I’ve been to aviation museums in Ontario to the likes of Trenton and Ottawa, and those are mighty impressive. Ones in Quebec, even in major cities like Montreal and Quebec City, are much smaller. The Air Defence Museum in Bagotville, 20 minutes east of Saguenay, is a little different.
Bagotville is a residential area built for members of the armed forces and their families serving at the local military base and airfield. It is the only military base in the country that is open to the public while it is operating. Residents of Saguenay are used to CF-18s thundering above their heads every day. Visitors are even encouraged to stand at the viewing areas at the ends of runways to watch fighter jets take off with a deafening roar.
The museum is housed in a former church building with exhibits on the dangers that combat pilots faced in their line of duty. The church was for Anglican services while another church was for Catholic services. With shrinking congregations, the two churches now hold separate services in the same building and the Anglican Church building was converted into a museum.
About a dozen aircraft sit on the green adjacent to the museum. It’s themed as “State of Alert” with Quebec’s first augmented reality museum exhibit to immerse visitors into the aircraft that once ruled the skies. If you’re lucky, like me, you might be able to request to sit in some of the aircraft.
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