RCAF Station Charlottetown
General Information
Base / Station: Charlottetown
Province: Prince Edward Island
Dates of Operation or Period of Information:
Units:
- No. 5 Bombing and Gunnery School
- Moved to Dafoe, Saskatchewan
- No. 31 (Royal Air Force) General Reconnaissance School (GRS)
- As No 2 School of General Reconnaissance, entrained at Squires Gate, Blackpool, England on 17 December 1940.
- Arrived Halifax – 28 December 1940
- Arrived at Charlottetown – 29 December 1940
- Redesignated – No 31 School of General Reconnaissance on arrival in Canada
- No. 32 (Royal Air Force) Air Navigation School (ANS)
- First Echelon arrived in Charlottetown 18 July 1941
- It appears that possibly the school was disbanded in September 1942.
- RCAF Station Charlottetown (RAF Station Charlottetown)
- Formed as a Station Headquarters on the arrival of No 32 (Royal Air Force) Air Navigation School on 23 July 1941.
- It appears that both schools were run somewhat independent of one another but shared at least a Daily Diary.
- No. 2 Air Navigation School (ANS)
- original No 2 Air Navigation School was disbanded at Pennfield Ridge, New Brunswick in April 1942.
- Reformed at Charlottetown, February 1944,
- disbanded July 1945.
- reformed in Winnipeg, Manitoba – 1 August 1951.
- No. 1 Aircraft Holding Unit (AHU)
Unit Duties / Information:
Aircraft Flown:
- No 31 GRS
- Avro Anson
Commanding Officers:
Financial Impact:
Date / Reason for Closure:
Current Status: Civilian Aerodrome – Charlottetown Airport
Image from the RCAF Pilots Manual of Aerodromes and Seaplane Bases circa 1942.
Location – Google Map
Station Magazine
“Graf”
Daily Diary – Links – No 31 (Royal Air Force) General Reconnaissance School
1940
1942
During the period of August 1941 – September 1942 The schools daily diary was issued as “RCAF Station Charlottetown” and “RAF Station Charlottetown” (see Below)
Daily Diary – Index – RCAF Station Charlottetown
With the arrival of No 32 (Royal Air Force) Air Navigation School the station became referred to as RCAF Station Charlottetown this was noted in the Daily Diary of No 31 General Reconnaissance School on 23 July 1941. Effective 1 August 1941, a combined Daily Diary was issued by both schools under “RCAF Station Charlottetown”. It appears that this title was not appreciated by the Royal Air Force Chain of Command as the Daily Diary Unit Name changed to “Royal Air Force Station Charlottetown” in September 1941. There is no “official” announcement of the name change in the daily diary. Effective 1 October 1942 the Daily Diary resumed using the Unit or Formation name of “No 31 General Reconnaissance School”
Fatalities
This list was compiled from the entries in the Daily diaries of No. 31 (Royal Air Force) General Reconnaissance School, No 32 Air Navigation School, No 2 Air Navigation School and other sources. The list likely does not include all fatalities of personnel who died while stationed at RCAF Station Charlottetown, and likely includes some errors. Currently this list contains 39 personnel.
20 November 1941
- Leading Aircraftman Stanley Vincent Clench
- Leading Aircraftman Norman James Ficken
- Pilot Officer Alfred John Freeman
- Aircraftman 1st Class Norman William Thomas
12 January 1942
- Aircraftman 1st Class Joseph Fitzgerald Agar
- Leading Aircraftman Ernest Lockey John Beaumont
- Flying Officer George Douglas Calderhead
- Leading Aircraftman Kenneth Ellis
- Flight Lieutenant Bernard John Rofe
- Leading Aircraftman George William Taylor
- Mr Philip Compton
7 August 1942
8 April 1943
- Flying Officer Jack Raymond May
- Sergeant Howard Rolleston Simmonds
- Leading Aircraftman Frank Archer Webb
- Flying Officer Peter Stanley Wright
18 April 1943
- Sergeant Kenneth Kirby Bell
- Pilot Officer Clifford John Hamment
- Leading Aircraftman Robert Wilkes
- Pilot Officer Joseph Francis Loftus Wise
18 June 1943
30 June 1943
14 May 1944
- Corporal Henry Joseph Stoik
- Corporal Norman Bernard Gildemaster
- Warrant Officer 2nd Class Marion Ellis Trask
- Leading Aircraftman Arthur Vincent Murphy
- Leading Aircraftman Ronald Colley
- Leading Aircraftman Albert Charles Kilsby
- Warrant Officer 2nd Class Allan Campbell Murchie
- Flying Officer William Duncan Potter
- Leading Aircraftman Frank Duncan
- Leading Aircraftman Kenneth Eves
- Leading Aircraftman William John Strachan Mathers
- Corporal Carl Edgar Logan
14 November 1944
- Sgt Michael Pawlowski
- Cpl William Leslie
- LAC Albert William Hawkes
- LAC Jack Ambler
5 December 1944
9 December 1944
Aircraft List
Anson
11659
Notes
- 24 March 1943 – Fire destroyed No 6 Hangar at the Station.
- Ansons were destroyed
- AX422
- N9655
- AX284
- N5375
- N5212
- N9870
- N9820
- K6264
- N4942
- AX137
- N9899
- Ansons were destroyed
Course List
No 2 Air Navigation School
Course List
No 32 Air Navigation School
Course List
31 (RAF) General Reconnaissance School
For More information – External Links
- Wikipedia
- MilitaryBruce.com – Canadian Military History by Bruce Forsyth
- Aerodrome Disposal File:
I am searching for the location of a crashed Anson 11687 from Charlottetown. Crashed in bad weather near Barrachois, Gaspe May 13/14 1944. My father survived this crash. Can you give me any pointers to find a location reference?