RCAF Station Charlottetown was a

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 ...

station located in

Sherwood Sherwood may refer to: Places Australia *Sherwood, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane * Sherwood, South Australia, a locality *Shire of Sherwood, a former local government area of Queensland * Electoral district of Sherwood, an electoral district fr ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. Today's

Charlottetown Airport Charlottetown Airport is located north of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The airport is currently run by the Charlottetown Airport Authority, is owned by Transport Canada and forms part of the National Airports System. The airpo ...

maintains a remnant of the airfield's runways near its general aviation terminal, but all buildings and most infrastructure have been removed.

Charlottetown Airport

The site of RCAF Station Charlottetown is located in the northeast part of Queens Royalty. It was selected by the City of Charlottetown for a civilian aerodrome to serve central Prince Edward Island in 1938 after the city's original aerodrome, Upton Field, was considered too small and obsolete. A property between the Brackley Point and Norwood/Union roads was purchased for $30,000 by the municipal government. The municipal and provincial governments divided the cost of developing the new airport in exchange for an equivalent division of revenue sharing. The municipal government maintained title to the facility and agreed to operate it. Following the outbreak of

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 ...

and the creation of the

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 ...

, the city of Charlottetown offered its airfield to the federal government in December 1939 for military use until the conclusion of the

Second World War 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 ...

. The offer was accepted and on 1 May 1940 the

Department of National Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

announced the establishment of No. 5 Bombing and Gunnery School (B&GS) under the

(BCATP), with the provision for a bombing range to be built in the

Prince Edward Island National Park Prince Edward Island National Park () is a National Park of Canada located in the province of Prince Edward Island. Situated along the island's north shore, fronting the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the park measures approximately in length and range ...

near the fishing port of Covehead. Local fishermen on the north shore protested against the school and plans were cancelled in 1941 when No. 5 B&GS was ultimately moved to

RCAF Station Dafoe RCAF Station Dafoe was a Second World War Royal Canadian Air Force station located near Dafoe, Saskatchewan, Canada. The station was home to the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan's No. 5 Bombing and Gunnery School. The school opened Janu ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. In preparation for military use, the airfield underwent significant expansion with the main access point being changed to Norwood/Union Road. Three paved runways were constructed in the classic BCATP "triangle" configuration, along with various buildings and support facilities.

Aerodrome information

In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed as RCAF Aerodrome - Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island at with a variation of 25 degrees west and elevation of . Three runways were listed as follows:

RCAF Station Charlottetown

Whereas the

was operating its airfield at

RCAF Station Summerside Canadian Forces Base Summerside (CFB Summerside) was an air force base located in St. Eleanors, Prince Edward Island, Canada, now part of the city of Summerside. RCAF Station Summerside World War II The airfield was constructed by the Royal Ca ...

and another further to the west at RCAF Station Mount Pleasant, the Charlottetown airfield was to be controlled 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). Construction was completed and the RAF took tactical control of the facility on 15 June 1941. Although a RAF officer commanded the facility the RCAF maintained administrative and operational control of the school and facility and it was RCAF Station Charlottetown. The RAF school located at RCAF Station Charlottetown was No. 31 General Reconnaissance School (GRS), which flew the

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), R ...

. The RAF's No. 32 Air Navigation School was also located at the airfield until it merged with the RCAF's No. 2 Air Navigation School in 1944. RAF schools in Canada during the war were extensions of the British Commonwealth Training Plan until they were officially incorporated into the BCATP in 1942. The RAF presence in Prince Edward Island disappeared when the No. 31 GRS ceased operation in February 1944 and the RCAF's No. 2 Air Navigation School (ANS) began operation. The No. 2 ANS ceased operation in July 1945 and the No. 1 Aircraft Holding Unit (AHU) used the aerodrome for a short period until it closed later in 1945. All military activities were subsequently transferred to RCAF Station Summerside. Over 1,200 students from Commonwealth nations had graduated from the facility. Approximately 200-300 RCAF and RAF personnel had been stationed at the training station and it employed 100 civilian workers during peak training operations. Along with RCAF Station Summerside, the Charlottetown airfield also supported various patrol operations by the RCAF's Eastern Command, including coastal patrol aircraft dedicated to hunting

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

s which were operating in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

during the 1942 - 1944 period. U-boats sank dozens of cargo and warships during the Battle of the St. Lawrence. Following the airfield's decommissioning, the

Department of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

took over the Charlottetown Airport from the RCAF on 1 February 1946 and the airfield returned to civilian use.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlottetown Former Canadian Forces bases in Canada Airports of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Royal Canadian Air Force stations Defunct airports in Prince Edward Island History of Charlottetown Military airbases in Prince Edward Island Military history of Prince Edward Island