RCAF Station Trenton
General Information
Base / Station: Trenton
Province: Ontario
Years in Use: 31 Aug (10 Sept) ’31 – Present
Units:
- No 6 Torpedo Bomber Sqn ’35-
- No 1 Fighter Sqn -’38
- No 3 Bomber Sqn ’35-’37
- No 2 Army Co-Operation Sqn
- 1935-1937, late ’38- 1936?
- Schools
- Army Co-Operation,
- seaplane
- technical
- equipment [’37],
- flying [’37] and
- armaments [’37](Air Armament School)
- Central Flying School
- Absorbed from Home War Establishment
- Opened 1 Feb 1940
- Commanding Officers
- Squadron Leader D. Edwards
- April 1940 – November 1940
- Squadron Leader G.P. Dunlop
- November 1940
- Squadron Leader D. Edwards
- December 1940
- Squadron Leader G.P. Dunlop
- January 1941
- Wing Commander D. Edwards
- February 1941
- Squadron Leader N.B. Petersen
- March 1941
- Squadron Leader G.P. Dunlop
- April 1941 – July 1941
- Squadron Leader F.C. Carling-Kelly
- August 1941 – September 1941
- Wing Commander G.P. Dunlop
- October 1941 – December 1941
- Wing Commander F.C. Carling-Kelly
- January 1942 – March 1943
- Wing Commander J.G, Stephenson
- April 1943 – September 1943
- Wing Commander J.G. Twist
- September 1943 – December 1943
- Wing Commander M. Lipton
- December 1943 – March 1944
- Squadron Leader E.B. Gale (Acting)
- February 1944
- Squadron Leader E.B. Gale
- April 1944 – July 1944
- Wing Commander V.M. Terry
- July 1944 –
- Squadron Leader D. Edwards
- Flying Instructors School
- Moved from Borden, Ontario, January 1940
- Appears to have been absorbed into the Central Flying School between 1 April 1940 and the formation of No 1 Flying Instructors School in August 1942.
- No 1 Flying Instructor’s School
- 1 August 1942 – 31 January 1945
- No 1 Air Navigation School
- Absorbed from Home War Establishment
- Opened 1 February 1940
- moved to Rivers, Manitoba – 23 November 1940
- redesignated – Central Navigation School – 11 May 1942
- closed 15 Sept ’45
- No 6 Repair Depot
- No 1 Composite Training School (No 1 KTS)
- Reselection Centre, School of Administration
- No 1 Training Command HQ [6 June ’44]
- No 1 Air Command HQ [10 Aug ’45]
- Aircraft Maintenance Development Unit
- No 129 Acceptance and Ferry Flight
- No 4 Operational Training Unit (T) [1 Apr ’58]
- Air Transport Command- HQ 1959-
- 426 (Transport) Sqn
- 102 Composite Unit
- Operational Training Unit
- School of Meterology
- School of Instructional Techniques
- Training Standards Establishment
- No 2 Air Movements Unit
- Mobile Training Unit changed to No 4 Field Technical Training Unit
- No 6 Repair Depot
- Training Command HQ [1 Apr ’58]
- No 437 (T) Sqn [1 Feb ’68]
- Wireless School
- Daily Diary begins December 1936
- Redesignated No 1 Wireless School
- Moved to Montreal, Quebec, 15 February 1940.
Aircraft Types:
- Avro Atlas
- Fairchild 71 seaplanes
- Super 71
- Fairchild 51
- Fleets
- Tiger Moths
- Norsemen
- Shark Seaplanes
- Vancouver flying boats
- Vedette flying boats
- Wapiti- AAS, No 3 (B),
- Siskin- No 3 (B), No 1 (F)
- CC-106 Yukons,
- North Stars,
- Boeing 707s,
- Hercules,
- Canso,
- Expeditors,
- Dakotas,
- C-119,
- Albatross,
- Caribou,
- CC-109 Cosmopolitan ?
Commanding Officers:
- F/L J.T. O’Brien-Saint 31 Aug ’31- Nov ’31 ??
- S/L H.W. Hewson Nov ’31 ??-
- G/C D.J Williams ?’61?
Financial Impact:
Date/Reason for Closure:
Image from the RCAF Pilots Manual of Aerodromes and Seaplane Bases circa 1942. Image courtesy of Matt Heintz
Site Evolution
- The Publication On Track…the Pilot’s Air Travel Guide (First Annual Edition – 1978) lists the Aerodrome as “Trenton – Military” – See photos on this page.
Current Status: Active Air Base
Training Area Map – Second World War
On Track – 1978
Trenton – Military Aerodrome (Part 1)
Trenton – Military Aerodrome (Part 2)
Location – Google Map
YouTube
Photo Gallery
Thank you to Mike Anglin for sharing this photo with me (National Defence Image)
Station Magazine
“Contact”
School Newsletter
“CFS – Visiting Flight”
Program – Presentation of Colours
9 June 1951
Daily Diary – Links – 1 Air Navigation School
1941
1942
Daily Diary – Index – Central Flying School
1946
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December (continued)
Daily Diary – Links – Wireless School
1936
Daily Diary – Index – Flying Instructors School
1940
School began it’s move
from Borden, Ontario
approximately 18 January 1940.
Daily Diary – Index – No 1 Flying Instructors School
1943
1945
Daily Diary – Index – No 1 Composite Training School (No 1 KTS)
1944
December – (Missing)
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 Trenton, and likely includes some errors. Currently this list contains __ personnel.
14 October 1939
29 November 1939
31 March 1940
17 May 1940
24 May 1940
29 October 1940
15 February 1941
9 March 1941
7 April 1941
24 April 1941
3 June 1941
22 July 1941
12 September 1941
13 September 1941
10 October 1941
20 December 1941
4 January 1942
21 January 1942
20 February 1942
- P/O Charles Fuller Hanisch
- P/O John Dempsey Douglas
23 February 1942
- P/O Donald Roy Beardall
22 April 1942
- F/L Arthur Henry O’Neill
23 October 1942
- LAC Frank James Beairsto
27 December 1942
- P/O Thomas Marshall
- AC1 Frederick John Lee
28 May 1943
- P/O Kenneth Ford
Notable Alumni
Aircraft List
Notes
Related documents:
Course List
No 1 Air Navigation School
Course List
No 1 Flying Instructors School
For More information – External Links
- Wikipedia
- MilitaryBruce.com – Canadian Military History by Bruce Forsyth
- Site Plan:
- Aerodrome disposal files :
- Facebook: