RCAF Station Patricia Bay
General Overview
Base / Station: Patricia Bay
Province: British Columbia
Dates of Operation or Period of Information: 26 October 1939 – 31 March 1945
Units:
- No. 3 Operational Training Unit
- (9 Nov 1942 – 3 Aug 1945)
- No. 32 Operational Training Unit
- (Royal Air Force)
- (1 Jun 1944 – until it re-located to RCAF Station Comox)
- No. 6 Operational Training Unit
- a detachment from No. 111 Coastal Artillery Co-operation (No. 111 CAC)
- (relocated from RCAF Station Sea Island on 19 May 1940) – August 1940,
- No. 111 CAC was re-designated No. 111 (Fighter) Squadron.
- No 120 Bomber Squadron
- arrived at the station on 1 August 1940.
- No. 13 Operational Training Unit (RCAF)
- No. 115 (Fighter) Squadron
- with their C-22 Fairchild Bolingbrokes until re-deployed to Annette Island in May 1942
- No. 133 Squadron
- re-located from Boundary Bay in 1943
- No. 135 (Fighter) Squadron
- No. 149 (Bomber Torpedo) Squadron
- No. 7 Radio Detachment
- 1st Battalion, Edmonton Fusiliers
- 9th & 10th Anti-aircraft Batteries of the Royal Canadian Artillery
- No. 122 (Composite) Squadron
- C-126 Noorduyn Norsemans,
- a detachment of the Royal Norwegian Naval Air Force
- March 1941 – for seaplane training.
- The Ground Warfare School and No. 1 School of Flying Control ran short courses at the station
- No. 132 (Fighter) Squadron
- (July 1942 – )
Commanding Officers:
Financial Impact:
Date / Reason for Closure:
Image from the
RCAF Pilots Manual of Aerodromes and Seaplane Bases circa 1942.
Site Evolution
- The Publication On Track…the Pilot’s Air Travel Guide (First Annual Edition – 1978) lists the Aerodrome as “Victoria” – See photos on this page.
- Hangar Fire (Hangar 5) destroyed – Approximately 28 October 1947 (Source Lethbridge Herald)
Current Status: Aerodrome is now the Victoria International Airport
Commemoration:
- The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering recognized this facility 2012 with the installation of a plaque. Similar plaques have been installed at:
On Track – 1978
Victoria Aerodrome (Part 1)
Location – Google Map
Photo Gallery
Thank you to Mike Anglin for sharing this photo with me (National Defence Image)
Station Magazine
“The Patrician”
Daily Diary – Index – No 32 Operational Training Unit
1942
Daily Diary – Links – RCAF Station Patricia Bay
Fatalities
This list was compiled from the entries in the Daily diaries of ___ and other sources. The list likely does not include all fatalities of personnel who died while stationed at RCAF Station Patricia Bay, and likely includes some errors. Currently this list contains __ personnel.
21 September 1941
12 January 1942
27 March 1942
29 May 1942
- Flight Sergeant George Graham Hall
- Flight Sergeant Martin Joseph Patrick O’Brien
- Sergeant Stanley Howard Stillwell
- Flight Sergeant Donald Duncan MacColl
29 June 1942
4 October 1942
25 October 1942
30 October 1942
- Pilot Officer Charles George Fox
- Sergeant Robert Ernest Luckock
- Pilot Officer Anthony William Lawrence
- Sergeant William Baird
16 December 1942
- Pilot Officer William Ward Harris
- Sergeant Andrew Joseph Doherty
- Pilot Officer Percival Frederick Biggs
- Pilot Officer David Jack Robertson
- Pilot Officer James Roderick Vosburgh
17 December 1942
- Sergeant Alphonse Michael Bellotti
- Sergeant Sidney James Conlon
- Sergeant Norman Arthur Albert Bastick
- Sergeant Kenneth John Bowler
- Sergeant Robert Alfred Maun
14 March 1943
- Pilot Officer Grant Leroy Hall
- Pilot Officer Reginald Keith Manttan
- Sergeant Howard Shurvin Piercy
- Pilot Officer Allan William John Hunt
13 April 1943
- Sergeant Donald Duncan MacGillivray
- Sergeant Richard Trathen Barrow
- Pilot Officer James Smith Peterkin
23 May 1943
27 May 1943
4 June 1943
14 June 1943
- Flying Officer George Cospatrick Douglas-Holme
- Pilot Officer Charles Sugden
- Sergeant Allan Spencer Lynch
- Sergeant Elton Roy Ritchie
17 September 1943
19 September 1943
- Pilot Officer Harry Haig Frost
- Sergeant Albert Sidney David Dobie
- Warrant Officer 2nd Class John Haythorne-Thwaite Bateman
- Warrant Officer 2nd Class Albert France
28 September 1943
9 October 1943
- Pilot Officer Allen Leonard Warner
- Sergeant Francis Keith Maiden
- Sergeant Neville Oswald Weekes
- Pilot Officer Kenneth Shaw
16 October 1943
- Sergeant Peter Francis Hornbrook
- Sergeant Ronald Frank Allcorn
- Pilot Officer Raymond Robert George Porter
- Sergeant Mervyn Charles Bruce Smith
30 November 1943
13 January 1944
16 January 1944
- Squadron Leader Terence Alexander Pringle
- Flying Officer Ernest Sowerby
- Squadron Leader James Gerard Flaherty
- Flight Lieutenant Harry Woodward Donkersley
- Sergeant Harold Charles Birch
28 January 1944
- Sergeant Ronald Frederick l’Anson Watson
- Pilot Officer William Ronald Dishman
- Sergeant Edward Gerald Quigley
17 March 1944
12 April 1944
- Pilot Officer George Walls
- Leading Aircraftman Samuel Hemphill
- Mr Joseph Lambert Blenkiron
- Flight Lieutenant Victor Silvio Ruocco
20 April 1944
19 May 1944
Notable Alumni
Aircraft List
Notes
Related documents:
Course List
No 3 Operational Training Unit
Course List
No 32 Operational Training Unit
For More information – External Links
- Wikipedia
- MilitaryBruce.com – Canadian Military History by Bruce Forsyth
- Canadian Society for Civil Engineering
- Site Plan:
- Aerodrome disposal files :