Meet the Director of the Naval Museum of Alberta

Lookout staff 

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Eric Kahler has been the Director of the Naval Museum of Alberta (NMA) for five years. He is a naval veteran with over 41 years of service. Bradley Froggatt is the museum’s Curator and has been with the NMA for over seven years. He has more than 25 years of naval service.

What can you tell us about the NMA?

At the NMA, you will learn about naval history in Canada, the service, the sailors, and the ships that were sailed for over 100 years.

The NMA is an accredited Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) museum that initially opened in 1988 at Naval Reserve Division (NRD) HMCS Tecumseh to tell the story of the Navy in Canada and the Naval Reserve in Alberta. Four other Naval Museums are located in Halifax, Quebec City, Esquimalt, and Winnipeg.

In October 2008, the Naval Museum moved to its current location, where it was re-commissioned as part of The Military Museums (TMM). TMM is a marvellous modern complex that houses six other museums from regiments within the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force, in addition to the NMA.

Why is the NMA so important?

We tell the story of prairie sailors and the ships named after prairie cities. People are always surprised to find a naval museum in Calgary, where we are over 1,200 kilometres from the ocean. It is essential for all citizens, especially youth, to know their nation’s heritage and appreciate military history. Because this history is significant on all days, not just Remembrance Day, we also provide programs for local schools to participate in throughout the year.

What are some of the highlights of the NMA collection?

The NMA has over 5,000 artifacts and retains the complete collection of major ship weapons systems in Canada, including large naval guns, ship countermeasure systems, anti-submarine mortars, missiles, and target drones. We have detailed models of all three versions of HMCS Calgary.

Highlights include a replica of a Second World War ship’s wheelhouse, a corvette bridge, three naval aircraft that flew off of HMCS Bonaventure, including one of only three Banshee Naval jet fighters left in the world, a working periscope from the submarine HMCS Ojibwa, and an anchor from HMCS Protecteur. The NMA also proudly exhibits one of the enemy’s original Enigma machines used during the Second World War to encrypt messages sent between and to U-boats at sea.

There is an extensive collection of archives, artifacts, and photographs related to Canadian naval and maritime history co-located in the custody of the University of Calgary Library and Archives.

Where can we visit the museum and when is it open?

The museum is located at 4520 Crowchild Trail in South West Calgary and is open seven days a week from 0900-1700 hrs. A graded entrance fee scale based on age tops out at $15 per adult. Family rates are available. Veterans and serving CAF members are admitted free.

A virtual tour of the museum is available at valourcanada.ca/vr/navalmuseumofalberta