Torrance
Adele Torrance
Follow

 Adele Torrance is the Archivist at Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation.

More Stories by

Profile picture for user Adele Torrance
Adele Torrance
Ingenium
Colour photograph showing white boxes on a vertical bay of archival shelves.  A label on the closest box says: “Creagan Collection AH0075.5. Airmen 1914-1918 Canadian & British. Drawer Two: 2 of 2.”

Archives Awareness Week 2022 - no tours yet, but try…archival shelf bingo!

A variety of audio-visual formats, including film, audio, and different kinds of video cassettes, from the Les Harris Fonds are spread out on a table.

View from above: Capturing the experience of flight on film

Three women are visible in separate windows in a virtual meeting screen.

Coffee, cats, and metadata: Archivists working from home

A tight shot of a bookshelf, crowded with a plant, photographs, a stereo speaker, and some books visible on these shelves.

Ingenium celebrates #LibraryShelfie Day from home in 2021

Image is a black-and-white photograph showing the first Canadian contingent of troops standing at attention before a train car.

Remembering in black and white: Wartime photographs just released in Ingenium’s Digital Archives

A black-and-white photograph showing a line of CF-100 jet aircraft in front of two hangars.

Spice up your Zoom meetings with an image from Ingenium’s Digital Archives!

Image is a black-and-white photograph showing employees standing on and around a steam locomotive. There are about 40 men

Archives Awareness Week: Digital Archives portal expands railway and aviation collections

A scan of the damaged cover of a catalogue. On the page behind, you can see handwriting in pencil showing through.

Uncovering the age-old angst of love

Ingenium staff take a group “shelfie” in the new Ingenium Centre Library and Archives.

Ingenium celebrates Library Shelfie Day!

A large front desk and open area near the entrance to the new Library and Archives at the Ingenium Centre.

Ingenium’s new Library and Archives now open to the public

Screen shot of Explore page on Ingenium's Digital Archives portal.

Happy birthday to Ingenium's Digital Archives

Hudson Strait Expedition Personnel of Base "C" - October 1927

The Hudson Strait Expedition: Looking beyond the prism of provenance

Screen capture of the Digital Archives welcome page.

Ingenium’s Digital Archives opens museum vaults to the curious

Related Stories

The first page of the comic strip Julien Gagnon. Rémy, “Julien Gagnon.” Le Petit Journal, magazine section, 16 May 1948, 18.

The great adventure of a fictional Québec pilot and amateur spy hunter who confronted an equally fictional Communist bad hombre at the dawn of a very real Cold War: The Julien Gagnon comic strip by Rémy / Normand Hudon

The one and only Rohr M.O.1 Midnight Oiler before the installation of its definitive nose section and forward horizontal stabiliser, Chula Vista, California. Anon., “Private Flying – ‘Midnight Oiler’ Radical Design Lightplane is Built by Rohr.” Aviation News, 1 July 1946, 15.

Burning the midnight oil to reach for the sky and roar: The all too brief saga of the Rohr M.O.1 Midnight Oiler light / private plane

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 piloted by Second Lieutenant Franciszek Jarecki, Rønne airfield, Rønne, Denmark. Jarecki is the gentleman marked by an arrow. Anon., “Undamaged Red Jet in NATO Hands.” The Gazette, 7 March 1953, 2.

A flight for freedom which pierced the Iron Curtain; or, The day Second Lieutenant Franciszek Jarecki escaped from Poland aboard a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 jet fighter

The prototype of the Astro Kinetics Aero Kinetic Lift, Houston, Texas. Anon., “Aircraft and Powerplants – Crane version of ‘flying saucer’ projected in U.S.A.” The Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News, 7 March 1963, 24.

“Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a Texan flying saucer!” Astro Kinetics Corporation of Houston, Texas, and its unique looking vertical take off landing aircraft

The Canadair Silver Star of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Ottawa, Ontario, June 2005. This aircraft was flown by the Red Knight, the solo aerobatic pilot of the Royal Canadian Air Force, in 1961-64. Alain Rioux, via Wikimedia.

