RCAF Station Kingston was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

air training station built in 1940 at Collins Bay near

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

, Canada. The station was originally built by the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

(RCAF) for use by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF). Like other RAF schools in Canada, it was subject to RCAF administrative and operational control. RCAF Kingston Nav Chart Fragment

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 Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

, England. Its main purpose was to train pilots for the

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, but in the beginning the school's first students were

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a large-scale multinational military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand during the Second Wo ...

(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 Battle The Fairey Battle is a British single-engine light bomber that was designed and manufactured by the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a monoplane successor to the Hawker Hart and Ha ...

s, 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 RCAF Station Aylmer was a Royal Canadian Air Force airfield that was built between late 1940 and June 1941 northeast of Aylmer, Ontario.Hatch, F. J. (1983).''The Aerodrome of Democracy: Canada and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, 1939-1 ...

. Aircraft used by No. 14 SFTS included Harvards,

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s and Ansons. No. 14 SFTS closed down in September 1945. Relief landing fields were located at

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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 with a Var. 14 degrees W and elevation of . Six runways were listed as follows:

Relief landing field - Sandhurst

In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed at with a Var. 11.5 degrees W and elevation of . The runway was listed as a "Turf - All-way field with dimensional data as follows:

Notable aircrew

Some of the more noteworthy pilots who trained at this station include: * David Clarabut, RNVR(A) who earned a Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) for his role on the attack on the * Robert Hampton Gray, VC, DSC, RCNVR, Canada's last

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

recipient of the Second World War Robert Hampton Gray
Retrieved: 2010-08-12 * Gordon Cheeseman Edwards, RCNVR

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

for the attacks on the ''Tirpitz'' Awards of the Canadian Navy
Retrieved: 2010-08-12 * Philip Steele Foulds, RCNVR who earned a DSC for his role in an attack on an enemy convoy

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

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, and as of 2014 they have not been recovered.

References

External links

Military Bruce - Canadian Military History - The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
Retrieved: 2010-08-12

Retrieved: 2009-12-13
"Harvards Above" by Geraldine Ellen Chase Retrieved: 2016-11-21
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingston

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

Former Canadian Forces bases in Canada