RCAF Station Abbotsford
General Overview
Base / Station: Abbotsford
Province: British Columbia
Dates of Operation or Period of Information:
Integral Units:
- No. 24 Elementary Flying Training School 1943-4
- No. 5 Operational Training Unit Detachment
- was based here
- Main Unit based at Boundary Bay
Unit Duties / Information:
Aircraft Flown:
Commanding Officers:
- Squadron Leader M. Gain (formation – 24 April 1944)
- Squadron Leader G.E. Kerley (24 April 1944 – 20 July 1944)
- Flight Lieutenant L.S. Milne (20 July 1944 – 29 July 1944)
- Wing Commander W.A. MacKay, DFC (29 July 1944 – )
Financial Impact:
Date / Reason for Closure:
Current Status:
Image from the
RCAF Pilots Manual of Aerodromes and Seaplane Bases
circa 1942.
Location – Google Map
Station Magazine
“Breezy Stuff”
Station Magazine
“The Breeze”
School Daily Diary – Links – No. 24 Elementary Flying Training School
School Daily Diary – Links – No. 5 Operational Training Unit – Detachment
Fatalities –
This list was compiled from the entries in the Daily diaries of No. 24 Elementary Flying Training School, No 5 Operational Training Unit and other sources. The list may not include all fatalities of personnel who died while stationed at RCAF Station Abbotsford. I want to provide a special thanks to Michael DesMazes whose research has made putting together this list much easier. With input from various sources, so far there were 69 deaths of service personnel that were stationed at Abbotsford.
9 December 1943
7 January 1944
4 October 1944
- Sgt Lewis Philip Willetts
- Sgt Bernard George Barker
- Sgt Andrew James Birrell
- Sgt Charles Peter Davidson
- Sgt William Norman Jenkins
- F/O Leslie Thomas Jordan
- Sgt Langley Mathias Langley
- Sgt Frederick Laws
- P/O Peter Dennison Metcalfe
- P/O Ewart Cecil Mitchell
- P/O Arthur Rockliffe
7 October 1944
9 October 1944
10 November 1944
- P/O Frederick Edward Brown
- P/O James Frederick Cooke
- Sgt Frederick Douglas Hafford
- Sgt Sidney Helper
- Sgt Glyn Ivor Jones
- F/O John Victor Kingdon
- Sgt Thomas MacDonald
- Sgt Ronald May
- F/O Morris Morganstein
- Sgt David Peggie Westwater
9 January 1945
10 January 1945
4 February 1945
- F/L Walter George Deveson
- F/L Roy Edward Maynard
- Sgt Harold John Niemi
- F/O Walter Schneeberger
- P/O Herbert Stanley Weiss
- P/O Joseph Jean Leon Therien
- S/L Cyril Hudson Carscadden, DSO
3 March 1945
1 June 1945
- Sgt Stanley Aldridge
- Sgt Albert Eric Broadbent
- Sgt John Randall Dale
- Sgt William Peter Watt Drummond
- F/O Arthur William David Hill
- Sgt David Robertson Langlands
- P/O Gilbert Ewart Ellis Long
- Sgt Graham Murray
- Sgt William Thomas Swatton
- Sgt Isaac Gibbons
- Sgt James Leonard Gordon Hammond
23 June 1945
3 July 1945
Aircraft List –
Notable Alumni
Notes
- There is mention in early November 1943 in the school daily diary of the death of Mr L.J. Martin, who may have been the General Manager of No 24 Elementary Flying Training School. I need to look into this more. He is mentioned as the Station Manager on 18 September 1943.
Course List – No 24 Elementary Flying Training School
This List should be complete now. Course pages will be enhanced as my time permits and as requests are received.
| Course Number | Start Date | Graduation Date | Number of Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course 89 | 6 September 1943 | 26 October 1943 | 25 Graduates |
| Course 90 | 20 September 1943 | 12 November 1943 | 38 Graduates |
| Course 91 | 4 October 1943 | 26 November 1943 | 49 Graduates |
| Course 92 | 18 October 1943 | 24 December 1943 | 42 Graduates |
| Course 93 | 1 November 1943 | 14 January 1944 | 45 Graduates |
| Course 94 | 15 November 1943 | 28 January 1944 | 48 Graduates |
| Course 96 | 13 December 1943 | 25 February 1944 | 38 Graduates |
| Course 97 | 3 January 1944 | 10 March 1944 | 33 Graduates |
| Course 98 | 17 January 1944 | 24 March 1944 | 40 Graduates |
| Course 99 | 31 January 1944 | 7 April 1944 | 38 Graduates |
| Course 101 | 28 February 1944 | 5 May 1944 | 35 Graduates |
| Course 102 | 13 March 1944 | 19 May 1944 | 29 Graduates |
| Course 103 | 27 March 1944 | 2 June 1944 | 32 Graduates |
| Course 104 | 10 April 1944 | 16 July 1944 | 36 Graduates |
| Course 106 | 8 May 1944 | 14 July 1944 | 44 Graduates |
For More information – External Links
- Wikipedia
- MilitaryBruce.com – Canadian Military History by Bruce Forsyth
- Aerodrome Disposal File:
No. 5 O.T.U. Abbotsford Detachment. A detachment of 5 O.T.U. Boundary Bay which was H.Q. for 5 O.T.U. When Abbotsford was established the majority of the Liberators were sent there from Boundary Bay except for a few needed to train the Air Gunners on the .50 machine guns. Only after the Pilots, NAV’s, Bombaimers, WAG’s and Air Gunners had learned the American equipment on the B-25 Mitchells were they sent to Abbotsford to complete their training as a full crew on B-24 Liberators. No. 24 EFTS was the fourth and last school of the Vancouver Air Training Co. Ltd. (the VATC was also known as The Boundary Bay Flying Training School) The other schools in order were; No. 8 Sea Island, No.18 Boundary Bay and No. 33 Caron Sask.
Michael, thank you for your contribution. From your posts on Facebook you seems to be one of the leading experts on the coastal (Western) RCAF stations. I value any input you are able to provide as I have been horrible at improving BC to date. I am working on adding some BC radar stations as we speak. Thanks again.