It really kept going and going and going: A brief look at the Canadian career of the Lockheed / Canadair Silver Star jet trainer, part 2

Canada’s Minister of National Defence, Brooke Claxton, left, during the taking of possession of the first Canadian-made Lockheed T-33 Silver Star jet trainer, Cartierville, Québec. Anon., “M. Claxton reçoit le premier réacté T-33 fabriqué ici.” La Patrie, 13 February 1953, 1.

It really kept going and going and going: A brief look at the Canadian career of the Lockheed / Canadair Silver Star jet trainer, part 1

A Woolery Machine Company runway de-icing device in action at Cologne-Wahn airport, Cologne, West Germany. Anon., “Ancillary Review – Flame-throwing – On Ice.” The Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News, 28 February 1963, 29.

Come on, PB, light my fire. Try to set the ice on fire: A peek at the American firm Woolery Machine Company and some of its ideas and products

The Junkers Ju 52 bushplane registered as CF-ARM of Canadian Airways Limited of Montréal, Québec, Manuan Lake, Québec, August or September 1940. CASM, 13469.

Old bushplanes never die, they just fade away: A few lines, all right, many lines on the remarkable career of a Junkers Ju 52 “flying box car” named CF-ARM, part 3

The Junkers Ju 52 bushplane registered as CF-ARM of Canadian Airways Limited of Montréal, Québec, under repair, Arviat, Nunavut (Eskimo Point, Northwest Territories), September 1932. CASM, 1208.

Old bushplanes never die, they just fade away: A few lines, all right, many lines on the remarkable career of a Junkers Ju 52 “flying box car” named CF-ARM, part 2

The Junkers Ju 52 bushplane registered as CF-ARM of Canadian Airways Limited of Montréal, Québec. Anon., “Pionnier des transports lourds dans le nord du Canada, le ‘Cargo volant’ a fini sa carrière.” Photo-Journal, 29 January 1948, 2.

Old bushplanes never die, they just fade away: A few lines, all right, many lines on the remarkable career of a Junkers Ju 52 “flying box car” named CF-ARM, part 1

Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Sergeant Bob Electro caught in the act of saluting the commanding officer of RCAF Station Clinton, Group Captain John Gordon Mathieson, Clinton, Ontario. Anon., “Six-Year-Old Sergeant.” The North Bay Nugget, 7 January 1963, 15.

Dōmo arigatō, gunsō Electro, mata au hi made: The electronic adventures of Royal Canadian Air Force / Canadian Armed Forces Sergeant Bob Electro

The 10-inch flight impact simulator of the National Research Council of Canada at some point during its long career, Uplands / Ottawa, Ontario. NRC.

A great Canadian success story you should know about: A brief look at the National Research Council of Canada flight impact simulators donated to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Part 3

Footer

About The Channel

The Channel

Contact Us

Ingenium
P.O. Box 9724, Station T
Ottawa ON K1G 5A3
Canada

613-991-3044
1-866-442-4416
contact@IngeniumCanada.org
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Channel

    • Channel Home
    • About the Channel
    • Content Partners
  • Visit

    • Online Resources for Science at Home
    • Canada Agriculture and Food Museum
    • Canada Aviation and Space Museum
    • Canada Science and Technology Museum
    • Ingenium Centre
  • Ingenium

    • Ingenium Home
    • About Ingenium
    • The Foundation
  • For Media

    • Newsroom
    • Awards

Connect with us

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest Ingenium news straight to your inbox!

Sign Up

Legal Bits

Ingenium Privacy Statement

© 2023 Ingenium

Symbol of the Government of Canada
  • Browse
    • Categories
    • Media Types
    • Boards
    • Featured Stories
  • About
    • About The Channel
    • Content Partners