1

In the early 1930s, Norris Arm was chosen as the location for aircraft to refuel, mainly because of its easy access to the railway line and sheltered area. The decision to build a hangar was made when two seaplanes, moored off the beach, were damaged in a storm. The Foxmoth and the Fairchild were two of the planes housed at the hangar. Capt. Douglas Fraser, Capt. Arthur Sullivan, and Capt. Clifford Kent flew and serviced these planes. After several years, another area was chosen to continue with these operations because of their deeper waters and fog-free zone. The hangar was used during WWII and closed thereafter. It was used to store minerals for drilling for Joy Manufacturing and then eventually as a skating rink, run by Ranger Dwyer.

2

Capt. Doug Fraser in front of one of the foxmoths
1937
Norris Arm, Newfoundland, Canada

3

Capt. Doug Fraser was an important part of Norris Arm's history. An inductee of the Aviation Hall of Fame, he was one of the most famous aviators of our time.

4

Captain Arthur Sullivan and Bert Clayton
1931
Norris Arm, Newfoundland, Canada

5

Capt. Arthur Sullivan (left) trained under Capt. Fraser, an old friend and colleague. On May 30th, 1932, during a sightseeing trip and with a passenger in tow, his plane went missing and he was never found.

According to Norris Arm resident, Mr. Irvin Manuel, "I worked in the sawmill for 2 summers and I noticed Capt. Fraser and Capt. Sullivan sending up weather balloons around 7 o'clock every morning. It's where Merrill Ryan lives now."

6

Foxmoth crashed into boom during windstorm
1935
Norris Arm, Newfoundland, Canada
AUDIO ATTACHMENT


7

During a windstorm, two Foxmoths - VO-ABC & VO-ADE - were damaged after getting entangled in the log boom. Unfortunately, one of the planes was irreparable.

Audio Transcription:

KD - Karen Dunphy
PW - Philip Walker

KD - Can you tell us anything about the old hangar that was here?

PW - The hangar, yes, I was down into it when they were building it. But the small seaplanes used to come in there and pitch and they had a trac..a small tractor to haul 'em up in the hangar. Oh, I can remember one time, twas a big storm on, when two of them went over the boom where the logs was at. Get up in the morning and there was the two planes in.

8

Map of Proposed Military Hangar
1936
Norris Arm, Newfoundland, Canada

9

With the damage of the two seaplanes, a plan to construct a "small seaplane station" was put into effect. It would consist of a hangar and slipway and two moorings. This sketch shows the design of the actual hangar built.

10

Military Hangar
1935
Norris Arm, Newfoundland, Canada
AUDIO ATTACHMENT


11

Attached to the hangar were living quarters for out-of-town workers, such as Eric Tuff, Ranger Dwyer and pilots, Fraser and Sullivan. The hangar served as a housing unit for seaplanes and a refueling station.

Audio Transcription:

JK - Jacqlyn Kennedy
MH - Mark Higgins

JK - Can you remember anything about the hangar?

MH - I can remember about it, maid, yeah. I don't know when it was took down...it was built, I think, in 1935. When they took it down, I don't know.

JK - 1971, I think. Do you remember anything about the captains, Sullivan or Kent?

MH - I can remember seeing them, they were here flying around during the...I think they came here in 1935, I believe. And they were here, I think, they were here a couple of years. Planes went ashore, see, in a storm. You heard about, you knew about that. So, after that, I think they came back here again, or Capt. Fraser was back here again a year after. I think they left here in 1938, I believe. They weren't here after that. They were here doing weather observations. Used to go up every fine day. They'd go up and fly around and that was about it, I suppose.

12

Refueling flying boat
1938
Norris Arm, Newfoundland, Canada

13

Various seaplanes relied on Norris Arm's refueling station. William Smith, husband of Anastasia Smith, worked at refueling seaplanes at the hangar, as seen in this picture. Fuel would be supplied in drums and then pumped into the aircraft by hand.

14

VO ADE being refuelled
1937
Norris Arm, Newfoundland, Canada