The Second World War

Permanent event Alex Gabriel Bernstein

4 June 2025

The Second World War, exhibition view. Courtesy of Ingenium. The Canada Aviation and Space Museum

By the Second World War, Canada now had its own air force, and was active in supplying air crew, aircraft and armaments to the war effort.

The RCAF contributed greatly to the war effort, whose members served with distinction at home and overseas.

Explore the rise of air power before and during the Second World War, and learn how the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan provided more than 120,000 Allied service personnel with training at schools across Canada.

Exhibition highlights

See a Supermarine Spitfire and a Messerschmitt Bf 109—two of the most iconic fighter planes of the Second World War.
Wonder at the museum’s impressive Lancaster bomber—the most complete and original Lancaster in the world.
See some of the training airplanes used in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.

Alex Gabriel Bernstein

Alex Gabriel Bernstein presents a bold and refreshing exploration of visual form and storytelling through the art of glass. Bernstein skillfully combines metaphor with the impact and optical quality of glass. His cast, carved, and polished glass sculptures provide the viewer with intimate narrative landscapes, drawn from light, form, and color.

Artist profile

The Second World War, exhibition view. Courtesy of Ingenium. The Canada Aviation and Space Museum
The Second World War, exhibition view. Courtesy of Ingenium. The Canada Aviation and Space Museum
The Second World War, exhibition view. Courtesy of Ingenium. The Canada Aviation and Space Museum

The Second World War, exhibition view. Courtesy of Ingenium. The Canada Aviation and Space Museum
The Second World War, exhibition view. Courtesy of Ingenium. The Canada Aviation and Space Museum
The Second World War, exhibition view. Courtesy of Ingenium. The Canada Aviation and Space Museum