CFB Borden was opened in 1916 to train troops for the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War.  Shortly thereafter, in early 1917, the base became the first flying station for the Royal Flying Corps Canada, and hence is the birthplace of Canadian military aviation.  Borden's importance in Canadian military history increased in 1938, when the Canadian Tank School came to the base.  During the Second World War, Borden became the most important training base in Canada, and it has continued to be so for the past 60 years.  The museums at CFB Borden reflect those proud traditions, particularly of the armour and aviation components.

The armoured vehicle building mostly contains vehicles that are related to the development of armoured warfare in Canada.  There are some very rare Canadian-made vehicles on display, including three Rams, a Sexton, a Grizzly (Canadian-built M4A1 Sherman) Firefly, a Valentine Mark VI, and the only surviving example of the Bobcat APC, a fully-tracked vehicle developed during the 1950s.  An excellent collection of British and American AFVs used by Canada include a Whippet, Churchill Mark I, Mark VI light tank, Matilda Mark II, Sherman Crab flail tank, and a Staghound armoured car.  Postwar vehicles include a Centurion, an M60A3, and the very unusual T-55AM2B cutaway tank.  Unlike the previous building where some of these vehicles were housed, the new building has pretty good lighting and adequate space to get around the vehicles without any problems.

As one might expect, the softskin vehicle building is dominated by Canadian-built vehicles, mainly of the Canadian Military Vehicle (CMP) family.  One of the real stars in here is the immaculately restored C60 Workshop vehicle in "Mickey Mouse Ear" camouflage, although the DUKW and Diamond T 969 wrecker are my personal favourites.

Worthington Park, a memorial to the armoured units of the Canadian Army, once contained most of the armoured vehicles on display, but most of these vehicles have gradually been moved inside.  Today only a few remain outside, including a pair of M5A1 Stuarts, a Centurion Mark V and ARV, an M13/40, a T-55AM, a T-72A, a Panther Ausf A, and, one of the most rare vehicles in the entire collection, a Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind.  A number of artillery pieces are also still on outdoor display, Elsewhere on the base are other pieces set up as "gate guards."  Most notable among these are a 12.7mm DshK, a ZU-23-2, and an 88mm PaK 43/41 outside the Canadian Forces Intelligence School (an Iraqi 57mm S-60 had once been there as well, but it has since been removed).  I am hopeful that these vehicle may get the same treatment that the Hetzer is (it is currently in the late stages of a restoration to running condition, in a hangar that it shares with a pair of 75mm PaK 40s and a CF-100 that is also just finishing restoration), since all of them are important artifacts that are suffering from the harsh central Ontario elements. 

I have to say that I am very happy with the changes that have taken place at Borden over the past few years.  There seems to be a real commitment to preservation of and access to the vehicles that are in their care.  I highly recommend a trip there for anybody with an interest in military vehicles or aircraft.