The Museum’s de Havilland DHC-5 Buffalo was completed at Downsview, Ontario in May 1978 and was one of four aircraft built for the Sudanese Air Force. The Museum received the airframe from DAC International in January 2003. The aircraft has been restored as Canadian Armed Forces DHC-5, #115461. “461” was flying under United Nations colours in the Middle East on August 9, 1974, when it was shot down over Syria killing all nine Canadian servicemen on board. The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum's Buffalo was dedicated in August 2009 to the thousands of Canadian military personnel who have served as United Nations Peace Keepers. There are display boards inside the aircraft that the public are permitted to go inside and see.
In late 1973, Canadian Forces took part in the Second United Nations Emergency Force, to supervise the ceasefire between Egyptian and Israeli forces. Included in Canada's commitment to the mission were two Canadian Forces Buffalo aircrafts and crew. The unit was stationed in Ismailia, Egypt, a small city next to the Suez Canal.
The single highest loss of Canadian lives since Canada began to participate in international peace missions involved their presence in Syria. Nine Canadian Armed Forces members with the United Nations peace mission in Egypt were killed on August 9, 1974, when their Buffalo aircraft 115461 was shot down in a Syrian missile attack while making a routine supply run to the mission in the Golan Heights. For this reason, August 9 has been declared National Peacekeepers' Day in Canada.
