RCAF Station Kingston explained

Unit Name:RCAF Station Kingston
Country: Canada
Branch: Royal Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
Command Structure:No. 1 Training Command
Role:British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
Aircrew training
Dates:7 October 1940 – 7 September 1945
Equipment:No. 31 Service Flying Training School
No. 14 Service Flying Training School
Equipment Label:Schools
Battle Honours:The Pioneer
Battle Honours Label:Station Magazine
Commander1 Label:G/C
Aircraft Trainer:Fairey Battle
North American Yale
North American Harvard

RCAF Station Kingston was a World War II air training station built in 1940 at Collins Bay near Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The station was originally built by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) for use by the Royal Air Force (RAF). Like other RAF schools in Canada, it was subject to RCAF administrative and operational control.[1]

History

No. 31 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) was the first British Service Flying Training school to be established in Canada and the first flying training school at Kingston. The school was originally No. 7 Service Flying School based in Peterborough, England. Its main purpose was to train pilots for the Fleet Air Arm, but in the beginning the school's first students were British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) trainees selected for service with the RCAF and RAF. Naval trainees, however, made up the majority of the trainees by the end of December 1940. Pilots were trained on Fairey Battles, which were shipped from England, and later, Harvards.

In 1942, the school formally became part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. In 1944 No. 31 SFTS was merged with the RCAF's No. 14 SFTS when this school was transferred to Kingston from RCAF Station Aylmer. Aircraft used by No. 14 SFTS included Harvards, Yales and Ansons. No. 14 SFTS closed down in September 1945. Relief landing fields were located at Gananoque and Sandhurst, Ontario.

The aerodrome has been improved over the years and is now the Kingston/Norman Rogers Airport.

Aerodrome information

The airfield was constructed in a typical BCATP wartime pattern, with six runways formed in an overlaid triangle. In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed at 44.2167°N -112°W with a Var. 14 degrees W and elevation of 300feet. Six runways were listed as follows:[2]

Runway NameLengthWidthSurface
1/192500feet100feetHard surfaced
1/193000feet100feetHard surfaced
7/252800feet100feetHard surfaced
7/252600feet100feetHard surfaced
13/312550feet100feetHard surfaced
13/312500feet100feetHard surfaced

Relief landing field - Sandhurst

In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed at 44.15°N -128°W with a Var. 11.5 degrees W and elevation of 300feet. The runway was listed as a "Turf - All-way field with dimensional data as follows:[3]

Runway NameLengthWidthSurface
N/S2780feet1000feetTurf
NE/SW3150feet1000feetTurf
NW/SE2820feet1000feetTurf

Notable aircrew

Some of the more noteworthy pilots who trained at this station include:

Remembrance

Forty-nine airmen lost their lives while serving at Kingston, most in flying accidents. Three of these men, A/LA Moore, J.C., Lieut. Edwards, R.C., and A/LA Scorrow, E., perished when their aircraft crashed in Lake Ontario, and as of 2014 they have not been recovered.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Hatch . F. J. . Aerodrome of Democracy: Canada and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan 1939–1945 . Canadian Department of National Defence . 1983 . Ottawa . 68 . 0-660-11443-7.
  2. Book: Staff writer. Pilots Handbook of Aerodromes and Seaplane Bases Vol. 1. Royal Canadian Air Force . 130. c. 1942.
  3. Book: Staff writer. Pilots Handbook of Aerodromes and Seaplane Bases Vol. 1. Royal Canadian Air Force . 156. c. 1942.
  4. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/4691121/David-Clarabut.html David Clarabut obituary
  5. http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/v2/nr-sp/index-eng.asp?id=10020 Robert Hampton Gray
  6. http://www.rcnvr.com/E%20-%20RCN%20-%20WW2.php Awards of the Canadian Navy