RCAF Station Kingston
# RCAF Station Kingston

44°13′31″N 076°35′50″W﻿ / ﻿44.22528°N 76.59722°W﻿ / 44.22528; -76.59722﻿ (RCAF Station Kingston)

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.

## 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 $Kingston.^{:61}$ 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 $RAF.^{:62}$ 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 $Plan.^{:69}$ 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°13′N 76°36′W﻿ / ﻿44.217°N 76.600°W﻿ / 44.217; -76.600 with a Var. 14 degrees W and elevation of 300 feet (91 m). Six runways were listed as follows:

| Runway Name | Length | Width | Surface |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1/19 | 2,500 feet (762 m) | 100 feet (30 m) | Hard surfaced |
| 1/19 | 3,000 feet (914 m) | 100 feet (30 m) | Hard surfaced |
| 7/25 | 2,800 feet (853 m) | 100 feet (30 m) | Hard surfaced |
| 7/25 | 2,600 feet (792 m) | 100 feet (30 m) | Hard surfaced |
| 13/31 | 2,550 feet (777 m) | 100 feet (30 m) | Hard surfaced |
| 13/31 | 2,500 feet (762 m) | 100 feet (30 m) | Hard surfaced |

## Relief landing field - Sandhurst

In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed at 44°09′N 76°52′W﻿ / ﻿44.150°N 76.867°W﻿ / 44.150; -76.867 with a Var. 11.5 degrees W and elevation of 300 feet (91 m). The runway was listed as a "Turf - All-way field with dimensional data as follows:

| Runway Name | Length | Width | Surface |
| - | - | - | - |
| N/S | 2,780 feet (847 m) | 1,000 feet (305 m) | Turf |
| NE/SW | 3,150 feet (960 m) | 1,000 feet (305 m) | Turf |
| NW/SE | 2,820 feet (860 m) | 1,000 feet (305 m) | Turf |

## 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 German battleship Tirpitz
* Robert Hampton Gray, VC, DSC, RCNVR, Canada's last Victoria Cross recipient of the Second World War
* Gordon Cheeseman Edwards, RCNVR Mentioned in Despatches for the attacks on the Tirpitz
* 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 Lake Ontario, and as of 2014 they have not been recovered.

