Thieves steal 7 plaques honouring Allied air efforts from Calgary museum

Thieves made off with seven bronze plaques from northeast Calgary's Hangar Flight museum Monday night, prying them off their sandstone bases.

The plaques were installed about 20 years ago to commemorate the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and member air forces from the Second World War.

Officials at the museum said they noticed suspicious activity at the site in the middle of the night.

"So we saw things happening around midnight, and finishing up at around 3:30," said Brian Desjardins, executive director of the Hangar Flight Museum.

The three thieves can be seen on security video prying the large plaques from their sandstone base, returning later to remove the heavy metal pieces with a moving dolly.

"It's deflating," said Desjardins.

The replacement cost is believed to be more than $20,000.

Anyone with information on the thefts, or who may have seen anything around the museum while driving along McKnight Boulevard early Tuesday morning is asked to call Calgary Police.